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How did shirt sponsors impact transfers in 2016-17?

Football clubs around the world are spending record amounts of money on transfers, but to what extent do shirt sponsors help managers when it comes to making new signings?

Clubs in some of European football's top divisions are breaking records in the transfer market on a season-by-season basis, and it has reached a point where even the modern-day supporter is baulking at the amount being spent to sign a player. The main reason for managers being willing to spend eye-watering amounts to make additions to their first-team squad is because in the majority of cases - especially in England's Premier League - television deals are providing clubs with the leeway to take more risks because the value of remaining at the top tier is far greater than merely associating yourself among the elite teams on the continent. Financial fair-play was introduced to ensure that clubs have certain limits to how much they can spend but as well as TV rights, shirt sponsorship plays a key role in adding to a club's revenue and gives them more room to loosen the purse-strings to try to get one over their rivals.

This infographic not only breaks down how much clubs in the Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga received ahead or during the 2106-17 campaign, but it also highlights which brands and industries were most willing to part ways with funds in order to give their company name a global platform. It has been well documented that Manchester United's deal with Adidas has allowed them to become bolder in the transfer market, but they also received €59m (£52m) from Chevrolet. Of course, you have to take into account that the money will help fund numerous activities at the club but if we are looking from a transfer perspective, that fee effectively covered over 80% of the money it took for United to bring Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to Old Trafford, although it was not quite in the range to sign Paul Pogba!

Manchester United winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan in action during his side's FA Cup fifth round clash with Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on February 19, 2017© SilverHub

It will come as little surprise that last season's top six in the Premier League were the teams who received the most money from shirt sponsors, but there is a €27m (£23.82m) difference between the second-placed team and the sixth. Chelsea spent roughly £118m to bring in four first-team signings - including David Luiz and N'Golo Kante - in the summer of 2016 and although much of that was offset by high-profile departures, Yokohama provided them with €45m (£40m) which effectively meant that they made a net profit - based on transfers and their main shirt sponsorship - while winning the Premier League title. Tottenham Hotspur were Chelsea's main challengers for the league title but in chairman Daniel Levy, they have always run a tight ship and they, too, were the proud owners of a net profit, even with just €18m (£15.9m) coming from AIA.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy watches from the stands during the Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and West Bromwich Albion on December 26 2013© Getty Images

We can also see from this infographic, created by Topbettingsites.com, that there is a considerable difference in how the top clubs in English football go about acquiring shirt sponsorship and how much certain industries are willing to commit. It is no secret that betting companies are having an increased involvement in football, but the infographic shows that they are not necessarily that willing to spend huge amounts of money - in comparison to other industries - to get their name under a club crest. However, businesses are taking a different stance when it comes to their involvement in German and Spanish football. There is a 500% increase in the number of betting companies in the Premier League compared to La Liga and the Bundesliga, yet the sole betting brand which features in Germany's top flight is willing to spend more than 80% of similar names which feature in England.

The infographic shows that there is a diversity when it comes to the type of sectors that want to become involved in football. As well as the betting world, there are eight other industries which have chosen to increase the scope in which they feature in the public eye on a weekly basis and with the amount of money being thrown into football showing no signs of stopping, you would expect that range to only increase over the coming seasons.

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2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
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7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
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16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
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19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014


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