Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 9y

Bundesliga clubs to break summer spending record

German clubs are set to break the Bundesliga record for transfer spending in a single summer.

The news wire dpa reported that the 18 top-flight clubs have already spent €280.85 million on signings and that total is less than €7m short of the previous record, which was set in 2012.

That summer -- which saw Bayern Munich spend big on Javi Martinez and Mario Mandzukic and Borussia Dortmund sign Marco Reus -- the total was €287m, but it is expected that spending will exceed the €300m mark for the first time this year.

Bayern account for more than one quarter of all transfer spending so far this summer, having invested €79m for the services of Arturo Vidal, Douglas Costa, Joshua Kimmich and Sven Ulreich.

Schalke -- who bought Johannes Geis, Matija Nastastic, Franco Di Santo and Junior Caicara -- have invested €30m, while Bayer Leverkusen are set to match that amount when they seal the €12m signing of Charles Aranguiz from Internacional, having already brought in Admir Mehmedi, Jonathan Tah and Kyriakos Papadopoulos.

Borussia Monchengladbach and Dortmund are next on the list, while last season's runners-up, Wolfsburg, have so far spent only €14.7m, with the majority of that used to bring in Germany international Max Kruse.

However, Wolfsburg, who have become big spenders in recent years, will be expected to reinvest the funds should Kevin De Bruyne leave the club, with Manchester City widely reported to have offered £47m.

Several players have already left the Bundesliga for England this summer, with Premier League clubs having extra funds from the lucrative new TV deal, and Bayer Leverkusen CEO Michael Schade said that has had an effect on the German market.

"Average Bundesliga players and young talents become extremely expensive under the English influence," Schade told dpa. "The stars have always been expensive."

Roberto Firmino, who moved to Liverpool from Hoffenheim, and Bastian Schweinsteiger, who left Bayern for Manchester United, have been the most high-profile players to move to England this year, but the likes of Hannover's Joselu or Mainz attacker Shinji Okazaki have also made the switch.

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