Premier League football clubs paid out a record £630m in the summer 2013 player transfer window which closed last night, according to research by Deloitte.
Around £140m was spent on new signings on the deadline day itself, up from the equivalent figure of £110m in summer 2012.
The firm's analysis shows the total gross spend of £630m was 29% up on the equivalent 2012 figure of £490m and £130m more than the previous record of £500m set in 2008. The £85m Spanish club Real Madrid paid for former Spurs star Gareth Bale also set a new world transfer record fee.
Dan Jones, partner in Deloitte's sports business group, said: 'Net spending is also a record, at £400m. As the financial rewards for participation and success in the Premier League increase, so it follows that clubs are investing on the pitch to ensure they continue to benefit from the remarkable Premier League growth story.'
This is the first year that Premier League clubs will benefit financially from the league's new broadcast deals, with each club benefitting from a share of the extra £600m of revenues in 2013/14 alone. As a result, Deloitte says there is a widening gulf in spending between the Premier League and other European leagues.
Jones said: 'While Premier League clubs are in a stronger position to afford increased transfer and player costs than ever before, the key challenge remains cost control. With regulations at both a league and continental level encouraging clubs to balance their costs with revenue, we hope that while these revenue increases allow the league to attract top players, they will also result in a more profitable picture across the league in the years to come.'
Deloitte's figures show that the four Premier League clubs competing in this season's Champions League - Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United - had a combined gross transfer spend of £230m this summer transfer window, representing 37% of the aggregate gross transfer spend by all Premier League clubs.
Gross spending by clubs was up compared with last year across all of the 'big five' top divisions of Europe. After the Premier League, the next highest spenders were La Liga and Serie A, each with a gross spend of £335m, followed by Ligue 1 with £315m and the Bundesliga with £230m.
Since the introduction of the transfer window system in the 2002-2003 season, gross player transfer spending has exceeded £5.3bn, with 80% of this being spent in summer transfer windows.
