The summer transfer window is approaching its final stretch. Over the next two weeks, all remaining deals that have yet to be completed due to various important reasons will be finalized. Among these will undoubtedly be some major, high-profile transfers. Even without those, it’s already clear that we are witnessing the most expensive football summer in history.
In all the leading European leagues, the transfer window remains open until early September. However, most clubs typically aim to resolve their squad issues by mid-August, ensuring they have a fully assembled team with some time to gel before the season kicks off. So, what do we have so far?
We are seeing something unprecedented in transfer history: four deals have already surpassed the €100 million mark. Here’s the list. Morgan Rogers moved from Aston Villa to Chelsea for €138 million. Elliot Anderson transferred from Nottingham Forest to Manchester City for €135 million. Yan Diomande switched from RB Leipzig to Real Madrid for €125 million. And Sandro Tonali joined Tottenham from Newcastle for €108 million. One might consider adding Mateusz Fernandes’s move to Tottenham for €99 million to this list, as it’s practically a hundred million, but for the sake of precision, we won’t include it.
In the all-time list of the most expensive transfers, this remarkable quartet ranks 5th, 6th, 10th, and 20th respectively. At the top, as we all recall, is Neymar, who moved from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2017 for a staggering €222 million. Second is Kylian Mbappé, bought by PSG from Monaco a year later for €180 million. Neymar’s record appears untouchable, at least logically—paying such sums for even the top players is generally unfeasible and doesn’t pay off. But logic didn’t factor into that deal—it was purely a branding project, a media sensation, and a demonstration of financial power. It’s not impossible that someone might one day break this record driven by the desire to showcase their might, but nearly ten years on, no one has.
Interestingly, despite making the two biggest football purchases in history, PSG has not crossed the €100 million threshold since then. This challenges stereotypes about the Parisian club being a reckless spender. If anyone deserves that label, it’s Chelsea. The London club features five players in the “€100 million and above” list: Morgan Rogers, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo, Romelu Lukaku, and Kai Havertz. Their combined transfer fees amount to €588 million. That’s a staggering scale.
Another intriguing detail: only a select few clubs can afford such expensive signings, and not even every top club is among them. Notably absent are giants like Bayern Munich, AC Milan, and Inter Milan. Over the years, there have been just 23 transfers exceeding €100 million, carried out by only 11 clubs across 5 countries. It’s a very exclusive group.
Returning to this summer, the sheer number of high-value transfers (four) is unprecedented. Previously, the maximum was three deals over €100 million in a single transfer season (in the summers of 2017 and 2019). And this might not be the limit. In the coming days, players like Bradley Barcola, Julian Alvarez, or even Ayoub Bouaddi could cross the €100 million mark. Predicting such moves is difficult, but even if the number remains at four, it’s already a record.
Moving on, the 10th most expensive transfer this season is Jérémy Doku, who joined Liverpool from Rennes for €63 million. That’s a very high figure for the 10th spot. For comparison, in the wild summer of 2017, Nemanja Matic occupied 10th place with €44 million. However, there have been three summers—2019, 2023, and last year 2025—where the 10th spot featured even higher amounts, around €70 million. But this summer is not over yet. If at least three more deals of €75 million or more are completed (which is very likely), the 10th place will be held by Gonzalo Ramush’s €74 million transfer from PSG to Milan, setting another record.
Why has there been such a financial surge? Several explanations exist, but the most logical is the new Squad Cost Ratio rules in the Premier League, which tie spending on squads to revenues rather than fixed losses. Amortization of transfers (spreading the cost over contract years) combined with immediate accounting of profits from player sales allows clubs to handle large sums without breaching regulations instantly. This has freed English clubs’ hands, with others forced to follow suit.
Additionally, other factors play a role, such as media moguls searching for new expensive faces amid a generational shift in football. The influence of the FIFA Club World Cup, with its enormous prize money, also enables clubs to plan for higher spending levels in the future.
In any case, this summer has truly become the most expensive in football history—and possibly only for one year. Summer 2027 might prove to be even more extravagant.
