Step over a billion. Spending by Big Five clubs on winter transfers has tripled in three years

Three times with 346.4 million euros to 1.11 billion in the same currency, the expenses of the TOP-5 European Championship clubs have increased over the past three seasons in winter transfer window. These are data from the Barcelona Sport Business Institute. According to analysts, this winter the Big Five clubs will may set a new record.

Winter 2020/2021 was the most modest in terms of transfer spending. €346 million across five leagues is almost as much as Chelsea spent two years later (more on that below). The most expensive transfer in that period was the transfer of Dominik Szoboszlai from Salzburg to Leipzig for 36 million euros (a year and a half later he would go to Liverpool for 70 million). It is noteworthy that that winter Szoboszlai became the only player whose transfer exceeded 30 million euros, and only five players cost their clubs 20 million euros or more.

In the winter of the 2021/2022 season, the most expensive transfer was the transfer of Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina to Juventus for 83.5 million euros. During that period, the transfers of six players cost the clubs 30 million euros or more. In total, the Big Five spent 748 million euros. Last winter, winter transfers crossed the billion mark.

At the same time, it should be taken into account that in the winter of the 2022/2023 season, Chelsea made a huge contribution to the final financial indicator of the TOP 5. The Blues spent almost 300 million euros on the purchase of new players – this is 39% of the figures for all clubs in the five leading European championships. The transfers of Badiashile, Mudrik and Fernandez alone cost Chelsea almost 230 million euros. At the same time, the transfers of eight players in the winter of the 2022/2023 season cost more than 30 million euros.

As researchers note, in the first part of the 2023/2024 season, many clubs in leading championships faced an epidemic of injuries, which could provoke them to become active in the transfer market.

At the moment, the most expensive winter transfer of the 2023/2024 season is the transfer of Atlético Paranaense forward Victor Roque to Barcelona. The transfer of the 18-year-old Brazilian cost the Catalan club 40 million euros. Besides Roque, two more players cost more than 20 million euros: Elif Elmas (transfer from Napoli to Leipzig for 24 million) and Lucas Berado (Sao Paulo – PSG).