Rodrygo, Gyökeres, Rashford, Ekitike, Mbeumo, and Luis Díaz are among the big deals yet to be finalized in the prime of the summer transfer window. The major leagues are already approaching €3.2 billion, with the Premier League and Liverpool dominating.
After that initial window, driven by the Club World Cup, which saw the likes of Reijnders, Cherki, Huijsen, Gabri Veiga, and Trent parade through, the transfer market is heating up, with numerous cases awaiting resolution and an invaluable influx of money waiting in the wings . The Premier League, Liverpool, and Real Madrid, in that order, appear to be the main drivers of a summer window in which the top five leagues set a spending limit of €5.29 billion. Currently, the transfer market stands at €3.198 billion.
Premier League: Rodrygo, Mbeumo, Ekitike, Gyökeres, the operation leaving United and Chelsea...
Spending ceiling for the 2024/25 season: €2.88 billion.
Revenue ceiling for the 2024/25 season : €1.81 billion.
Spending in the current market : €1.62 billion.
Revenue in the current market : €833.84 million
Most expensive signing and sale : Florian Wirtz (€125M) / Matheus Cunha (€75M).
Biggest spending team : Chelsea (€243M)
As has been the norm for more than two decades, pounds sterling dominates the global football economy, with the Premier League already the epicenter of this summer transfer market. Driven by factors such as the distribution of its vast television rights and its brand appeal, it is the league that spends the most (€1.62 billion) and earns the most (€833.84 million) . Not only does it boast the most expensive signing of the summer currently, and the one that is expected to remain so on August 31, Florian Wirtz's transfer to Liverpool for a fixed fee of €136 million , the jewel in its crown.
Their accounts also reflect up to eight signings that break the €50 million barrier : Reijnders (from Milan to Manchester City; €55M), Madueke (from Chelsea to Arsenal; €55.40M), Elanga (from Nottingham Forest to Newcastle; €61.40M), João Pedro (from Brighton to Chelsea, €63.70M), Kudus (from West Ham to Tottenham; €63.8M), Jamie Binoe-Gittens (from Borussia Dortmund to Chelsea; €64.30M), Martín Zubimendi (from Real Sociedad to Arsenal; €70M) and Matheus Cunha (from Wolverhampton to Manchester United; €74.20M).
Although structural signings like Kerkez and Frimpong have raised Liverpool's spending to €213 million, Chelsea, on the other hand, are the main drivers of the English league . Of particular note are the nearly €100 million invested in goals, in João Pedro and Liam Delap (signed from Ipswich Town for €35 million), and in the umpteenth dribbler: Gittens. Seven new signings and €243 million likely to increase. Rounding out the domestic spending podium are Manchester City's €145 million and its five summer signings. Although it should be noted that, due to contextual constraints, they invested up to €212 million last winter transfer window.
Their English financial muscle has even allowed newly promoted teams like Sunderland to spend close to €115 million, or for the big dishes of this market to be expected on their menu . We are talking about Hugo Ekitike , for whom Liverpool will pay close to €95 million to Eintracht Frankfurt after refusing to pay the €140 million that Newcastle were demanding for Alexander Isak , who looks set to remain a Magpie . This will be the Reds ' third move to Germany , which has become their primary hunting ground, and will put the finishing touch to a €300 million investment.
The definition of the French striker's portfolio, with interconnected transactions, looks set to be the shockwave that accelerates other operations. Arsenal and Manchester United, a last-minute bidder out of desperation, are vying for Viktor Gyökeres . The Gunners, who seemed to have the Swede tied down for a fee close to €70 million, including variables, also have one of the biggest games of this market with Liverpool: the signing of Rodrygo Goes . If he ends up with Liverpool, it could boost the champions' investment to €400 million, an unprecedented feat in the Premier League. The cards are still face down in this game, awaiting developments. The departure of Gabriel Martinelli or Luis Díaz could be that trigger.
Manchester United, in one of the most critical moments in its history, faces a strategic market in which it has decided to invest €80 million in Bryan Mbeumo , the Premier League's leading scorer (third, with 20 goals at Brentford), after setting aside €75 million for Cunha. However, at Old Trafford, after the fruitless outlay of €700 million over the last three years, they are aware of the importance of getting an exit deal right, with Alejandro Garnacho , with his fate still to be determined, and Antony or Rashford on their way to LaLiga. Chelsea's exit door, currently with 45 federation players, is another one that Financial Fair Play requires to be widened.
Serie A: Cesc Fabregas and Jadon Sancho, the names
Spending ceiling for the 2024/25 season: €1.29 billion.
Revenue ceiling for the 2024/25 season : €919 million.
Spending in the current market : €558 million.
Revenue in the current market: €485 million.
Most expensive signing and sale : Nico González (€28 M) / Tijjani Reijnders (€55 M).
Biggest spending team : Como (€101M).
That Como, debuting in the Calcio last season, is the main driving force of the Italian transfer market (more than €100 million spent on up to nine signings) and that the highest outlay has come from an obligation to buy (Nico González, from Fiorentina to Juventus for €28 million), highlights the low profile of a championship in which no major operations are expected , far from the opulence of past decades, beyond the imminent arrival of Jadon Sancho at Juventus for around €20 million.
