England runs biggest trade deficit in world football

Overseas television rights and sponsorship deals from foreign investors amounting to over £1bn show English football can afford the deficit

Manchester City with the Premiership trophy last season
(Image credit: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

England has begun the 2014/15 football season with a £379m balance of trade deficit, the biggest transfer deficit in world football, according to new analysis from Barclays. England became the biggest net importer of talent, spending £579m on recruiting players from overseas, with £200m of talent going to clubs abroad. England’s spend alone accounts for 44 per cent of the total number of imports worldwide.

However, the sums that the Premier League clubs spent on importing players from abroad were more than balanced by the trade generated from overseas business through foreign sponsorship and global television rights to the English game. Television rights to countries outside England are in excess of £744m a year and paid sponsorships from overseas businesses will contribute over £343m in the 2014/15 season, totalling over £1bn in revenue overall. The sponsorship figure could be much more as some amounts are not disclosed. With almost another £1bn per annum in domestic revenue, English football is well-placed to attract top overseas players to its football clubs.

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