The biggest football leagues in the world have returned to the turf, this time without the effects of the global pandemic. The first matches have already been played, with Happyluke and other bookies cautiously altering their odds for the winners of the leagues. The players who switched teams this year have had their first chances to prove their worth on the pitch after a transfer season that was unlike any other, filled with quite a few surprises and some new trends that may redefine this time of the season for years to come.
A different transfer season
The effects of the global pandemic on the world of football were quite serious. The suspension of football and other sports left major holes in the clubs’ budgets this year, exacerbating existing problems and creating new ones in some cases. The entire transfer market was slower this year, lacking spectacular signings – as expected, we must say. Teams that, at the beginning of last year, were expected to spend massive piles of money on players have proven to be much more cautious in their signings this year.
Fewer paid transfers
As a general rule across the five major European football leagues, free transfers dominated the market this year. Paid-for transfers have only grown in Germany – and only compared to 2020. The other major leagues – La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A, and the Premier League – have seen a considerable decrease in payments for buyout clauses this summer.
At the same time, the number of moves involving free agents grew significantly compared to the previous years, in all of the top five leagues. Perhaps the biggest such move involved Lionel Messi who, after his contract expired with Barcelona, decided to continue playing with French side Paris Saint Germain.
Finally, the number of loans and academy promotions have also changed this year. Loans have increased across the top five leagues – in most cases, these temporary transfers came with options to buy later. At the same time, the number of players promoted internally from their respective clubs’ youth academies has decreased.
Younger talent
At the same time, the average age of the players signed across most major leagues in Europe has dropped significantly compared to last year. In the Bundesliga, it decreased from 23.7 to 22.7 years, and similar – although not that big – decreases were observed in the other major leagues, too. This indicates that, instead of finding already established players, teams are increasingly looking for young and promising talent to strengthen their ranks – for free, that is, because this decrease in average age was observed only in free agents. The average age of paid-for players this year has remained relatively flat.
The most expensive transfers this year
Although this year’s transfer season had no record-breaking transfers, we’ve seen a few that were quite expensive. Achraf Hakimi left Inter Milan to continue at PSG in a transfer worth 60 million euros, Jadon Sancho joined Manchester United for 85 million euros, and Chelsea paid 115 million euros to sign Romelu Lukaku. The most expensive transfer of the year was Jack Grealish: his transfer from Aston Villa cost Manchester City 117 million euros, making him the most expensive player in 2021.
