Summer 2026 Transfer Window: Top Buyers and Sellers
By: AT
Image Credit: Colin Watts
See additional related source: FINAL DATA: Summer 2026 Transfer Tracker
Throughout the summer 2026 transfer window, clubs across Europe completed transfer deals to either enhance their squads or offload players who were deemed surplus to club managers’ plans. As mentioned in our Summer 2026 Transfer Tracker, this period is a perfect opportunity for football clubs to build their squads for the following reasons:
to shed salary;
to avoid relegation;
to qualify for a continental club competition for the following season; or
to win the league title or a continental title.
Our previous tracker on this topic tracked the transfer spending and revenue of clubs in Europe’s top five leagues, and the number of transactions — namely permanent transfers, free transfers, loans and player releases — completed by these clubs.
This article shows the amount that selected major clubs from each of Europe’s top five leagues spent and accumulated during the transfer window, as well as the top 10 spenders and top 10 sellers from these five leagues. The top five European leagues are the following:
Bundesliga (Germany);
LaLiga (Spain);
Ligue 1 (France);*
Premier League/EPL (England);** and
Serie A.
This article does not include data on permanent transfers containing undisclosed fees, free transfers, loan deals and player releases.
Selected European Clubs’ Transfer Spending, Revenues and Balances
The table below shows the transfer spending, revenues and balances of six clubs from each of the top five European leagues. The clubs indicated in the table are among the best and most-valuable clubs from those leagues.
| Certain European Clubs' Summer 2026 Transfer Balances (Millions, £) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| League (Country) | Club | Amount Spent | Amount Earned | Transfer Balance |
| Premier League (England) | Arsenal FC | £205.0 | £115.7 | -£89.3 |
| Chelsea FC | £340.4 | £400.7 | £60.3 | |
| Liverpool FC | £246.8 | £25.7 | -£221.1 | |
| Manchester City | £457.5 | £281.8 | -£175.7 | |
| Manchester United | £159.7 | £57.2 | -£102.5 | |
| Tottenham Hotspur | £311.5 | £155.5 | -£156.0 | |
| Serie A (Italy) | AC Milan | £134.7 | £39.4 | -£95.3 |
| AS Roma | £99.1 | £6.9 | -£92.2 | |
| Inter Milan | £71.2 | £19.2 | -£52.0 | |
| Juventus FC | £90.3 | £11.0 | -£79.3 | |
| SS Lazio | £2.6 | £28.2 | £25.6 | |
| SSC Napoli | £56.2 | £41.8 | -£14.4 | |
| LaLiga (Spain) | Athletic Club | £0.0 | £3.8 | £3.8 |
| Atlético Madrid | £122.8 | £55.3 | -£67.5 | |
| FC Barcelona | £158.3 | £73.2 | -£85.1 | |
| Real Madrid | £210.5 | £65.0 | -£145.5 | |
| Real Sociedad | £8.5 | £6.8 | -£1.7 | |
| Villarreal CF | £14.6 | £2.4 | -£12.2 | |
| Bundesliga (Germany) | Bayer Leverkusen | £138.1 | £119.4 | -£18.7 |
| Bayern Munich | £88.9 | £49.3 | -£39.6 | |
| Borussia Dortmund | £92.4 | £31.6 | -£60.8 | |
| RB Leipzig | £57.2 | £118.3 | £61.1 | |
| SC Freiburg | £36.5 | £69.7 | £33.2 | |
| VfB Stuttgart | £48.9 | £31.3 | -£17.6 | |
| Ligue 1 (France) | AS Monaco | £35.2 | £88.7 | £53.5 |
| LOSC Lille | £18.0 | £141.0 | £123.0 | |
| Olympique Lyonnais | £23.3 | £61.2 | £37.9 | |
| Olympique de Marseille | £0.0 | £70.7 | £70.7 | |
| Paris Saint-Germain | £141.1 | £300.2 | £159.1 | |
| RC Lens | £21.4 | £41.6 | £20.2 | |
Table last updated on September 27, 2026.
Source: The Guardian
Top 10 Spending Clubs
Data from the Summer 2026 Transfer Tracker demonstrate that this season’s 20 EPL clubs collectively spent the largest amount of money on signings compared to all other leagues during the transfer window. In total, they spent £3.4 million, of which the four top-spending clubs — Manchester City, Chelsea FC, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United, in descending order — spent £1.4 billion. Manchester City’s £457.5 million spending spree this transfer window constitutes the all-time highest amount that a club has spent in a single window.
Moreover, four other EPL clubs rank among the top 10 highest spenders in Europe, while the two other clubs from the cohort of 10 clubs compete in LaLiga.
Figure 1 presents the 10 clubs in Europe’s top five leagues that spent the largest amounts of money to sign players during the Summer 2026 transfer window.
Summer 2026 Transfers: Top 10 Spenders in Europe's Top Five Leagues (Millions, £)
Figure last updated on September 27, 2026.
Source: The Guardian
Top 10 Selling Clubs
Data from the Transfer Tracker indicate that the EPL clubs also collectively generated the highest transfer revenue compared to all other leagues during the Summer 2026 transfer window. Overall, these clubs raked in £2.1 billion during the transfer window. Seven EPL clubs are among the top 10 revenue-generating clubs. Chelsea and Aston Villa generated the highest and second-highest revenue, totalling £400.7 million and £316.6 million, respectively.
Among the eight other clubs, five compete in the EPL, two in Ligue 1 and one in Bundesliga.
Figure 2 shows the 10 clubs in Europe’s top five leagues that generated the highest revenue from player sales during the Summer 2026 transfer window.
Summer 2026 Transfers: Top 10 Sellers in Europe's Top Five Leagues (Millions, £)
Table last updated on September 27, 2026.
Source: The Guardian
* Ligue 1 includes AS Monaco, which are based in the Principality of Monaco.
** The Premier League (EPL) may include a number of clubs from Wales. These clubs, which currently participate in one of the English Football League’s top four divisions, include EFL Championship clubs Swansea City and Wrexham AFC, EFL League One club Cardiff City and EFL League Two club Newport County. That said, there are no Welsh clubs competing in the EPL for the 2025-26 season.
