Only one deal exceeded 50 million euros! A small surge on deadline day fails to lift the overall dull winter transfer window.

Written by Han Bing On February 2nd, the winter transfer window closed for the top five European leagues and the Saudi league. Although Crystal Palace made a record-breaking signing of striker Larsen on deadline day, Atlético Madrid spent 54 million euros on four new players, and transfers like Benzema and Kanté created some buzz, the overall winter window was still quiet. This season, both total investment and number of deals in these leagues showed a clear decline, marking a drop in both volume and value.

Regarding total investment, the combined spending of the top five leagues plus the Saudi league this year (1.149 billion euros) fell 11% compared to last year (1.292 billion). In terms of high-value deals, this year’s top transfer was Semenyo at 72 million euros, with only one deal above 50 million. Last winter, the highest fee was Duran at 77 million euros, with six deals over 50 million. Among the Premier League’s traditional big six, only Manchester City and Tottenham invested in their first teams; Europe's elite clubs like Real Madrid, Juventus, and Bayern made no investments, while Barcelona and PSG each spent less than 10 million.

Last summer saw record-breaking investment in the top five leagues, coupled with the usual post-World Cup spending cycle expected this summer, so the quiet winter window is understandable. The market lacks top-tier players available, and most big clubs have held back, waiting for the big buys after the World Cup.

The Premier League remains the leader in winter spending (453 million euros), though down 10.2% from last year; Ligue 1 and Bundesliga both saw nearly 50% declines; Serie A experienced slight growth; La Liga’s increase was mainly driven by Atlético Madrid’s last-day splurge.

As in the previous year, Manchester City dominated the Premier League spending, but their investment dropped sharply by 56%. Among the traditional big six, only Tottenham, struggling with poor results, continued to strengthen their squad, while the others, including Manchester United and Chelsea, made little to no investment.

Manchester City, performing poorly this winter, made early purchases of Semenyo (72 million) and Gueye (23 million) before stopping, yet still became the top club in both winter investment and transfer fees. Tottenham, also struggling in the first half of the season, completed two major deals for midfielder Gallagher (40 million) and Brazilian left-back Sosa (15 million), but lost five players including Brennan Johnson (40 million), and Argentine defender Romero openly criticized the squad’s instability.

Top club Arsenal, along with Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Newcastle, made no financial investments; Arsenal loaned out Nwaneri, Chelsea let go of Disasi and Sterling. Only ambitious Aston Villa signed striker Abraham, midfielder Douglas Luiz, and young Brazilian winger Alison to strengthen their squad depth for multiple competitions in the second half of the season.

Crystal Palace set three club records this winter for transfer spending, single-season investment, and highest fee with Brennan Johnson (40 million) and Larsen (49.7 million), surpassing the combined spending of the other five Premier League relegation candidates by nearly 30 million. Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, Burnley, and Wolves appear to have given up the fight early; bottom-placed Wolves even sold their star striker Larsen early to cover financial shortfalls for next season in the Championship.

Only four Premier League clubs spent over 50 million in the winter window, while Europe’s big four leagues were even quieter. The five major giants—Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern, and PSG—had minimal activity: Juventus loaned out two players, Barcelona loaned Cancelo for 4 million, and PSG spent 8 million to acquire 18-year-old prodigy Dro from Barcelona. Interim coach Avelar led Real Madrid, who, like Chelsea and Manchester United, reserved their spending for the summer, also sending future star Endrick on loan to Lyon for development.

Arsenal’s pursuit of Tonali before the deadline turned out to be just a rumor, extinguishing the last big transfer hope of the winter window. On deadline day, French superstar Benzema unexpectedly moved to Al Nassr in Riyadh, becoming the biggest star transfer of the window, highlighting the overall modest quality of this winter market. Semenyo, the top transfer this window, came from lower-tier Bournemouth with a fee of only 72 million. Earlier media hype about Salah and Bruno Fernandes joining the Saudi league faded without follow-up.

Most large deals over 30 million still depended on player sales or external funding, which is one of the main reasons for the lack of top-tier star signings this winter. West Ham sold Paqueta for 42 million, setting a record in the Western Hemisphere, providing the funds to sign five new players led by Castranos. Tottenham’s sale of Brennan Johnson enabled the purchase of Gallagher, and even Manchester City used Bob’s sale to recoup 30 million to reduce net spending.

Atlético Madrid spent 54 million on deadline day, signing Lukman and three others, funded by 77 million from selling Gallagher, Raspadori, and De Paul. Lazio (36.55 million) also spent thanks to 57 million earned from Castranos and Gondozi sales. Notable winter signings in Europe’s big four leagues, such as Endrick (Lyon), Piatek (AC Milan), and Malen (Roma), all joined on loan deals.

The Saudi league’s deadline day drama was also about finances: Benzema, with six months left on his contract, moved from Al-Ittihad Jeddah to Al Nassr Riyadh, backed by Prince Walid, who will become a major shareholder next year and personally covered nearly 92 million euros in winter transfer fees for Al Nassr. Meanwhile, Al-Ittihad freed salary space by selling Benzema and Kanté, enabling them to sign En-Nesyri (15 million) and Monaco’s young forward Ilie N’Ghena (33 million).

With no high-value stars available in the market and clubs tightening budgets after last summer’s excessive spending, even the usually wealthy Saudi Public Investment Fund had to be prudent, resulting in a winter window that naturally lacked the heat of the previous year.