Five Premier League clubs dominate the top figures of the summer transfer window—including in terms of revenue. Surprisingly, however, the biggest surplus was posted by a completely different major club.
The Premier League continues to play by its own rules in the transfer market. For the second summer in a row, it broke its own record: The 20 clubs invested nearly 3.5 billion pounds—more than four billion euros—in transfer fees for new players alone—about 500 million euros more than a year ago, even though the strategy was different this time. The other top-five leagues haven’t been able to keep up for a long time now—not even close.
It’s only logical: If you look at the clubs that took in and spent the most money this summer, posted the biggest profit, and racked up the biggest loss, the Premier League dominates across the board—with one surprising exception. Here’s an overview of the outliers:
Highest transfer spending: Manchester City—approx. 530 million euros
With the Guardiola era coming to an end, Man City is determined to finally win the league title again and went ahead and made the two most expensive signings in the club’s history: The 135 million euros spent on Elliot Anderson (Nottingham) was followed on Deadline Day by 145 million euros for Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea)—setting a new British transfer record. The fact that 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi (Lille) also cost nearly 100 million euros almost went unnoticed. The result: ManCity spent over 100 million euros more than any other club in the world.
But the fact that Premier League figures are getting crazier and crazier is even better illustrated by a personnel move that helped the club—now coached by Enzo Maresca—partially finance its spending spree: Savio, who had recently been nothing more than a bench player, transferred to Tottenham Hotspur for nearly 90 million euros.
Highest transfer revenue: Chelsea FC – approx. 450 million euros
Top spot defended! Even last summer, no club earned more than Chelsea FC, a team that is often—and not without reason—associated with exorbitant spending. And lo and behold: The Blues actually posted a profit again, this time a remarkable 40 million euros.
None of this would have happened without the sale of Fernández, and on top of that, the 55 million euro signing of Lamine Camara (Monaco)—who was actually supposed to replace the Argentine—fell through at the last minute. Nevertheless, Chelsea’s management demonstrated once again that they also have a knack for selling players. To bring in 55 million euros for former Munich player Nicolas Jackson (now with Aston Villa)—that’s something no one else has managed to do yet.
Highest transfer profit: Paris Saint-Germain—approx. 180 million euros
But other clubs—ones you wouldn’t necessarily expect—can also turn a profit. Leading the way this summer is PSG, which is defying Premier League dominance in this category. With Ibrahim Mbaye (approx. 55 million euros, Aston Villa), Goncalo Ramos (approx. 75 million euros, AC Milan), and Bradley Barcola (approx. 125 million euros, Liverpool), the Champions League winner turned three players—who weren’t even regulars—into a massive profit.
At first glance, Luis Enrique’s squad hasn’t gotten any worse, thanks to the significantly cheaper signings of Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco), Ferran Torres (Barcelona), and Mika Godts (Ajax)—totaling around 150 million euros. PSG could be one of the biggest winners of this transfer summer.
Largest Transfer Deficit: Liverpool FC – approx. 230 million euros
A year ago, the Reds had the highest spending in the world; this time, they racked up the largest deficit, though they were still benefiting from the financially successful years prior. In addition to Barcola, the balance sheet was also “ruined” by the transfer of young center-back Jeremy Jacquet—already locked in for 2025—who came from Stade Rennes for about 63 million euros. The only notable revenue came from Curtis Jones (to Inter Milan for 30 million euros), while Cody Gakpo ended up staying.
Tottenham, which had narrowly avoided relegation twice and was already back in last place after just two matchdays, racked up—thanks to Savio—a deficit of about 200 million euros, a feat matched by a third club: Ipswich Town. The Premier League newcomer, with revenue of just 20 million euros, spent a staggering 220 million euros on 14 new players to avoid being relegated again immediately, as happened in 2024–25. The most high-profile signings: Julio Enciso (for about 30 million euros from Strasbourg) and Exequiel Palacios (for 22.5 million euros from Leverkusen).
It was already well known how lucrative promotion to the Premier League is, as well as the fact that newcomer Sunderland had great success last season with a complete overhaul. But the way Ipswich went about things this summer is remarkable—and remarkably risky—even by English standards. Club boss Mark Ashton had explained in mid-August that they would have to be “a little bolder” this time around.
