Chapter 904: Developments Among Premier League Giants
After more than a year of pandemic disruptions, the 2021 summer transfer window was destined to be a hectic one.
Among the league's clubs, the wealthy Premier League sides — especially the traditional powerhouses — were particularly active.
Manchester City, without doubt, made the biggest waves.
Although Pep Guardiola's team had failed to win any major titles in recent years, the club's management still placed great trust in him.
On one hand, City's recent performances had been strong; failing to win silverware was hardly a disgrace given Manchester United's dominance. Losing to such a juggernaut was more a matter of misfortune than incompetence.
On the other hand, there were few coaches in world football who could match Guardiola's pedigree. Other clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham frequently changed managers but failed to find stability comparable to that of City or Liverpool.
In truth, over the past five seasons, the three most consistent Premier League clubs — Manchester United, Manchester City, and Liverpool — were precisely those that hadn't changed managers. Except for Liverpool missing out on the top four in 2016–17, all three teams consistently finished in the top four in the following four seasons, leaving the remaining clubs to fight over the final Champions League spot.
To challenge Manchester United for the league crown, City pushed forward two huge summer deals. First, they spent £75 million to re-sign academy product Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund. Then, they shattered English records with a £100 million move for Aston Villa and England star Jack Grealish.
Those two deals alone accounted for a staggering £175 million, the highest total spending by any club that summer.
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At the same time, Manchester City carried out a major squad clear-out. Angeliño, Jack Harrison, and Lukas Nmecha were sold, while veterans Sergio Agüero and Eric García left for Barcelona on free transfers.
The three sales brought in about £35 million, while Agüero's departure freed up significant salary space.
City also had one more major transfer target this summer: Borussia Dortmund's Norwegian sensation Erling Haaland.
Negotiations were reportedly progressing swiftly, and an agreement was close.
For Haaland, joining City was a dream move, further influenced by his father's legacy as a former City player.
Although Dortmund were reluctant to sell, history showed that when sufficient money was on the table, the German side rarely resisted. With Middle Eastern oil wealth at their disposal, City were hardly short of cash.
Financial Fair Play rules might exist, but as always, the capital giants found creative ways to make things work.
After a stellar season and a half in Germany, the 21-year-old striker's market value soared to €130 million, ranking fifth in the Bundesliga. Reports estimated that any deal would reach around €150 million.
Haaland's arrival would fill the squad's only genuine gap, giving Manchester City the strength to stand toe-to-toe with Manchester United.
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Interestingly, the four most valuable players in the German transfer market at the time all belonged to Manchester United. Bruno Fernandes led with a market value of €250 million, far ahead of the rest. He was followed by Kylian Mbappé at €160 million, Harry Kane at €150 million, and Marcus Rashford at €140 million. Mason Greenwood and Jude Bellingham were also valued at €90 million and €80 million respectively, placing them both in the top 20 globally.
With such an extraordinary roster, Manchester United became the world's most valuable club — by a wide margin. Their squad's total valuation reached €1.32 billion. Manchester City ranked second with €1.04 billion, nearly €300 million less.
The two Manchester clubs were the only teams in world football whose total market values exceeded €1 billion.
Five Premier League clubs appeared in the global top ten: Manchester United (€1.32 billion), Manchester City (€1.04 billion), Chelsea (€880 million), Liverpool (€860 million), and Tottenham Hotspur (€630 million).
The rest of the top ten included Paris Saint-Germain (€890 million, 3rd), Bayern Munich (€820 million, 6th), Real Madrid (€750 million, 7th), Atlético Madrid (€740 million, 8th), and Barcelona (€660 million, 9th).
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Chelsea were also active, focusing mainly on player sales. Their major signing was the return of Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan for £103.5 million, plus Saúl Ñíguez on loan from Atlético Madrid.
Outgoing transfers included Tammy Abraham to Roma (£36 million), Kurt Zouma to West Ham United (£31.5 million), and Fikayo Tomori to AC Milan (£26.3 million). In addition, Davide Zappacosta, Tino Livramento, Victor Moses, Olivier Giroud, Marco van Ginkel, Tiémoué Bakayoko, Emerson Palmieri, Kenedy, Michy Batshuayi, Conor Gallagher, Billy Gilmour, Matt Miazga, Malang Sarr, Baba Rahman, Ethan Ampadu, and Danny Drinkwater all departed, either sold or loaned.
Overall, Chelsea roughly balanced their books while freeing up considerable wage space, setting them up for a more flexible new season.
It must be said that the club's heavy investment in their youth academy over the years was finally paying off in pure financial return.
Arsenal also made significant moves. They spent £50 million on centre-back Ben White from Brighton, £30 million on Martin Ødegaard from Real Madrid, £24 million on goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale from Sheffield United, £15 million on Albert Sambi Lokonga from Anderlecht, £16 million on Takehiro Tomiyasu from Bologna, and £7 million on Nuno Tavares from Benfica. In both transfer expenditure and net spend, they trailed only Manchester City.
Tottenham Hotspur, meanwhile, brought in Cristiano Ronaldo, Bryan Gil, Emerson Royal, and Pape Sarr, spending over £70 million in total.
Only Liverpool and Manchester United remained relatively quiet. Liverpool's sole purchase was Ibrahima Konaté from RB Leipzig for £35 million. They offset that with the sales of Harry Wilson, Xherdan Shaqiri, and Taiwo Awoniyi, as well as Georginio Wijnaldum's free departure — keeping their finances nearly balanced.
(END CHAPTER)
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