UEFA: Andrea Traverso warns about the financial instability of English clubs

The exponential increase in transfer costs creates a "fragile" model for English clubs, with possible negative repercussions on the whole of European football. The alarm was raised by UEFA's financial manager, Andrea Traverso, curator of the annual 'European Club Talent and Competition Landscap' report. The finances of clubs across Europe have become "more fragile" due to the boom in spending and the growth of debts linked to transfer operations, with clubs across the Channel particularly exposed.

The overall spending of the last summer transfer market broke the ceiling of 10 billion euros for the first time, with +8% compared to 2025 and +43% compared to the pre-pandemic peak of 2019. However, this flow of money is not distributed evenly. English clubs are responsible for almost half of the total spending and almost half of this figure remains within the country, mainly because they are the only ones in Europe able to sustain certain prices. The value of transfers within the English market was higher than the sum of all other European national markets. And in fact the report speaks of "double speed" and "polarization" of the market.

While this reflects the Premier League's financial supremacy, it also makes its football more vulnerable to any corrections in the global transfer market. "Valuations continue to soar, particularly in the English market, increasing pressure on clubs' future financial results due to higher depreciation costs," Traverso underlines. "These costs are currently partly offset by significant capital gains, but this creates a more fragile model, in which clubs are increasingly dependent on continued market inflation and liquidity." A risk "amplified by the fact that many purchases are not paid immediately; payments are often spread over several years, while credits deriving from transfers can be transferred to generate short-term liquidity". The result is a growing level of transfer-related debt and a greater reliance on future cash flows to finance past investments.

One of the most surprising data is that English clubs paid an average of 24 million euros for each player purchased, compared to an average of less than 5 million recorded in the other main European leagues: a clear example of the purchasing power of the Premier League, but also of its exposure to a possible collapse in market values. “In this context, any slowdown in demand, correction in transfer values ​​or tightening of credit conditions could put a strain on profitability and financial sustainability.”

But the report contains more than just warning signs. Last season, for example, overall attendance in European stadiums reached a record 242 million spectators, marking a +15% compared to the pre-pandemic period. Premier in the lead, of course, with 15.8 million attendance, although the average per match in the Bundesliga (made up of 18 teams) was slightly higher. Italy in fourth place, after Germany and Spain, with 11.4 million (-2%).