WHO said money doesn’t buy you success?
To stay at the top, the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City and PSG have spent vast pots of cash on new players.
Chelsea are the big spenders this summer having forked out £222million on the likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Ben Chilwell.
But out of all the big sides in Europe, who recorded the highest transfer window spend during a completed transfer window?
Let SunSport run you through the Top 10.
1. REAL MADRID (2019) £270M
Of course, Los Blancos top the list – thanks in part to the huge sum they spent on former Chelsea star Eden Hazard.
The Belgian playmaker signed for Real Madrid for £103m last summer.
He was one of many big-money signings as the La Liga side looked to regain the title from their rivals, Barcelona.
Among the other names were Luka Jovic (£54m), Eder Militao (£45m), Ferland Mendy (£43m) and Rodrygo (£40m).
Although they fell short in the Champions League, Zinedine Zidane’s side managed to win the Spanish title for the first time since 2017.
Eden Hazard led Real Madrid’s spending in 2019Credit: Reuters
2. PSG (2017) £252M
Under former Arsenal boss Unai Emery, the French giants recorded their biggest ever transfer window spend.
£198million brought in Neymar from Barcelona – as PSG hoped he would be the marquee signing to finally land the Champions League.
A loan fee was handed to Monaco for Kylian Mbappe, while Spanish left-back Yuri Berchiche arrived for £14million from Real Sociedad.
Signing-on-fees were negotiated for Dani Alves and Lassana Diarra too.
They won the league at a canter, but still can’t manage to win the elusive Champions League.
PSG spent £198million on NeymarCredit: Reuters
3. REAL MADRID (2009) £230M
As like their biggest ever effort, it was one man who took a sizeable chunk out of Real Madrid’s 2009 transfer budget.
Ronaldo’s £85million move from Manchester United stole the headlines that summer.
He was accompanied by Brazilian ace Kaka for £60million, and they were to form a dream attacking trio with Karim Benzema – a £32million arrival from Lyon.
Liverpool’s Xabi Alonso also signed from Liverpool for £31million, in what was a remarkable summer to be a Real Madrid fan.
Unbelievably, they finished second in the league and were knocked out by Lyon in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Cristiano Ronaldo was Real Madrid’s big signing in 2009Credit: Getty – Contributor
4. JUVENTUS (2018) £229M
It’s that man again – driving up transfer spends for clubs.
When Ronaldo left Real Madrid in 2018 for Juventus, it was the end of an era.
The Italian side hoped the five-times Champions League-winner would help them lift that coveted trophy, and parted with £105million for his services.
Other big transfers saw Joao Cancelo arrive from Valencia for £36m, Douglas Costa for the same fee, and Leonardo Bonucci return to the club for £32million.
Juventus won Serie A under Massimiliano Allegri that season, but fell in the quarter finals of the Champions League.
Juventus paid £105m for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018Credit: Getty – Contributor
5. MAN CITY (2017) £222M
In his first season at Manchester City, Pep Guardiola failed to win a trophy for his new club.
So what did he do? He spent big.
Full-backs Benjamin Mendy (£52m) and Kyle Walker (£47m) arrived.
As did midfielder Bernardo Silva for £45million.
The problem goalkeeper position was also addressed with Ederson arriving for £36million.
They finished the season with 100 points as champions.
Kyle Walker was one of many big money signings in 2017Credit: PA:Empics Sport
6. BARCELONA (2017) £194M
The Catalan giants are known big spenders, but only feature once on this list.
In 2017, they went large on two blockbuster summer signings.
Philippe Coutinho arrived for £105million, while Ousmane Dembele cost £89million.
It’s fair to say, both have failed to live up to expectations and haven’t justified their transfer fees.
However, the cost of the transfers was offset by the departure of Neymar to PSG that year.
Ousmane Dembele’s signing caused much fanfare in BarcelonaCredit: AFP or licensors
7. MAN CITY (2015) £185M
Even before Guardiola’s arrival Manchester City were big players in the transfer window.
Under Manuel Pellegrini they weren’t afraid to splash the cash, and spent an incredible £185million in the summer transfer window of 2015.
Kevin De Bruyne arrived from Wolfsburg for £68million, Raheem Sterling was a £57million signing from Liverpool, while Valencia’s Nicolas Otamendi was a £40million addition to the squad.
It turned out to be a disappointing season for City, who finished fourth in the Premier League.
It cost Pellegrini his job.
Kevin De Bruyne was a £68m signing for Man City in 2015Credit: Getty Images – Getty
8. CHELSEA (2017) £183M
After leading Chelsea to a Premier League title win in his first season, Italian boss Antonio Conte was handed a sizeable trasnfer kitty by Roman Abramovich.
But you could argue it wasn’t spent well, at all.
Alvaro Morata came in for a fee of £59million, Tiemoue Bakayoko was a £40million signing from Monaco.
Add to that Danny Drinkwater for £34million, Antonio Rudiger for £31million and Davide Zappacosta for £19million.
Of all of those, only one of those is now a first team regular just three years on.
Alvaro Morata proved to be an expensive flop for ChelseaCredit: AFP or licensors
9. MAN UTD (2014) £174M
Louis Van Gaal was desperate to bring some success to Old Trafford after the club flailed under David Moyes.
In the summer of 2014, Angel Di Maria was the club’s blockbuster signing for £68million from Real Madrid.
Left-back Luke Shaw was also bought from Southampton for £34million, as well as Ander Herrera for £32million from Athletic Bilbao.
Other notable signings included £18million spent on Marco Rojo and a loan fee believed to be worth £7million for Falcao.
On paper, these signings looked good. In reality, United limped to a fourth place finish in the Premier League and finished 2014-15 without a trophy.
Louis Van Gaal pinned his hopes on Angel Di MariaCredit: EPA
10. AC MILAN (2017) £172M
An unlikely entrant considering the club’s recent woes.
Vincenzo Montella had hoped to bring back the good times at A.C. Milan, buying a host of top talents for a whopping £172million.
Leonardo Bonucci was seen as the solution to their defensive woes for £38million.
Andre Silva arrived from Porto for £34million with a reputation as the next golden boy of Portuguese football.
Set-piece specialist Hakan Calhanoglu arrived for £21million from Bayer Leverkusen, and Andrea Conti from Atalanta for £22million, among others like Lucas Biglia, Mateo Musacchio and, Ricardo Rodriguez.
A bad start saw Montella sacked just three months into the season.
Milan finished sixth and won nothing. Being big spenders doesn’t always guarantee success.
Leonardo Bonucci failed to inspire a return to form for A.C. MilanCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Roman Abramovich gives Chelsea green light to mega £150m transfer splurge on Chilwell, Havertz and Rice
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
