Big-money moves for Memphis Depay, Julian Draxler and Dimitri Payet combined to take spending by French clubs to a record £150m in the January transfer window.
According to a FIFA Transfer Matching System study of cross-border deals this winter, Europe’s big five leagues accounted for two thirds of the global spend of £683.4m on international moves in January, with France leading the way and England second.
Of the more than 3,000 international transfers, involving 161 countries, only one in seven involved a transfer fee.
French clubs, however, shelled out more in January than they spent last summer, with PSG investing £56 million in German midfielder Draxler and Portuguese winger Goncalo Guedes.
Payet’s contentious move from West Ham to Marseille and Depay’s escape from Manchester United to Lyon added another £36m to the French total and also helped English clubs bring in almost £134m, virtually off-setting the £135m spent in deals such as Wilfred Ndidi to Leicester City and Manolo Gabbiadini to Southampton.
English clubs did make more transfers – 146 in and 151 out – than their rivals abroad, although Spanish clubs signed 127 players from abroad, while sending only 65 across...
