Spend, Spend, Spend: Europe's Big Five Splash 570M Euros on Winter Deals

Europe's big five leagues spent 570 million euros ($642.8 million) in the winter transfer window with England writing the biggest checks, splashing out a total of $178.2 million, FIFA announced on Thursday.

However, spending in the English Premier League decreased in the period by 65% compared to 2018 which was a record.

Italy was the second-biggest spender with $144.6 million (+459%), followed by Germany on $112.5 million (+56.7%), Spain with $112 million (-70.1%) and France on $95.4 million (+104.6%).

Clubs from the five major leagues accounted for 59.1% of the global spending during this period.

Compared to January 2018, the volume of international transfers to the five major championships increased by 6.4%, with 282 clubs in the English, Italian, Spanish, German and French top flights completing an average of 2.1 incoming international transfers per club.