La Liga chief attacks Premier League ‘doped market’ as Europe left behind

English top-flight clubs set new January record at £815m (€917.7m) 

BIG CASH: Pedro Porro

The president of La Liga described the Premier League as “a doped market” after its clubs smashed the record for a January transfer window, spending £815m (917.7m) in a spree that underlined the widening financial gap between English football’s top flight and the rest of Europe.

Chelsea led the way, breaking the British transfer record with the £106.8m (€120.2m) signing of Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernández hours before the window closed and the £88.5m (€99.6m) purchase of the Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk, as English clubs nearly doubled the previous January window record of £430m (€484.2m), set in 2018.