The winners and losers of the summer transfer window in Europe
After 60 days of active business, the 2024 summer transfer window finally closed on Friday across Europe's top five leagues.
As has become the norm recently, the Premier League outspent other European leagues. At the end of the window, English top-flight clubs spent a total of €2.36 billion on new talent.
Chelsea spent the bulk of that sum, splashing out €261 million on over a dozen new players.
The Italian Serie A, which has become arguably the most entertaining league among Europe's top leagues, spent €1 billion on acquiring new talent. The Italian top flight has grown in quality recently, with a record of three different title winners in the last four seasons, making it the most competitive league among Europe's top five leagues.
Meanwhile, Ligue 1 spent €723 million this summer, while the Bundesliga (€606.48 million) and La Liga (€555.59 million) make up the table of the top-five spenders among European leagues.
Among the over one thousand deals completed between July 1st and August 30th, the most memorable deal of the summer was Kylian Mbappe's free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain to Real Madrid.
The French forward's name has been constantly in the news in recent summers, but he finally found himself a home at the Bernabeu. He will be desperate to break several records and lead Los Blancos' charge to retain the Champions League and La Liga titles.
Elsewhere, Julian Alvarez's transfer from Manchester City to Atletico Madrid was the most expensive deal of the summer. At the same time, the surprise loan deals involving Raheem Sterling and Jadon Sancho also added much colour to the transfer window.
Also, some moves failed to materialise, with Liverpool's pursuit of Martin Zubimendi and Chelsea's failed hunt for Victor Osimhen the biggest misses of the summer.
Overall, there were still plenty of major moves, some of which delighted some supporters and others that left fans devastated.
So, who were the big winners and losers of the window? We break it all down below.
Winners: Atletico Madrid
After a quiet start to the transfer window, Atletico Madrid sprang to life towards the end of the window.
The Spanish club spent €185 million on new talent–the fourth-highest in the window–bringing in players like Conor Gallagher, Julian Alvarez, Robin Le Normand and Alexander Sorloth.
Atletico were dormant in previous transfer windows, which led to their struggles last season. But they have solved some of their problems from last season with the new signings.
These players were exactly what coach Diego Simeone wanted, as he attempts to do the impossible task of beating Real Madrid to the title this season.
Meanwhile, the new signings aren't the only thing Atletico got right this summer. The club were also efficient in their sales, as they've managed to recoup €93.9 million from the sale of unwanted players, including securing a permanent home for Joao Felix.
Although question marks remain over Atleti's depth in defence, there is no escaping from the fact that they now possess a squad equipped to challenge city rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona for the Liga title.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid tickets were among the most bought last season and we expect the same this season.
Winner: Manchester United
Although Manchester United's failures in previous transfer windows make judging their 2024 summer transfer window difficult, there is no denying that the Red Devils had an impressive summer.
Unlike most Premier League clubs who started their transfers late in the summer, United were assertive from the off.
Erik ten Hag's side concluded the deal for Joshua Zirkzee early and showed their pulling power with the signings of Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs de Ligt, and Noussair Mazraoui.
Their signings have Manchester United ticket buyers excited about the season, with Man United looking like real title contenders.
Fans who care about squad balance will have been particularly pleased with how United handled their sales.
The Reds Devils finally sold Donny van de Beek and released Raphael Varane and Anthony Martial. They also recouped some money from the sale of Scott McTominay and Mason Greenwood, while Jadon Sancho's move to Chelsea also makes sense for all involved.
Winner: Paris Saint Germain
Paris Saint-Germain's summer may have begun in the worst possible way as they lost Kylian Mbappe for free.
The Frenchman was the face of Ligue 1 and the club, so his departure is a big one as it could open the door for new clubs to challenge PSG for the title and new Golden Boot winners to emerge from Ligue 1.
Yet, the French club enjoyed one of their most successful transfer windows in recent seasons, not in spite of Mbappe's departure but because of his exit.
The French captain's departure has created space for other top talents to flourish at PSG, such as Bradley Barcola, who has made a solid start to his second season in the French capital, and new signing Desire Doue, one of the new players PSG ticket buyers will be most excited to watch.
Elsewhere, Willian Pacho already looks like an excellent partner for Marquinhos in the centre of defence, while Portugal teenager Joao Neves has wasted little time showing why so many of us believe him to be a generational talent.
