Liverpool, Chelsea...

Premier League champions Liverpool may be on course to top the highest spending transfer window list currently dominated by Chelsea and Real Madrid.

From Chelsea’s chaos to Real Madrid’s Galactico splurges to Saudi Arabia turning Football Manager into real life, the numbers get sillier every year.

Now Liverpool are threatening to break the £500million barrier. If they land Alexander Isak and replace Luis Diaz, they’ll top the lot. But who is currently in the top 10?

10. Real Madrid – £218million (Summer 2009-10)

Real Madrid love a statement window, and this was Florentino Perez kicking off his second stint with a Galactico bang.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema and Xabi Alonso all arrived in one summer, which is arguably the most iconic window ever.

Ronaldo alone cost £80million, which was a world record at the time. Kaka cost £68.5million and contributed to 61 goals in 120 appearances.

Ronny went on to score 450 goals, Benzema is an all-time great, and Xabi Alonso was one of the most technically gifted midfielders.

9. Juventus – £223million (Summer 2018-19)

The Old Lady aren’t as guilty of reckless spending as some clubs, but Cristiano Ronaldo changed that overnight.

They splashed £100million on a 33-year-old in the hope he’d deliver them Champions League success. That didn’t work out.

Joao Cancelo arrived for a hefty fee, while Leonardo Bonucci returned after his brief Milan detour.

Ronaldo scored plenty of goals, but Juve crashed out in the quarters and lost their domestic grip soon after.

8. Barcelona – £235million (Summer 2019-20)

Barcelona were already wobbling before this window, and they thought throwing money at the problem might help.

Antoine Griezmann arrived for £107million and Frenkie de Jong cost £65million. There were also outlays for Neto, Pedri and Junior Firpo, among others.

The plan was to rebuild around Lionel Messi. Instead, they clogged the wage bill, lost their identity, and got battered in Europe.

The Catalan giants are still wrestling with financial problems owing to reckless spending to this day.

7. Chelsea – £254million (Summer 2022-23)

Todd Boehly didn’t ease himself in at Chelsea. This was his first proper window, and he went full FIFA career mode.

Chelsea spent over £250million, bringing in Raheem Sterling, Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

There wasn’t any clear plan, just a list of names and a big bank account. It felt chaotic in real time, and the vast majority have already moved on.

Unsurprisingly, it didn’t work. The team fell apart, Thomas Tuchel got binned, Chelsea finished in the bottom half and have been spending ever since.

6. Liverpool – £263.5million (Summer 2025-26)

Liverpool’s current window isn’t even over, but it already makes the top 10. It’s £263.5million at the time of writing, but it could easily surpass £400m and threaten £500million with add-ons.

They’ve brought in Florian Wirtz for over £110million and also added Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez and Giorgi Mamardashvili.

Now they’re chasing Alexander Isak for a club-record fee and potentially lining up a replacement for Luis Diaz.

Rodrygo is among the potential targets and could also cost three figures. If both deals go through, they’d soar to number one on this list.

5. Chelsea – £278million (Winter 2022-23)

Their summer window in 2022-23 was wild enough, but Chelsea kept spending in January. What sets this apart is that big spends are almost exclusively in summer.

This was the month they broke the British transfer record for Enzo Fernandez, spending £107million on deadline day.

They also signed Mykhalo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, Benoit Badiashile and a bunch of others who barely made it off the bench.

Fast forward a few years, and it wasn’t entirely justified. Fernandez may be class, but Mudryk has flopped, and Madueke has left.

4. Real Madrid – £279million (Summer 2019-20)

This was Real Madrid trying to future-proof their squad, and it came with mixed results.

Eden Hazard arrived for a huge amount and was meant to replace Ronaldo. That didn’t happen, and Luka Jovic flopped too.

But they also signed Ferland Mendy, Eder Militao and Rodrygo. All three have gone on to play major roles.

It’s a very Madrid window. Big hits, expensive misses and enough spending to fund half the Spanish top flight.

3. PSG – £295million (Summer 2023-24)

For years, PSG were linked with everyone. In 2023, they finally signed them all. The signings proved to be a mixed bunch.

They brought in Randal Kolo Muani for over £80million, Ousmane Dembele from Barcelona, Manuel Ugarte from Sporting and Lucas Hernandez from Bayern.

The final spend came in just under £300million, which is pocket money when you are backed by Qatar Sports Investments.

Still, replacing Messi and Neymar was a big task, but Dembele and Barcola did a better job of delivering the Champions League.

2. Al-Hilal – £298million (Summer 2023-24)

The Saudi Pro League made headlines all summer, and Al-Hilal were a major part of that.

They signed Neymar for around £78million, plus Aleksandar Mitrovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Ruben Neves and Kalidou Koulibaly.

None of the deals broke records individually, but the total was staggering and came as a statement of intent.

Their total £300million spend was a power move as the Saudi’s set about becoming the best league in the world. Unfortunately, no one in Europe watches it.

1. Chelsea – £391million (Summer 2023-24)

Oh look. Chelsea again. Boehly has taken his spending to well over £1billion to secure the Europa Conference League and the Club World Cup.

They also top the biggest transfer window spends (for now).

The Blues signed 11 players for more than £10million, with six costing over £30million. Moises Caicedo became a British transfer record at £115million.

The jury is still out on Romeo Lavia, while Christopher Nkunku and Axel Disasi seem a waste. Still, you can’t argue with what Cole Palmer has done.

It was yet another bloated and baffling window from Chelsea, just to finish below Arsenal and Tottenham and fail to make the top four.

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