And once again, although everything is relative in soccer, surprises are one of the factors that make this game so exciting, France appears to be the poor relative on the European chessboard and, in addition to the traditional English, Italian, German, and Spanish rivals, the Russian professional league (in which at least 5 clubs can compare to the big continental clubs) surpasses its French counterpart in terms of transaction value.
This does not mean that the games are over in the European competitions that will start in a few days (Champions League and Europa Cup), but this indicator could be an important signal and could explain certain successes in any case.
Comparative Table:
Premier League (England, 20 teams): €431.6 million
Serie A Tim (Italy, 20 teams): €334.9 million
Liga (Spain, 20 teams): €264.7 million
BundesLiga (Germany, 18 teams): €157.2 million
Russian Premier League (Russia, 16 teams): €144 million
Ligue 1/LFP (France, 20 teams): €141.4 million
The 10 most expensive transactions:
1. David Villa (Valencia > Barcelona). €40 million
2. Yaya Touré (Barcelona > Manchester City) €30 million
3. David Silva (Valencia > Manchester City): €28.7 million
4. Mario Balotelli (Inter Milan > Manchester City): €28 million
5. Angel De Maria (Benfica Lisbon > Real Madrid): €25 million
6. Javier Mascherano (Liverpool > Barcelona): €22 million
Bruno Alves (Porto > Zenit Saint Petersburg): €22 million
Ramires (Benfica > Chelsea): €22 million
James Milner (Aston Villa > Manchester City): €22 million
Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux > OL): €22 million
Clubs with the highest deficits:
Manchester City – €104.5 million (-€139.7 + €35.2)
Real Madrid – €73 million (-€83 + €10)
In France:
Olympique Lyonnais – €23.9 million (-€28.5 + €4.6)
(source La Gazzetta dello Sport)
