Florian Wirtz starts his training with Liverpool FC on Friday. © ANSA / ADAM VAUGHAN

After transfer monopoly: Who will win the Premier League?

More than two billion euros have already flowed into the Premier League's transfer monopoly – and Germany's Footballer of the Year has been given the biggest price tag. When the ball rolls again in the world's most expensive league starting Friday, Florian Wirtz will be one of the new main attractions. We've checked.

August 13, 2025

From: dpa/dl

The fact that he's become the new record transfer in league history, with a transfer fee of up to €150 million, is something the new Liverpool star puts aside. To ensure their title defense, Liverpool have invested like never before. Almost €300 million has been poured into new players.

In addition to Wirtz, Hugo Ekitiké from Eintracht Frankfurt (€95 million) and Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong (€35 million) also came to Anfield from the Bundesliga. "If you don't develop, if you keep doing the same thing, people will find answers to your style. That already happened to some extent last season," Liverpool coach Arne Slot explains the transfer offensive.

Premier League ahead of record summer

The competition wasn't holding back either. Club World Cup winners Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Manchester City each reached sums in the region of €200 million on their shopping sprees. More than €2,3 billion has already been spent this summer. The Bundesliga, the Italian Serie A, and the Spanish Primera División don't even come close to that amount combined. The 2,81 record of €2023 billion is sure to be broken in England by the deadline at the end of August.

Benjamin Sesko will strike for Manchester United in the future. © APA/afp / RONNY HARTMANN

But the money is there, too. Starting this summer, the Premier League will collect €1,95 billion per season in TV revenue, almost double that of Germany. Added to that are over €217 billion from international marketing. By comparison, the Bundesliga generates just over €XNUMX million in this area.
These figures align with the assessment of former Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn. "When I talk to people anywhere in the world, they don't see much difference between the Bundesliga, Serie A, and Ligue 1. The Premier League and La Liga stand out clearly," Kahn told Kicker.

Many transfers from the Bundesliga

Accordingly, the Premier League, as in previous years, has made ample use of the Bundesliga. They're looking for the new Erling Haaland. Benjamin Sesko could be it; the Slovenian striker from RB Leipzig was worth up to €90 million to Manchester United, with potential bonuses of up to €65 million. Chelsea lured young star Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund to London for €XNUMX million and are also said to have Leipzig's Xavi Simons on their shopping list.

Jamie Gittens moved from Dortmund to Chelsea. © APA/afp / GLYN KIRK

And who will win the championship? Experts Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer are again predicting Liverpool. That prediction didn't pan out at the Super Cup this weekend, when the Reds were beaten in a penalty shootout by underdogs Crystal Palace, with their successful coach Oliver Glasner.

Man City and Arsenal as the biggest challengers?

Former serial champions Manchester City are faced with the question of who can replace Kevin De Bruyne. Rayan Cherki (Olympique Lyon) and Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan) have been brought in for the job. Arsenal FC also remains a title contender and has made sensible additions, including Martin Zubimendi (San Sebastián/€70 million) and Viktor Gyökeres (Sporting Lisbon/€65 million). German international Kai Havertz is also available to the Gunners again after a long injury layoff.

Tijjani Reijnders moved from Milan to Man City. © ANSA / FILIPPO VENEZIA

Chelsea FC is hoping that the millions of dollars it has spent in recent years will finally pay off in success; its triumph at the Club World Cup was a good start. However, the example of Man United in recent years has shown that multimillion-euro transfers do not guarantee success.

New attacking trio for Man United

The club's billionaire chairman, Jim Ratcliffe, sees the club as a global brand like Coca-Cola or Apple. However, in terms of football, the club, finishing 15th in the table last season, was far from the top. A new attacking trio worth more than €200 million, including Sesko, former Hertha player Matheus Cunha, and Bryan Mbeumo, is set to change that. Star goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain may also be joining.

The two German coaches can only dream of such conditions in the Premier League, even though Fabian Hürzeler has had a strong debut season with Brighton & Hove Albion (eighth place). For Daniel Farke, newly promoted Leeds United are only concerned with avoiding relegation.