Added to this is Como's interest in Morata (while waiting for Osimhen to become Galata 's property ), Inter's interest in Lookman , and Roma's interest in Evan Ferguson . The sale of Reijnders from Milan to Manchester City (€55 million) and the arrival of Noa Lang (€25 million to PSV) to Napoli, whose star transfer is the free transfer of De Bruyne, are the most expensive moves so far.
Bundesliga: Bayern wake up
Spending ceiling for the 2024/25 season: €797 million
Revenue ceiling for the 2024/25 season : €699 million
Expenses in the current market : €455 million
Revenue in the current market : €442 million
Most expensive signing and sale: Jarell Quansah (€35M) / Florian Wirtz (€125M).
Biggest spending team : Bayer Leverkusen (€101M).
The Bavarian giant's offices are bustling with activity, in its mission to retain its championship dominance. After a quiet transfer window (barely €3 million for Jonathan Tah and Tom Bischoff to play in the Club World Cup), Luis Díaz is now looming on the Allianz Arena horizon . Almost €70 million is the key. If Nick Woltemade , the league's latest big-name product who remains on Atlético de Madrid's wish list and for whom Stuttgart is demanding €65 million, making him the most expensive sale in the league among German clubs, doesn't arrive, their investment won't reach three figures, as it has been accustomed to over the past four years.
The Colombian's signing for Bayern, his particular coup and the glittering operation of this market in Germany, will mean another transfer of money between England and Germany, where an unparalleled bridge of millions is being forged, with Liverpool as its own name. Thus, Leverkusen, now without Xabi Alonso, has already invested €101 million of the more than €150 million it has received for Wirtz and Frimpong , and hopes to continue doing so. Behind them, Leipzig (€92 million) and Borussia Dortmund (€57 million) complete the podium in a German league that is the big surprise on this list, surpassing LaLiga. The magnifying glass is on the exits, in Leipzig, with Benjamin Sesko and Xavi Simons , who is also expected in the Premier League in a transfer that is expected to reach €50-60 million, underlined in bright colors .
La Liga: Barça's Plan C and Real Madrid's 'brain'
Spending ceiling for the 2024/25 season : €588 million
Revenue ceiling for the 2024/25 season : €657 million
Spending in the current market : €379 million
Revenue in the current market : €359 million
Most expensive signing and sale : Dean Huijsen (€62.5M) / Martín Zubimendi (€70M).
The team that spends the most : Real Madrid (€167 million)
Following Atlético de Madrid's push in the last week to address their lack of creativity in midfield, condensing the signings of Thiago Almada (€21 million) and Johnny Cardoso (€24 million) , the Atlético de Madrid team's spending has surpassed the €100 million mark (€107 million) for the second consecutive summer. All this is without finalizing the signing of a key player for Simeone, with Piero Hincapié (Bayer Leverkusen) in pole position given Tottenham's inflexibility in lowering the €70 million they are demanding for Cuti Romero. Furthermore, Jesús Areso, who Athletic Club are also keen on, is awaiting a call from the Atlético de Madrid side.
Although Real Madrid's €167 million, following cautious investment over the last five years, continues to lead the spending category , currently set at €379 million. In fact, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid account for almost three-quarters of LaLiga's spending, the fourth biggest spender after the Premier League, Serie A and the Bundesliga before the transfer window, with several latent hierarchical fronts.
For example, a centre-back (or rather, Konaté, if Liverpool are open to negotiations ) and a creative midfielder (Stiller, MacAllister, Nico Paz, etc.) for Xabi Alonso . Flick, on the other hand, already has his main request ( Rashford , a hybrid winger-striker after the "no" to Nico Williams and the high price of Luis Díaz) and is also on the lookout for bargains or opportunities like that of Denzel Dumfries due to his recurring problems in signing up to the 1:1 rule and being able to sign normally (investing the money he earns). Thus, Ter Stegen's departure will be another of the league's soap operas. There are no great expectations in the middle class of the Spanish league, with less economic muscle in recent years. In fact, Sevilla, Athletic, Girona, and Real Sociedad have yet to break the bank.
France: waiting for PSG
With PSG moving away from bling-bling , the term for luxury and opulence used by Al Khelaïfi two years ago, the league that spends the least of the Big Five is looking at Strasbourg, seventh in the table, as the most extravagant . In fact, it's the only one with a positive balance at the moment. It sells almost twice as much as it invests , consolidating itself as an export league and one in which, like Italy, not much significant activity is expected.
Behind them is Olympique Marseille, which, with Rowe, has undertaken its most lucrative domestic deal to date. Having signed Kvicha Kvaratskhelia (€70 million) in the last winter transfer window, unlocking the deal for Ukrainian Ilya Zabarnyi , Huijsen's defensive partner at Bournemouth, is seen as the most significant, provided Gonçalo Ramos doesn't leave, which would force PSG to look for a replacement if they deem it appropriate. Kang-in Lee, Marquinhos, and Donnarumma also aren't guaranteed a place in the club. They shouldn't touch what works; they'll be thinking about the winner of the treble. Meanwhile, the market ticks...