Premier League teams spend nearly $3 billion in transfer window; Liverpool rejects huge Saudi bid for Salah on deadline day

Premier League clubs splurged $3 billion in transfer window, led by Chelsea's $500 million. Saudi Pro League emerged as serious competitor, but Liverpool stood firm on Mohamed Salah. Chelsea's 21-year-old winger Palmer cost $50.7M, Man City's Nunes $43.1M, and Brighton's Fati loaned from Barcelona. Tottenham's Johnson cost $57M, while U.S. owned Chelsea spent $1.15B on long contracts. Man City, Liverpool, and Man United bought midfielders. Nottingham Forest had 7 arrivals, while Tottenham, City, Arsenal, and Everton sent players out.

Fronted by a $500-million splurge by Chelsea, Premier League clubs hurtled toward an unprecedented $3 billion outlay in European football's summer transfer window that closed on Friday with Mohamed Salah still a Liverpool player despite a mammoth offer from Saudi Arabia.

England's top clubs have flaunted their wealth over the last three months, dwarfing the outlay of their European rivals, but the Saudi Pro League emerged as a serious competitor in the market because of the backing of the kingdom's sovereign wealth Public Investment Fund which claims assets of about $700 billion.

The crowning signing, they hoped, would be Salah — the Egypt superstar who is the most high-profile Arabic player — but Liverpool is standing firm in the face a reported verbal offer totaling 150 million pounds ($188 million) by Al-Ittihad, insisting the 31-year-old forward is not for sale.

There's still a few days left in the Saudi window, which closes on Sept. 7, but the European one has now closed with many of England's biggest clubs active in the market right up to the deadline, spending the money generated from the Premier League's huge global broadcasting deals worth about 10 billion pounds ($11.8 billion) over three seasons.

Chelsea led the record spree, with the arrival of 21-year-old winger Cole Palmer from Manchester City for 40 million pounds ($50.7 million) taking the west London club's spending in this window to around half a billion dollars. That included Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo joining for $145 million, a record for a British club.

In the three transfer windows under its new American ownership fronted by Todd Boehly, Chelsea has spent about $1.15 billion on players mostly signed up on long contracts in an innovative way to spread “amortization” costs of transfer fees.

The $260 million outlay by Man City, the English and European champion, looks modest by comparison. City's fourth and final arrival in the window came on deadline day and was Portugal international Matheus Nunes from Wolverhampton, a ball-carrying central midfielder costing $67 million and providing extra depth that area.