West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has said that he is surprised by the spending made by Premier league clubs in this transfer window despite the presence of the UEFA financial fair play regulations. The regulations were introduced by UEFA in 2009 so as to bring some sense into the football world.

Club have consistently spent more money than their revenues. This expenditure was primarily in the areas of transfer fees and wages. This led to several clubs like Portsmouth going to the brink of nonexistence. The FFP does not allow clubs to spend more than a certain amount of money over the course of three years.

If clubs are found to not abide by this rule, then they could be thrown away from the Champions league. However, despite this rule being in existence, clubs like Manchester city have spent close to £ 100 million already in the transfer window. This is something that is surprising according to Allardyce. Chelsea have also spent a decent amount of money, while United could be set for a spending spree if Rooney departs the club before the end of the transfer window. Liverpool have also brought in a number of players in the hope of getting back into the top four.
Allardyce, for his part, has brought in Andy Carroll for £ 15 million from Liverpool.

“What surprises me is how it has fitted into the new (financial fair play) system, because I am told the new system is to restrict wage spending, so if the wages are low and the transfer fees high, I heard that does not matter too much. But I think those who are spending that type of money are doing so because they have increased the revenue which is coming in via the TV money that has gone up,” said Allardyce.