This is a figure that will certainly satisfy the promoters of the “League of Talents”, as much as it testifies to the impotence of French clubs on the transfer market when it comes to keeping their best elements. Ligue 1 players are popular.

According to latest CIES report, the three clubs with the best financial results over the last decade in the major leagues are all residents of the French elite. In detail, Lille (+ €379m), Olympique Lyonnais (+ €282m) and Monaco (+ €215m) are the teams with the best net profit in the transfer window since 2013.

Training and trade

Over the period, the northern club notably made several large capital gains with the transfer of Nicolas Pepe – recruited for around 10 million euros from Angers – to Arsenal for 80 million euros in 2019. Or again the sales of Rafael Leao to AC Milan (35 million euros), Sofiane Boufal to Southampton (18.7 million euros) and Thiago Mendes to Lyon (22 million euros).

For its part, the Lyon club benefited from the performance of its training center with the sales of Alexandre Lacazette to Arsenal (53 million euros) and Corentin Tolisso to Bayern Munich in 2017 (41.5 million euros). ‘euro). But also recent transfers of Ferland Mendy (bought 5 million euros and sold nearly 50 to Real Madrid), Tanguy Ndombélé (recruited for 8 million euros and sold 60 to Tottenham) or Bruno Guimaraes (sold for the double its purchase price in Newcastle in January).

A dynamic that does not seem about to be reversed. This summer, Losc again made several big transfers with the sale of Sven Botman (22) to Newcastle for 37 million euros and Amadou Onana (20) to Everton for 35 million euros. Lyon dropped Paqueta for 60 million euros at West Ham, while Aurélien Tchouaméni left Monaco for Real Madrid for 80 million euros.

Ligue 1 is an exception

“Performances” on the transfer market that help make Ligue 1 an exception. According to the CIES report, the French championship is the only big 5 championship with a positive balance (+ 350 million euros) over the period. All this despite the very negative balance sheet of Paris Saint-Germain (-868 million euros), widely known for its record purchases in recent seasons and for its ability to sell well.

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The study of the net balance sheets of transfers by championship highlights above all the gap that exists in terms of financial power with the rest of the European elite. The Premier League notably holds, and by far, the palm of the least commendable championship on the transfer window. The English Premier League recorded a deficit of almost 9.6 billion euros over the decade.