Although PSG could have done with signing a striker during the summer, especially as Goncalo Ramos is facing a spell on the sidelines, they have not shown any signs of weakness so far.
In any case, they have several attacking players who can fill in the attack, including Randel Kolo Muani, who they signed for a heavy sum last summer.
Winner: Manchester City
Manchester City may have spent very little in this transfer window, but they are certainly one of the teams that conducted the best business this summer.
The Cityzens, who spent €259.60 million in their recruitment drive last season, spent just €25 million this summer to sign Brazilian winger Savinho from Troyes.
Ideally, the 20-year-old should cost double that amount, given his quality, but City snapped him up for peanuts, as they did with the signing of Ilkay Gundogan, who returned to the club on a free transfer from Barcelona.
The German midfielder remains one of the best midfield operators in the world, so City getting him for nothing represents very good business.
However, Gundogan's return isn't City's best business this summer. The best business the Premier League champions did this summer was selling Julian Alvarez and Joao Cancelo for a combined fee of over €100 million.
It is still to be seen if City will regret selling Alvarez, but the evidence so far suggests that Man City ticket buyers should have nothing to worry about as Erling Haaland has already scored two hat-tricks in three league games.
Loser: Napoli
Napoli's first summer under Antonio Conte could have yielded positive results, as they spent almost €150 million to sign Romelu Lukaku, Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour, and David Neres.
But the club's inability to secure a deal for Victor Osimhen this summer has put a massive dent in their summer business. The Nigerian striker may be one of the best in the world, but he has no future in Naples.
Napoli did everything they could to try to sell Osimhen, who had indicated he was keen on leaving. After initially insisting that they wouldn't accept anything less than his reported €120 million buyout clause, they ended up almost halving the asking price. Even then, there were no takers.
He remains in Naples, and Napoli will be forced to pay his wages even though he is unlikely to play for them this season.
Napoli tickets are on sale from vetted resellers on Seatsnet.
Loser: Chelsea
Chelsea may have spent the most money in this transfer window, but there is no denying they had the worst summer.
The Blues are increasingly looking a shadow of their former selves with each passing day, and this summer proved why Stamford Bridge have become a circus under Todd Boehly and co.
The club signed a dozen players this summer but still failed to solve its most important problem–getting a striker. They tried to sign Victor Osimhen from Napoli but failed.
As if that is not bad enough, Chelsea now have to bear the weight of having as many as 15 unwanted first-team players to sort.
Chelsea tickets will still be one of the hottest in the market, but there is no doubt that the Blues are not a serious club at the moment.
Loser: Newcastle
Newcastle's summer business did not go as many club supporters expected.
Burdened by PSR problems, the Magpies were at serious risk of losing at least one key player before the end of June. Anthony Gordon was the obvious name, and the Englishman almost joined Liverpool.
Ultimately, Newcastle managed to keep him, Bruno Guimaraes, and Alexander Isak. However, it came at a small cost. The club had to sell youngsters Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh, and they couldn't add many new signings, with the only notable new faces being Lewis Hall (£28m) - who was already there on loan - and Lloyd Kelly (free).
Eddie Howe's side were desperate to sign England international Marc Guehi, but they were repeatedly rebuffed by Crystal Palace and ended up without an extra defender.
Having finished seventh last season, Newcastle ticket buyers and supporters will be hoping for better.
Although it could be difficult to better their points collection from last season, the Magpies still have a strong starting XI and could challenge for a top-four finish if they avoid last season's injury issues - not having any European football will help.
Loser: Liverpool
Everything Liverpool touched this summer turned to dust, or so it seemed, as the club missed out on their primary target, Martin Zubimendi.
The Reds had secured a verbal agreement with the Spanish midfielder and were ready to spend close to £65 million to land him.
However, Sociedad's pull wouldn't allow Zubimendi to fulfil his dream of playing in the Premier League, and as a result, Liverpool was left without a new defensive midfielder for the second summer running.
The club's failure to sign a defensive midfielder and an extra defender could prove hugely detrimental to their title quest.
They did get Federico Chiesa for cheap, though, but that does not gloss over their poor summer.
That said, under Arne Slot, the Anfield boys have started well, and so we expect Liverpool tickets to be in high demand.