A record-breaking 500 million pounds was spent by English Premier League clubs on players in the mid-year transfer window, according to a report by consultancy firm Deloitte.
Last-minute deals on Monday including Robinho's move from Real Madrid to Manchester City for an estimated 32.5 million pounds and Dimitar Berbatov's transfer from Tottenham Hotspur to Manchester United for 30.75 million pounds raised total spending to around 500 million pounds.
That was around 30 million pounds more than the same transfer window last year.
"This level of transfer spending is far in excess of spending by other European leagues," Deloitte's Paul Rawnsley said in a statement on Tuesday.
"With the majority of their revenue streams already contractually secured, English football clubs are proving resilient to the current challenging economic environment," added Rawnsley, director of the company's sports business group.
"While football is not recession-proof it is recession-resistant."
Deloitte said Premier League clubs spent around 215 million pounds buying players from each other, representing more than 40 percent of the transfer activity during the window.
In previous years this represented around a third of total spending.
Including the January transfer window, total spending for 2008 was around 675 million pounds compared to 531 million pounds the previous year.
