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City, PSG lead spending spree

Comment: 0 September 1st, 2011 by: admin

MANCHESTER City and Paris St. Germain wound up with the biggest spending in the transfer window that closed Wednesday.

Proving they are the world’s richest club, City splurged about 76 milion pounds (US$123.74 million) while PSG laid out some 85 million euros (US$122.3 million).

City was bought by Sheikh mansour of Abu Dhabi three years ago, while PSG is owned by wealthy Qataris.

Juventus and Barcelona followed next with outlays of 67 million pounds (US$108.8 million) and 56 million pounds (US$91 million) respectively. Barca spent most of their money on Cesc Fabregas (35 million pounds or US#56.6 million).

Sheikh Mansour approved the signing of Argentine striker Sergio Aguero from Atletico Madrid for a reported 38 million pounds (US$61.7 million), the highest deal made in the summer. City also acquired France forward Samir Nasri for 25 million pounds (US$40.6 million).

Since the sheikh took over, City have already spent 460 million pounds (US$747 million) on 28 senior players. His move was rewarded last May when they won the FA Cup. Buoyed by their sizzling three-match league win, they are now targeting to capture the Premier League and Champions League titles this season.

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp said they turned down a huge 40-million pounds (US$65 million) bid from Chelsea for Croatia midfielder Luka Modric.

Redknapp said Tottenham chairman David Levy rejected the Blues’ offer, ending the longest transfer saga of the window.

With the Modric deal off, the 23-year-old Aguero emerged as the costliest followed by Argentina teammate Javier Pastore, who is now with PSG after a stint in Palermo for 42 million euros (US$57.5 million) – the most expensive fee ever paid by a French squad.

After the completion of transactions on deadline day, club spending are expected to reach between 400 to 500 million pounds (US$575 million to US$719 million), same as what was achieved in the summers of 2007 to 2009.

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