Biggest spenders of the 2026 summer transfer window

The summer transfer window for the big five European leagues closed with intense activity and record sums, driven in part by the World Cup's calendar which pushed many clubs to finalise business in the final hours.

Who spent the most

Chelsea completed the Premier League's most expensive single signing in the last moments of the market, bringing in Enzo Fernández for 140.000.000 euros plus 20.000.000 euros in add-ons — a fee that overtook the Alexander Isak move from Newcastle to Liverpool as the league record.

Manchester City were among the busiest clubs overall after Pep Guardiola's departure: they recorded nine incoming and nine outgoing transfers and became the season's biggest spenders, committing 526.200.000 euros on new players. Player sales brought in 337.000.000 euros, leaving City with a net outlay of 189.000.000 euros.

Chelsea themselves spent 406.700.000 euros on 10 new signings but also sold 12 players for a combined 447.800.000 euros, ending the window with a net positive balance of 41.000.000 euros.

Tottenham rank third on the list after disbursing 336.350.000 euros for five recruits; sales of 11 players generated 164.250.000 euros. Close behind were Newcastle with 336.350.000 euros and Aston Villa with 300.000.000 euros — the Villa figure producing a net profit of 60.000.000 euros thanks largely to the departures of Morgan Rogers, Ezri Konsa, Ollie Watkins and Youri Tielemans.

Liverpool again opened the wallet, spending 264.600.000 euros on five new players this summer, with Bradley Barcola the club's most expensive arrival. Arsenal appear in seventh with 227.100.000 euros spent, followed by Real Madrid on 225.000.000 euros for four signings.

Two surprises complete the top ten: Ipswich, who invested heavily to bolster their squad with 14 new players and spent 220.650.000 euros, and Barcelona, which spent 184.000.000 euros on recruits.

Photo: press material from the event