MADRID: Top Spanish clubs splashed out 477 million euros on new players during the summer transfer window, more than half of which was spent by Real Madrid, according to tally by a Spanish newspaper today.

But the total is still less than the 504 million shelled out by English Premier League sides, El Mundo said, one day after the official close of the transfer season. Real and Barcelona accounted for more than 75 per cent of the transfer fees in Spain’s Primera Liga, the paper said.

Real paid Manchester United a world record 94 million euros for Cristiano Ronaldo, part of a record 250 million they spent on new players, including Kaka, Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso. They also sold a number of players —notably Dutchmen Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar — for a combined fee of 93 million, sports newspapers AS and Marca said.

Spanish and European champions Barcelona forked out 110 million euros. Barca chairman Joan Laporta claims the club spent 80 million but Spanish media said the real amount is 110 million as Samuel Eto’o left for Inter Milan in part exchange for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Both Real and Barca have announced record budgets of more than 400 million euros for the 2009-10 season.

In Europe, the only English club in the

same league was Manchester City, which

spent 140 million euros, El Mundo said. After the English and Spanish leagues came Italy’s Serie A, where clubs paid 422 million euros

for new players this summer, the French

first division (245 million) and the German Bundesliga (220 million).