http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premier_League
Wages and transfer records
There is no team or individual salary cap in the Premier League. As a result of the increasingly lucrative television deals, player wages rose sharply following the formation of the Premier League. In the first Premier League season the average player wage was £75,000 per year,[112] but subsequently rose by an average 20 per cent per year for a decade,[113] £409,000 in 2000–01, £676,000 in 2003–04 season[114] rising to £1.1 million for the 2008–09 season.[115]
The record transfer fee for a Premier League has been broken several times over the lifetime of the competition. Prior to the start of the first Premier League season Alan Shearer became the first British player to command a transfer fee of more than £3 million.[116] The record rose steadily in the Premier League's first few seasons, until Alan Shearer made a world record breaking £15 million move to Newcastle United in 1996.[116] This stood as a British record for four years until it was eclipsed by the £18 million Leeds paid West Ham for Rio Ferdinand.[116] Manchester United subsequently broke the record three times by signing Ruud van Nistelrooy, Juan Sebastián Verón and Rio Ferdinand.[117] Chelsea broke the record in May 2006, when they signed Andriy Shevchenko, from AC Milan. The exact figure of the transfer fee was not disclosed, but was reported as being around £30 million.[118] This was surpassed by Manchester City's transfer of Robinho from Real Madrid on 1 September 2008 for £32.5 million.[119] This fee was then surpassed twice on deadline day of the January 2011 window, first by Andy Carroll's £35 million move from Newcastle United to Liverpool.[120] This was then beaten when Fernando Torres moved from Liverpool to Chelsea for £50 million.[121] The Torres deal remains the British transfer record paid for a player. The record transfer in the sport's history had a Premier League club on the selling end, with Manchester United accepting an £80 million bid from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.[122]
Wages and transfer records
There is no team or individual salary cap in the Premier League. As a result of the increasingly lucrative television deals, player wages rose sharply following the formation of the Premier League. In the first Premier League season the average player wage was £75,000 per year,[112] but subsequently rose by an average 20 per cent per year for a decade,[113] £409,000 in 2000–01, £676,000 in 2003–04 season[114] rising to £1.1 million for the 2008–09 season.[115]
The record transfer fee for a Premier League has been broken several times over the lifetime of the competition. Prior to the start of the first Premier League season Alan Shearer became the first British player to command a transfer fee of more than £3 million.[116] The record rose steadily in the Premier League's first few seasons, until Alan Shearer made a world record breaking £15 million move to Newcastle United in 1996.[116] This stood as a British record for four years until it was eclipsed by the £18 million Leeds paid West Ham for Rio Ferdinand.[116] Manchester United subsequently broke the record three times by signing Ruud van Nistelrooy, Juan Sebastián Verón and Rio Ferdinand.[117] Chelsea broke the record in May 2006, when they signed Andriy Shevchenko, from AC Milan. The exact figure of the transfer fee was not disclosed, but was reported as being around £30 million.[118] This was surpassed by Manchester City's transfer of Robinho from Real Madrid on 1 September 2008 for £32.5 million.[119] This fee was then surpassed twice on deadline day of the January 2011 window, first by Andy Carroll's £35 million move from Newcastle United to Liverpool.[120] This was then beaten when Fernando Torres moved from Liverpool to Chelsea for £50 million.[121] The Torres deal remains the British transfer record paid for a player. The record transfer in the sport's history had a Premier League club on the selling end, with Manchester United accepting an £80 million bid from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.[122]