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French clubs now among biggest spenders - league

By  AFP

What you need to know:

  • French clubs splashed out 156 million euros ($168 million) in the winter transfer window, third only to the big-spending Premier League and Chinese Super League, French league officials said on Friday.
  • The high-profile arrivals of Julian Draxler to Paris Saint-Germain, Memphis Depay to Lyon and Dimitri Payet to Marseille was proof that "something is happening", Didier Quillot, executive director general of the French Professional Football League (LFP), said.
  • Last winter French sides spent a relatively measly 28 million euros.

PARIS

French clubs splashed out 156 million euros ($168 million) in the winter transfer window, third only to the big-spending Premier League and Chinese Super League, French league officials said on Friday.

The high-profile arrivals of Julian Draxler to Paris Saint-Germain, Memphis Depay to Lyon and Dimitri Payet to Marseille was proof that "something is happening", Didier Quillot, executive director general of the French Professional Football League (LFP), said.

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Last winter French sides spent a relatively measly 28 million euros.

English Premier League clubs emerged from the just-ended transfer window in the black for the first time but still shelled out more than 250 million euros on new players in January.

Chinese clubs spent 218 million euros, including an Asian-record 60 million euros when Oscar moved from Chelsea to Shanghai SIPG, according to the LFP.

PSG and Marseille were the biggest spenders in France, with the French champions forking out 40 million euros on German World Cup winner Draxler from Wolfsburg and 30 million for rangy Portuguese forward Goncalo Guedes from Benfica.

Marseille, freshly minted following a takeover by billionaire American Frank McCourt, stumped up 30 million euros to lure Payet back from West Ham. They also signed veteran Patrice Evra on a free from Juventus.

The French league trumped the German Bundesliga, whose clubs spent 97.35 million euros — shattering the previous record in the winter transfer window there.

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