Bayer Leverkusen was the only non-English representative in the top 10 clubs with the highest spending on player signings in the summer transfer window, which for the sixth consecutive time saw the Italian league in second place.
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Until Monday, the final day of the transfer market in Europe’s top five leagues on which Manchester United even dismissed Dutch coach Erik ten Hag after just three matches Bayer Leverkusen had spent 198.15 million euros, a record outlay in Bundesliga history. That figure made the German runners-up the ninth biggest-spending club worldwide.
Among Leverkusen’s 17 new signings were Malik Tillman (from PSV Eindhoven, €35m), Jarell Quansah (from Liverpool, €35m), Eliesse Ben Seghir (from Monaco, €32m), Ezequiel Fernández (from Al Qadsiah, €25m) and Loïc Badé (from Sevilla, €25m). They also added Lucas Vázquez on a free from Real Madrid and secured Claudio Echeverri on loan from Manchester City.
Leverkusen were behind three of the five biggest transfers in Germany, though the most expensive deal belonged to Bayern Munich, who paid €70m to Liverpool for Luis Díaz. The Colombian forward, formerly of FC Porto, joined the German champions who had dethroned Leverkusen in 2024/25. Díaz was one of only two players outside the Premier League radar to feature in the top ten transfers of the window. Another was Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen, whose loan to Galatasaray became permanent after the Turkish champions activated a €75m clause with Napoli.
Bayern themselves were busy, adding Nicolás Jackson on loan from Chelsea (€16.5m), Jonathan Tah from Leverkusen (€2m), and Tom Bischof from Hoffenheim (€300k). However, they also oversaw a series of high-profile departures: club legend Thomas Müller left for Vancouver Whitecaps, Mathys Tel joined Tottenham permanently for €35m, Kingsley Coman moved to Al Nassr for €25m, Leroy Sané signed with Galatasaray, while Eric Dier and João Palhinha headed to Monaco and Tottenham, respectively.
The Bavarians ranked only fourth in Bundesliga spending, behind Borussia Dortmund (€99.7m) and RB Leipzig (€136m). Dortmund strengthened with Jobe Bellingham (€30.5m from Sunderland) and Fábio Silva (€22.5m from Wolves). Leipzig, despite missing out on European competitions, brought in Conrad Harder (€24m from Sporting), Rômulo (€20m from Göztepe), Yan Diomande (€20m from Leganés) and Johan Bakayoko (€18m from PSV).
Leipzig also cashed in, posting the eighth-highest transfer income worldwide (€160.1m), thanks largely to Benjamin Šeško’s €76.5m move to Manchester United and Xavi Simons’ €65m transfer to Tottenham. Leverkusen ranked even higher with €229.5m in sales, placing them third globally. Their biggest exits were Florian Wirtz (€125m) and Jeremie Frimpong (€40m), both snapped up by Liverpool.
The Bundesliga overall smashed its summer spending record with €851.43m, behind only the Premier League’s astonishing €3.59bn and Serie A’s €1.19bn. In Italy, AC Milan led the way with €164m in investments, highlighted by Christopher Nkunku (€37m from Chelsea), Ardon Jashari (€36m from Club Brugge), and Luka Modrić, who arrived after leaving Real Madrid following 13 years. Milan also sold Tijjani Reijnders (€55m to Manchester City) and Theo Hernández (€25m to Al Hilal).
Juventus spent €137.3m, adding Francisco Conceição (€32m) and João Mário (€12m) from Porto, Lois Openda on loan from Leipzig, and Jonathan David (€25m from Lille). Atalanta invested €125.8m, including Nikola Krstović (€25m from Lecce), while managing to keep Ademola Lookman despite transfer speculation. Napoli made a splash by signing Kevin De Bruyne on a free after his contract expired with Manchester City, along with Sam Beukema (€31m from Bologna), Noa Lang (€25m from PSV), Miguel Gutiérrez (€18m from Girona) and Rasmus Højlund on loan from Manchester United.
Inter Milan spent €92.7m, adding Luis Henrique (€23m from Marseille), Ange-Yoan Bonny (€23m from Parma), Andy Diouf (€20m from Lens), Petar Sucić (€14m from Dinamo Zagreb) and Manuel Akanji on loan from Manchester City.
In Spain, La Liga clubs spent €684m, their highest tally since the 2019/20 record of €1.55bn. Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid led the way, with €176m and €167.5m respectively. Atlético’s reinforcements included Álex Baena (€42m from Villarreal), David Hancko (€26m from Feyenoord), Johnny Cardoso (€24m from Betis), Giacomo Raspadori (€22m from Napoli), Thiago Almada (€21m from Botafogo), Matteo Ruggeri (€17m from Atalanta) and Marc Pubill (€16m from Almería). Real Madrid, meanwhile, splashed out on Dean Huijsen (€62.5m from Bournemouth), Álvaro Carreras (€50m from Benfica), Franco Mastantuono (€45m from River Plate) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (€10m from Liverpool).
Barcelona, still constrained financially, were modest spenders at €27.5m, securing Joan García (€25m from Espanyol) and Roony Bardghji (€2.5m from Copenhagen), while Marcus Rashford arrived on loan from Manchester United.
In France, Ligue 1 spending reached €661.5m, with Strasbourg surprisingly outpacing PSG at €127.5m, led by Julio Enciso (€18.5m from Brighton). PSG signed Illya Zabarnyi (€63m from Bournemouth) and Lucas Chevalier (€40m from Lille) as Donnarumma moved to Manchester City for €30m.
Outside Europe, Saudi Arabia remained active with €473.5m spent so far, though well short of the record €973.6m of 2023/24. Notable signings included Mateo Retegui (€68.25m to Al Qadsiah), Darwin Núñez (€53m to Al Hilal), and João Félix (€30m to Al Nassr), where he will play under Jorge Jesus alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.
But once again, the Premier League dominated. With €3.59bn spent, English clubs broke their own record for summer expenditure, led by Liverpool’s staggering €481.9m. The Reds signed Alexander Isak (€144m from Newcastle, the most expensive British transfer ever), Florian Wirtz (€125m from Leverkusen), Hugo Ekitiké (€95m from Eintracht Frankfurt), Milos Kerkez (€46.9m from Bournemouth), Jeremie Frimpong (€40m from Leverkusen), Giovanni Leoni (€31m from Parma) and Giorgi Mamardashvili (€30m from Valencia).
Chelsea followed with €328.15m, while Arsenal, Newcastle, Manchester United, Tottenham and Manchester City all crossed the €200m mark. Record arrivals such as Benjamin Šeško (United, €76.5m), Xavi Simons (Tottenham, €65m) and Tijjani Reijnders (City, €55m) highlighted the league’s financial firepower.
In terms of sales, Chelsea topped the charts with €332.25m, followed by Bournemouth and Liverpool. High-profile exits included Luis Díaz (€70m to Bayern), Darwin Núñez (€53m to Al Hilal), and Dean Huijsen (€62.5m to Real Madrid). Tottenham saw club captain Heung-min Son depart for LAFC (€22m), while Kevin De Bruyne, twice voted Premier League Player of the Season, left Manchester City for Napoli.
Even under UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules and the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations, England continues to outspend and outperform every other league. The summer window generated a world-record €2.07bn in transfer revenue and confirmed once again that, financially and competitively, the Premier League remains in a league of its own.
