LONDON - England's Premier League clubs were back splashing the cash and defying austerity in a transfer window that climaxed with Fernando Torres's record-breaking £50 million (R570 million) move from Liverpool to Chelsea.
In a dramatic finale to the transfer window on Monday, Chelsea smashed the British record with their purchase of the Spanish striker.
As the deadline approached, Liverpool agreed on a deal to sign 22-year-old Newcastle forward Andy Carroll - still in only his first Premier League season - for a club record £35 million.
In the end, total spending by English Premier League clubs approached £200million (R2,2billion) compared to £29million last January, proving again that when it comes to football, prudence goes out of the window.
Football likes to play by its own rules and the mantra of "spend big to win big" might have been coined with the Premier League in mind.
Since 2003, Chelsea have been bankrolled by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and Monday's swoop underlined his ambition to re-assert the club's dominance after a shaky start to the season. Last season he reined in his spending yet Chelsea still won the Premier League and FA Cup. But Abramovich's ultimate ambition is to win the Champions League, hence his decision to revert to type with the big-money signing of Torres and Brazilian defender David Luiz in a £21million deal.
Chelsea's huge outlay on Torres came on the same day they announced an annual loss of £71million. That has led to fears they could be barred from the Champions League by contravening "fair play" rules set to be introduced by European governing body Uefa that are designed to get a grip on club finances.
Champs pay R570m for striker
LONDON - England's Premier League clubs were back splashing the cash and defying austerity in a transfer window that climaxed with Fernando Torres's record-breaking £50 million (R570 million) move from Liverpool to Chelsea.
In a dramatic finale to the transfer window on Monday, Chelsea smashed the British record with their purchase of the Spanish striker.
As the deadline approached, Liverpool agreed on a deal to sign 22-year-old Newcastle forward Andy Carroll - still in only his first Premier League season - for a club record £35 million.
In the end, total spending by English Premier League clubs approached £200million (R2,2billion) compared to £29million last January, proving again that when it comes to football, prudence goes out of the window.
Football likes to play by its own rules and the mantra of "spend big to win big" might have been coined with the Premier League in mind.
Since 2003, Chelsea have been bankrolled by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and Monday's swoop underlined his ambition to re-assert the club's dominance after a shaky start to the season. Last season he reined in his spending yet Chelsea still won the Premier League and FA Cup. But Abramovich's ultimate ambition is to win the Champions League, hence his decision to revert to type with the big-money signing of Torres and Brazilian defender David Luiz in a £21million deal.
Chelsea's huge outlay on Torres came on the same day they announced an annual loss of £71million. That has led to fears they could be barred from the Champions League by contravening "fair play" rules set to be introduced by European governing body Uefa that are designed to get a grip on club finances.
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