Summer exodus?

The summer transfer window looks more like a drain this year, and it runs directly into the Real Madrid changing room. No sooner has Ronaldo finished upstaging Kaka with a welcoming party of 80,000 fans who collectively love him almost as much as he does, than Man Utd's chief target Karim Benzema signs up for £30m, and reveals he snubbed United in the process. Fiorentino Perez' concentration of talent at the Bernabeu is noisily redrawing the European footballing balance of power, and it leaves the Premiership looking a little less sparkly than it's supposed to. Michael Owen to Manchester looks like a smart piece of business for both parties, and Valencia is a solid buy, but but neither has diverted attention from the fact that Sir Alex has £80m in the bank and no-one to spend it on. Which is ultimately a touch embarrassing.

The rest of the big four have either been snubbed, or preoccupied with hanging onto their remaining stars. Chelsea's fruitless pursuit of Pato, Pirlo and Ribery tells its own story - today they are a club with clout, but not one that many boys grow up dreaming of playing for. And the best of the few that did, John Terry, looks like he might hoof off to Man City for a payday even Abramovich would baulk at. Benitez has been reduced to crabbing about Gareth Barry doing much the same, and fending off Spanish overtures for Alonso and Mascherano. Arsene Wenger looked like he might finally concede something to experience this year, but his reluctance to invest in a marquee signing to bolster a talented but apparently restless young squad may yet see his prized assets go the way of Mathieu Flamini.

Whatever one thinks of their dominance, the big four's recent ability to attract the finest foreign players has driven the Premier League's development into the biggest and best league in the world. This one way traffic away from England means that unless new stars emerge to cushion the loss of the old, La Liga will reassert itself as European football's premier stage.