Iberian exodus
©Imago/Content stadium
In many ways this summer’s transfer window wasn’t entirely unusual from a Premier League point of view; the big clubs spent lots of money on new signings, promoted clubs scrambled to add depth to their already strained squads and to no great surprise the English top-flight outspent all of Europe’s other top divisions. However, one peculiar aspect of this summer’s window that was unlike many of the others before it was the manner in which very few Spanish players made the move to the Premier League.
In total, just two players with Spanish passports completed moves to Premier League clubs this summer. The most notable one was of course Mikel Merino, who joined Arsenal from Real Sociedad for a sizable sum of €32 million. The other was more of a technicality, as goalkeeper David Raya completed his permanent move from Brentford to the aforementioned London club, following a season on loan at Mikel Arteta’s squad. However, aside from the Arsenal pair, no other Spanish player moved to the English top-flight. Which is rather remarkable when we consider that within the top 50 signings made by Premier League clubs this summer, three came from France, Denmark or Portugal, five came from Brazil and a remarkable six new signings came from the Netherlands.
The drop-off in Spanish players in the Premier League
While a single transfer window shouldn’t be over-analysed, the lack of Spanish players making the move to England is another sign of a growing trend in English football of fewer and fewer players from the European nation playing in the Premier League. As we can see in the table above, the number of Spaniard’s in the top-flight had remained rather consistent over the last 14 years and reached a high of 36 players in 2016 and 2018. However, that number has now dropped by an incredible 71% from 35 players two seasons ago to just 10 in this current campaign. So where have all the Spanish Premier League stars gone? “Yes, I think Spanish players are attractive to the Premier League, so I was surprised by this drop, especially when you consider the number of Spanish coaches in the competition,” noted Transfemarkt’s content manager for Spain, Iván Fuente, when presented with the data. But the reason behind this drop off in Spanish representation in the English top-flight is hard to explain.
Perhaps the most obvious reason is simply down to one generation of former Spanish stars retiring or finishing their careers elsewhere, after spending their peak years in the Premier League, while the next generation haven’t yet made the move to England. When we take a look at the most valuable Spanish players of all time, this list is dominated by Real Madrid and Barcelona players, but it also has a number of players – Rodri, Saúl Ñíguez, Aymeric Laporte, David de Gea, Thiago Alcántara, Álvaro Morata, Diego Costa – who opted to play in England in their mid to late 20s. When we then look at the list of the most valuable Spanish players in the world right now, we can see that it is currently dominated by young players like Lamine Yamal, Gavi, Pedri and Nico Williams, who have all made a name for themselves in LaLiga and may yet opt for a move away from the Spanish top-flight in the coming years.
“I think it is normal that in a country like Spain the most valuable players play in LaLiga,” notes Fuente when asked about 16 of the most valuable 25 Spanish players playing for LaLiga clubs. “Also, Spanish clubs have problems competing with the economic muscle of the Premier League or Saudi Arabian football, so they have focused on the domestic market, buying players before they hit the international radar or keeping them in their teams.” This certainly explains why Barcelona signed Pedri before he was an international star, while clubs like Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad fought off interest in their star Spaniards like the aforementioned Williams or Martín Zubimendi in this summer’s transfer window. “Each situation is very different,” says Fuente when asked if a new wave of Spanish players could be on their way to England in the coming years. “Gavi, Pedri or Yamal are at a top team in LaLiga. Williams may be interested in English football, but I think he will stay in Spain.” Indeed, it remains to be seen whether these young stars will remain in Spain for the remainder of their careers or make the move to England like some of their compatriots from previous generations. But for now the English top-flight seems far more focused on signing players from the Netherlands, Brazil and France.