After more than 3 months of negotiations, the transfer window finally comes to an end. Painful for some, joyful for others. From Thauvin’s dramatic transfer saga to Marseille, to the millions spent by PSG and Monaco for Falcao, Cavani, and their companions, this transfer window lived up to all its expectations. Smaller clubs like Sporting Club de Bastia managed to make the most of the situation, while Nice remained rather discreet at this end of the market.
It is difficult to judge this 2013 vintage of the transfer market as the gap in expenditures between clubs has been significant. However, a trend can be seen in the ratio of departures to arrivals. French clubs have preferred to slim down, prioritizing financial aspects over sporting reinforcements. Clubs like Bordeaux, Rennes, Valenciennes, Toulouse, or Montpellier have lost many key players without replacing them.
On the Valenciennes side, Gael Danic left for Lyon and Isimat Mirin for Monaco are among the major departures. Bordeaux, with the departures of Trémoulinas to Dynamo Kyiv and Plasil to Catania, saw an already depleted squad diminish in the face of foreign millions. Rennes loses Mavinga heading to Kazan, Erding landed in Saint Etienne, and Théophile-Catherine moving to Cardiff City, but causes less concern than its colleagues. Nelson Oliveira arrived on loan from Benfica and, above all, the best recruitment is the coach Philippe Montanier arriving from Real Sociedad with a trainer profile appears to be the man of the situation for the Bretons.
Toulouse had to offload two of its best players, Tabanou heading to Saint Etienne and Capoue to Cardiff. Two heavy losses not compensated in terms of quality. The result should be felt in the standings at the end of the season. On the positive side, Bastia, Monaco, Marseille and PSG made the best signings within each of their means. The Corsican club, with only 1 million euros spent, was able to acquire Squillaci (Arsenal), Modesto (Olympiacos), Romaric (Zaragoza), Krasic (Fenerbahce), Boudebouz (Sochaux), Keseru (Angers), and Bruno (Lille). Just that. It remains to be seen if the mix will work on the field. Marseille appears to be the main outsider of this championship with Thauvin recruited for 15 million euros at the end of an epic saga, Dimitri Payet (8.7 million euros, Lille), or even Imbula (Guingamp, 8 million euros). At the top, Paris and Monaco are in another galaxy. Together, they total nearly 280 million euros in purchases. A record in Ligue 1.
For Paris, Edinson Cavani arrived from Naples for 64 million euros, Marquinhos from AS Roma for 31.5 million, and Lucas Digne satisfied the Qatari prince, the main shareholder of PSG. A final big move was attempted with the Spanish midfielder Mata from Chelsea, but the English club was not selling. Monaco, for its part, signed Falcao for the modest sum of 60 million euros from Atlético Madrid, Moutinho for 25 million euros, and Rodriguez for 45 million from FC Porto, as well as Abidal and Carvalho arriving free respectively from Barcelona and Real Madrid. Colossal transfers for these two clubs far ahead of French, and even European, clubs.
And what about OGC Nice? Confident in the strength of its players, who had a remarkable season last year, Claude Puel did not make major changes to the squad. The winger Bruls arrived on loan from Gent and Nampalys Mendy was signed free from Monaco as the main recruits. The negative aspect remains the departure of Renato Civelli, not replaced in central defense. Until the last moment, Nice’s managers tried to sign Mathieu Bodmer from Paris, but the two parties could not reach an agreement. On the positive side is the contract extension of Dario Cvitanich, despite being courted by several clubs including AS Roma until the very end of the transfer market. One thing is certain for Ligue 1 clubs: a finished transfer window means a return to calm and serenity for the players. They can focus on the field and sports but not for long.
In January, the market will resume with the winter transfer window.
