Premier League, Ligue 1... The staggering numbers behind the summer transfer window | OneFootball

Bryan Mbeumo

Two days after the transfer window slammed shut across Europe’s top five leagues, it’s time to break down the numbers.

The Premier League continues to operate at a pace all its own, fueled by colossal revenues but plagued by an unprecedented budget imbalance. With €3.59 billion spent, the Premier League once again left its rivals trailing in its wake. Liverpool (€482.9M), Chelsea (€328.1M), Arsenal (€293.5M), Newcastle (€288.8M), Manchester United (€250.7M), Nottingham Forest (€236.9M), Tottenham (€210.6M), and Manchester City (€206.9M) occupy the top eight spots among the summer’s biggest spenders.

The arrivals of Alexander Isak (€145M), Florian Wirtz (€125M), Hugo Ekitike (€95M), and Nick Woltemade (€85M) confirm the undiminished appeal of a league that remains the engine of transfer market inflation. Arsenal (–€283.2M), Liverpool (–€263.4M), Manchester United (–€176.5M), and Manchester City (–€136.4M) are digging financial chasms, yet their dominance remains unshaken. As long as TV rights and commercial revenues keep the machine running, the Premier League will stay in a league of its own, immune to the financial balancing acts seen elsewhere.

Behind England, two clear blocs have emerged. Ligue 1 (+€344.7M), the Jupiler Pro League (+€217.6M), the Bundesliga (+€181.2M), and the Eredivisie (+€143.2M) all posted strongly positive balances. Monaco (+€103.57M), Stuttgart (+€76.65M), Nice (+€74.07M), Lille (+€71.6M), Eintracht Frankfurt (+€69.6M), and Olympique Lyonnais (+€69.12M) stand out among the clubs generating the largest capital gains.

Conversely, other leagues ended the window deep in the red: Serie A (–€81.6M), La Liga (–€46.9M), the Süper Lig (–€160.3M), and especially the Roshn Saudi League (–€341.9M) all finished with significant deficits. These leagues continue to spend heavily—though nowhere near Premier League levels—without managing to balance those outgoings with sales. Their clubs buy to stay relevant, but haven’t yet managed to generate the opposite financial flows.

This summer also saw some unprecedented cases. Galatasaray shook up the Turkish market, spending €148M and posting a deficit of over €130M—a scenario never before seen on such a scale in the league.