Ferrari won the deadline with the Lewis Hamilton deal, but Kobbie Mainoo showed the Premier League it's not just about money
Nobody, and we repeat, nobody, expected Ferrari to win on transfer deadline day.
But that was somehow the case, as the legendary says Formula 1 poached team Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes for the story of the day.
On February 1, Premier League teams were supposed to close the final deals that would change the season, but from 10am onwards, when stories emerged from Spain about Hamilton, the headlines went in a very different direction.
The sport's most successful driver has now partnered with the sport's most successful team, completing a groundbreaking deal for the 2025 season.
Meanwhile, in the world of football we are left with little or nothing.
Hamilton's move apparently came thanks to two regulation changes, one set in 2022 that will slow down Mercedes and another set in 2026 that could well speed up Ferrari.
By contrast, in football, we can also thank a rule change for the slowest window in recent history.
The Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) were introduced in 2013, and a decade into their effect they are being fully felt.
Everton They have already faced a ten-point deduction and could face another, while Nottingham Forest have joined them in the accusation.
Several teams are feeling the pressure, specifically manchester unitedstopping spending this winter after years of shameless splurges.
3
January spending (Premier League)
2019/20: £230 million
2020/21: £70 million
2021/22: £295 million
2022/23: £815 million
2023/24: £100 million
Just a year ago, the English top flight spent a scandalous record £815m, almost half of which came from Chelsea alone.
However, this year Premier League clubs spent just £100m in one of the quietest transfer windows in living memory.
The biggest deal was the £26.7m transfer of Radu Dragusin from Genoa to Tottenham, more than a quarter of the total amount spent by the 20 teams.
Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool and Manchester United did not make any additions, while Manchester City's £12.5m signing Claudio Echeverri was loaned outright to River Plate.
Crystal Palace and Aston Villa were the only teams to work hard on deadline day, with the former signing Adam Wharton from Blackburn for up to £22m and the latter landing Morgan Rogers from Middlesbrough for £15m.
However, neither agreement had much impact, especially compared to Hamilton.
In fact, one of the most interesting stories of Deadline Day was that of former Manchester United star Jesse Lingard closing in on a surprise move to South Korea's FC Seoul.
However, the Premier League had an ace up its sleeve, making up for a below-average deadline day with a potential game of the season.
3
Manchester United twice gave up a two-goal lead against Wolves, with Pedro Neto leaving Erik ten Hag's side in tatters in the fifth minute of added time.
Kobbie Mainoo However, he had other ideas, and the academy graduate stepped forward seconds later to win the game with a wonder and become the football story of the night.
Oh, and how much did it cost? Very squat.
