England's top soccer clubs spent a record amount on players this summer, according to analysis by Deloitte's Sports Business Group.
Premier League clubs' gross spending hit around £1.165 billion ($1.54 billion), an increase of 34 percent compared to last summer, Deloitte said in a news release on Thursday.
"This is the fourth consecutive year the summer transfer spending record by Premier League clubs has been broken," Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said.
"At the start of the 2013/14 season, the summer transfer spending record had stood at £500m, and the fact that this record has more than doubled since then is a clear indicator of the financial growth of the league," Jones added.
According to Deloitte's analysis, the average gross spend for a Premier League side in this summer's transfer window was around £60 million. Spending by English clubs dwarfs the amount spent by their European rivals: with a gross spend of £590 million, Italy's Serie A was the next highest spending league, Deloitte said.
Home to some of the world's biggest teams, the Premier League is a global phenomenon, beamed to millions of homes across the planet. A recent domestic TV deal, worth £5.136 billion, awarded broadcasters Sky and BT live broadcasting rights to 168 Premier League matches between 2016-17 and 2018-19.
It's in this context that already wealthy clubs are seeing their financial muscle and ability to spend big on marquee signings increase.
One such eye-catching purchase was the transfer of Paul Pogba from Italian side Juventus to Manchester United. The Manchester side, now managed by Portuguese super coach Jose Mourinho, is widely reported to have shelled out a world record £89 million for the French international, a rangy midfielder renowned for his power and technique.
"As has been the case for a number of years now, the increases in broadcast revenue, with the 2016/17 season being the first of the new broadcast deal cycle, is the principal driver of this spending power," Deloitte's Jones said.
"The increase in the value of these deals and the comparatively equal revenue distribution of these by the Premier League has again allowed clubs throughout the division to invest significantly in this summer's market," he added.
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