Premier League clubs set a new record during the transfer window, with total spending in 2015 breaking the £1billion barrier for the first time.
Transfer spending during the summer window totalled £870million - £35million more than the £835million spent last summer, according to analysis by the business advisory firm Deloitte. Just over £130million was spent in the January window.
Manchester City set an individual record, with £160million splashed out on new talent this summer.
Fuelled by its huge television deals, the Barclays Premier League clubs' spending has easily outstripped the rest of Europe - and spending on players from overseas clubs was £585million.
Alex Thorpe, senior manager in the sports business group at Deloitte, said: "This summer has seen another record level of transfer spending, as Premier League clubs continue to use increases in their revenue to invest in playing talent.
"Gross spending of £870million by clubs across the league has broken the record of £835million set last summer. Total spending in 2015, across both the January and summer windows, is also a new record, reaching the £1billion mark for the first time.
"With all 20 of the Premier League clubs now ranked in the top 40 globally by revenue, we have seen clubs across the league compete successfully in the market for international talent. Premier League clubs' gross spending on players from overseas clubs this summer totalled more than half a billion pounds.
"Looking across Europe, Premier League clubs' gross and net spending this summer is more than double that of any other European league. The driving force behind this is the growth and distribution mechanism of the league's broadcast rights.
"Earlier this year we reported the remarkable rebalancing of revenues and costs, such that Premier League clubs collectively generated pre-tax profitability for the first time since 1999, with clubs set to enjoy a further revenue boost when the next broadcast deals start in 2016.
"Therefore, despite a new record level of player transfer spending this year, collectively Premier League clubs have a chance to invest in playing talent whilst remaining profitable in a way that was previously not the case."
Deloitte's analysis found that:
:: Premier League clubs spent around £90million on deadline day compared to £85million a year ago.
:: Manchester City recorded the highest-ever gross spend by a Premier League club in a summer transfer window, spending £160million on new talent this summer.
:: The four Premier League clubs competing in this season's Champions League - Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United - had a combined gross transfer spend of £340milion (around 40 per cent of the total).
:: The next highest spending league was Italy's Serie A, with a gross spend of £405million. Spain's Primera Division was next with a gross spend of £400m, followed by the German Bundesliga with £290million and France's Ligue 1 with £220million.
:: Football League clubs benefited from net transfer fees of around £50million from Premier League clubs.
The total at the start of the day stood at £790million - £45million short of the £835million record set last summer - but Anthony Martial's £36million move from Monaco to Manchester United helped break the record.
Source: PA
