The highest transfer in La Liga this summer is €35m: The reason La Liga clubs are not spending any money

When it comes to the biggest deals made in football, you'll always find a La Liga team involved. In the past 10 years, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have not shied away from splashing the cash. Transfers for players like Phillipe Coutinho, Eden Hazard, Joao Felix, Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann, and James Rodriguez all show an intent to spend money.

However, the highest fee any La Liga club has spent on a single player this summer is Atletico Madrid's €35m on Rodrigo de Paul. And interestingly, that is all they have spent at the Wanda Metropolitano. FC Barcelona has spent only €9m, their commitment to getting Emerson Royale in full from the part deal with Real Betis. Real Madrid has not spent any money this summer. More than 80% of the incomings at La Liga clubs this summer has been on loan deals. So why are La Liga clubs not spending? 

The first obvious reason is the Covid-19 pandemic. The La Liga is peculiar in that a huge chunk of the money generated by clubs come from tickets sales. With stadiums shuttered and even the league on hold for a long while then, this automatically erased a crucial line from the financial books of Spanish clubs. Consequently, reducing their spending power. Without mouth-watering TV rights money, most La Liga clubs have been stripped to the bones with finances. 

The second more tacit reason is the newly-imposed wage bill regulation. The same regulation that made it impossible for Lionel Messi to stay at Barcelona despite agreeing to take a 50% pay cut. Though this rule might make financial sense by protecting the Liga clubs from spending beyond their means, its timing has split opinions. Some believe that it is bad timing with many clubs already struggling with bringing in players due to low cash flow while others say that it is for periods like this that such rules are mostly needed. 

In any case, La Liga is currently unable to compete for the biggest stars and might even lose more of its most notable stars as witnessed with the Lionel Messi debacle. There is a reason for optimism though following the recent €1.3bn investment made in the La Liga brand by CVC Capital Partners. 90% of this investment is expected to be shared amongst the club sides. Madrid and Barcelona are in line to get up to €230m each. Hopefully, with this cash injection, Spanish clubs can compete for the biggest players again.