The La Liga president has slammed Premier League clubs’ poor spending, citing Manchester United’s failed transfer of Anthony as a clear example.
La Liga president Javier Tebas has slammed Premier League clubs for their inability to spend wisely (Image: Getty Images)
La Liga manager Javier Tebas has argued that Premier League clubs are not very good at spending in the transfer market, citing Manchester United’s Anthony disaster as an example.
Tebas has long taken issue with the huge amount of money spent by England’s top teams, who often lag behind European leagues when it comes to transfer investment. And he reiterated that England teams continue to make poor recruitment decisions.
Anthony is currently part of a trade to Real Betis, where he has impressed, but it was only after his shock experience at Old Trafford that he returned to form. The Brazilian was a huge failure after paying a fee of just under £90m and lasted just two-and-a-half years before the club moved on.
Despite spending huge sums of money, the Premier League’s elite were put to a real test in this week’s Champions League. All six teams made it to the finals, but four teams were eliminated this week, three of which were Spanish teams.
Real Madrid beat Manchester City, Barcelona beat Newcastle and Atletico Madrid beat Tottenham. All of these wins were by huge margins, with a lot of homegrown talent shining in the Spanish team.
read more: UEFA wants talks with Premier League leaders to ease growing frustration with VARread more: Premier League clubs face nightmare of sacking manager due to major law changes
Asked if La Liga teams are smarter in the market, Tebas said: “I’m not saying that, but there are reports saying that. They say that Spanish teams are the most effective in terms of spending on players. That’s the fact.”
“There are many examples. Look at Anthony’s case. The money he spent (Manchester United, 95 million euros) and how much it cost Real Betis… How many players will sign for a Premier League club and end up playing here? In my opinion, yes (it’s more efficient). Also, the Spanish football model is more focused on the academy. We don’t need that kind of spending.”
La Liga recently published financial figures, highlighting the increase in revenue, but also revealing estimates of homegrown talent. Their analysis suggests they have nearly £400m more quality than the Premier League.
Anthony had a good run at Real Betis, but only after failing in Manchester (Image: Fran Santiago, Getty Images)
“Our team is competitive and I think it will be for many years to come,” Tebas said. “We are fighting to prevent clubs that don’t play fair, ‘state clubs’ from being able to do so. We would like to see more support, because when we criticize it, we are criticizing alone.”
Tebas believes the Premier League’s finances are not being managed thoroughly enough, naming him after City and Newcastle.
“We are concerned that expenditure controls are not being followed and that management is not financially rational,” he said. “This is a worrying model because it creates a debt bubble, where losses are incurred and clubs can only be saved if they qualify for European competition.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive Mirror Football content every day. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can always check out. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
