5 clubs that spent the most money on transfers in a single season
The transfer market has seen some mind-numbing numbers spent over the last decade or so.
The market has been inflated ever since Paris Saint-Germain signed Neymar for more than £200 million from Barcelona in 2017. Although clubs try to observe economic discipline, the thirst for success and trophies has often preceded it.
Hence, it should not come as a surprise that multiple clubs have spent over €200 million on transfers in a single season since the 2017-18 campaign. Oddly enough, PSG are not part of that top-five list as other clubs have splashed the cash far more in the last five years.
On that note, let's take a look at 5 clubs that have spent the most on transfers in a single season.
#5 Barcelona (2019-20) | £262 million
Barcelona have been one of the most successful clubs in world football over the last two decades and have signed some of the best players during that period.
However, their success was always built around the players they promoted from their La Masia academy. This strategy, however, was slightly abandoned in the better part of the last decade years during Josep Bartomeu's reign as president of the club.
Hence, it is no surprise that they spent extragavant sums of money without really allowing a manager to build his own squad.
The 2019-20 season was one such example of when the club £262 million on transfers over the course of the two windows. A major chunk was spent on the signings of Antoine Griezmann (£107 million) from Atletico Madrid while also luring in Frenkie de Jong (£80 million) from AFC Ajax.
Apart from that, the club also signed Neto, Martin Braithwaite, Pedri, Junior Firpo, Marc Cucurella and Matheus Fernandes during that season. The campaign, however, went poorly, with the team failing to win a trophy and exiting the UEFA Champions League after a 8-2 humbling against Bayern Munich.
Their expenditure that summer also added to their financial problems, which the club continue to suffer from today.
To put things into perspective, Pedri and De Jong are the only two players still at the club, with the latter also reportedly close to leaving last summer. Barcelona failed to prioritize quality over quantity three years ago but have now seemed to learn their lesson.
#4 Manchester City (2017-18) | £280 million
Manchester City have become one of the powerhouses in English football over the last decade or so. They have won the Premier League title five times in the last six seasons, while also winning numerous cups.
A large part of the club's success is down to Pep Guardiola, who arrived at the Etihad in 2016. Although his first season in charge did not bring any silverware, the Spanish manager understood the players he needed to sign for the following campaign.
Hence, City opened their cheque book and shelled £280 million over the two windows of the 2017-18 season.
A large part of that money was spent on acquiring quality defenders, especially those who knew how to play out from the back. Kyle Walker (£53 million), Benjamin Mendy (£52 million) and Danilo (£26.5 million) were signed in the summer.
Ederson (£35 million) was also signed after Claudio Bravo's shoddy performances in the previous campaign. Aymeric Laporte (£57 million) was added in January as well. Another big signing for the club that season was the addition of Bernardo Silva (£43 million) from AS Monaco.
Hence, the club spent big that season and Guardiola paid back that genorosity by winning the Premier League title as Manchester City clocked 100 points. Many of these players are still at the club and most have justified their price tags.
#3 Real Madrid (2019-20) | £314 million
Real Madrid are the home of Los Galaticos but the club have not splashed the cash in the transfer market for over three seasons now. That could be because the last time they did, it did not work out well for Los Blancos.
In the summer of 2019, after a disastrous season following the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane, the club decided to sign some big names. The biggest of them was the acquisition of Eden Hazard from Chelsea in a deal which was worth £130 million, including add-ons.
The La Liga side also brought in Luka Jovic from Eintracht Frankfurt for £52.4 million after a good Bundesliga and Europa League campaign.
However, both players failed to impress at the club. Jovic has since joined ACF Fiorentina, while Hazard's contract runs out next summer. The Belgian's injury issues have limited him to only 73 games over the last four years.
Apart from these two deals, Real Madrid also made some clever signings in the form of Eder Militao (£43.5 million), Ferland Mendy (£47 million) & Rodrygo (£40 million). These three signings have worked out, with all three playing key roles in the club's La Liga and UEFA Champions League success last season.
#2 Barcelona (2017-18) | £335 million
Barcelona are the only side to feature twice on this list, which may not surprise many given the financial ruins they find themselves in at the moment.
After Neymar Jr.'s blockbuster £200 million-plus move in 2017, Barcelona had cash to burn in the transfer market. They did not wait to replace him as they signed Ousmane Dembele for £135 million, including £38 milllion in add-ons.
The club signed Paulinho in the same summer for £36 million before also bringing in Nelson Semedo from SL Benfica for just over £26 million. Gerard Deulofeu and Marlon were also added for minimal fees.
Bartomeu's Barcelona spent €648m on signing Coutinho, Dembélé, Paulinho, Semedo, Deulofeu, Malcom, Griezmann, Frenkie de Jong, Braithwaite, Neto, Firpo, Emerson and Cucurella in the span of two seasons.
— @TheAthletic https://t.co/t00b7U4C5s
However, Barcelona's transfer business for the 2017-18 campaign did not end there as they spent big again in the winter window as well. The Spanish side shelled out £146 million to capture Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool, while Yerry Mina also joined for £10.5 million.
None of the above mentioned players ever ended up performing to their potential, barring Dembele, who has blown hot and cold over the last six years. Paulinho, however, did well in the one season he spent in Catalonia, helping Barcelona win La Liga and the Copa del Rey that season before returning to China.
#1 Chelsea (2022-23) | £552 million
Chelsea, through their ridiculous spending this season, have blown everybody away on this list. Todd Boehly & Co. acquired the club nearly nine months ago and have not waited to dramatically change things at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues, who have traditionally spent big, splashed more than £250 million in the summer. This included the signings of Wesley Fofana (£75 million), Kalidou Koulibaly (£33 million), Raheem Sterling (£47.5 million), Marc Cucurella (£55 million) and a bunch of youngsters.
The American owners had a larger plan in mind this January and showed their intentions almost instantaneoulsy. Benoit Badiashile (£35 million), David Datro Fofana (£8 million) & Andrey Santos (£12.5 million) were signed in the first week of January itself.
They then pulled out the big guns by hijacking Arsenal's move for Mykhailo Mudryk and paid £62 million for the Ukrainian.
Chelsea spent €329 million in the January transfer window, more than every single club in Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 combined.
Let's take a look at each of the signings in Chelsea's historic window: https://t.co/yuI79z3P6B
However, the Blues saved their best signing for the last as they completed a British record transfer (£105 million) for Enzo Fernandez on deadline day. The move also made the 22-year-old World Cup winner the most expensive midfielder in history.
All in all, Chelsea have spent £552 million this season and this is without including any add-ons.
Hence, it is no surprise that the FFP rules are set to be tightened, with many clubs continuing to find loopholes to accommodate their large-scale spending.