It has been a summer transfer window of excess for the haves and one of poverty for the have-nots, and for the first time since the signing of Nicolas Anelka, there isn't a single Real Madrid transfer within the top 10 most expensive deals in world football.
Whilst Los Blancos made a staggeringly high offer for Kylian Mbappe, the Spanish giants endured a window of cost-cutting and sales with the arrival of highly rated midfielder, Eduardo Camavinga, being the only notable senior arrival.
Much of this economising from Florentino Perez has been down to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the continued costs of redeveloping the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
The 117 million euros spent on Jack Grealish by Manchester City and the 115 million euros paid by Chelsea to re-sign Romelu Lukaku have knocked Real Madrid off the list completely.
Gone are the days when Los Merengues dominated the list with Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo Nazario, then Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.
Nicolas Anelka became the most expensive signing in 1999, and that was the last time the Spanish giants didn't have a single player in the top 10.