- Bayern’s Rummenigge: Billionaire and state-backed EPL clubs threaten Champions League balance | OneFootball

Bayern Munich board member Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has called for football's authorities to limit the spending of Premier League teams.

England's top teams spent a record-breaking £3.19bn on new signings during the 2025 summer window - eclipsing the previous record of £2.46bn set in 2023.

Liverpool were the highest spenders in the Premier League with the champions investing over £400m in new signings. The Reds' recruitment included twice breaking the British transfer record for Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak.

Bayern Munich had been interested in signing Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen prior to his move to Anfield, but were unable to compete financially. In fact, the total spent by Premier League clubs last summer was more than the rest of Europe's top-five leagues - the Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A clubs - combined.

Across the last five seasons, thePremier League's eco-system has seen English sides spend more than €14 billion on signings. For comparison, Serie A is the next-highest European league at just over €5bn.

In terms of net spend, thePremier League has spent just under €7m, according to transfrmarkt.com. Clubs in Ligue 1 (+€304.75m) and the Bundesliga (+€368.53m) have returned profits over the same period.

Rummenigge believes something must be done to cap the financial power ofPremier League clubs to ensure UEFA's club competitions remain competitive.

"We cannot go on with constantly rising wages and transfer costs," he said.

"This is not a serious way of working. In England, clubs are now owned by billionaires or even states, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar. That forces you to compete with them even in theChampions League.

"We need to reduce the limit from 70% to 60%, or even better, to 55% of revenues for salaries and transfers. We need a shared solution, we cannot continue with the 'always more' mentality.

"Clubs, players and agents must sit down together to seriously discuss the future."