Biggest winners and losers from summer transfer window

Another wild transfer window is in the books for Europe's top leagues. We're picking out the biggest winners and losers from the summer signing period.

👉 Analysis and grades for every major summer signing

Winners: Liverpool

What a haul. The reigning Premier League champions went on a breathtaking summer spree, breaking the British transfer record not once, but twice. They spent over £400 million on new talent and, at least on paper, significantly improved what was already the best team in England by a healthy margin. Actually fitting all of the team's expensive new forwards together in a balanced system won't be easy - it might be impossible - but that's a nice luxury for Arne Slot. Any other manager would love to have the same "problem." Liverpool, who balanced out their lavish signings with some impressive sales, are younger and more athletic than last year in most areas.

The only blip was their inability to land Marc Guehi on deadline day, but that was out of their control; the defender underwent a medical and reportedly filmed a farewell video to Crystal Palace before the Eagles pulled the plug. Depth at center-back is a genuine issue that could hurt the Reds, but they have the ability to outscore what has looked like a somewhat fragile and exposed backline early in the season. And they can always address that area in January, which isn't that far away. If there's any money left.

Losers: Newcastle

Liverpool's triumphs in the transfer window often came at the expense of Newcastle. There was, of course, the ugly Isak saga, which pretty much torpedoed the Magpies' entire summer and put them in a hole that was partly of their own making. Had they sold the Swede earlier instead of waiting until deadline day for the exact same outcome, they would've had much more time to respond to the loss of their best player and most prolific scorer. Instead, they hamstrung themselves, and ended up with an exciting but almost entirely unproven young replacement in Nick Woltemade, who might be the next Isak but could just as easily flop.

They wanted Hugo Ekitike, but got shoved aside by Liverpool. They tried to sign Jorgen Strand Larsen, but Wolves wouldn't budge. Liam Delap and Benjamin Sesko were reportedly on the radar, too, before moving elsewhere.

They also splashed £55 million on Yoane Wissa when nobody else was in the race for the Brentford forward, overpaying after he delivered a career-best season in 2024-25. Aside from truly unproven prospects, most transfers involve some level of paying for past performance. That's baked into the process. But Wissa just turned 29, and is unlikely to deliver multiple years of similar high-level output that such a fee would suggest.

Winners: Arsenal

Mikel Arteta got everything he could've possibly asked for this summer. Arsenal, chided for not having a proper No. 9 who could elevate the team to title winners, spent big on Viktor Gyokeres; Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke provide flair and creativity; Martin Zubimendi, a former Liverpool target, is an upgrade in the deep-lying midfield role on last season's options; Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie arrived to provide even more options in defense for a manager who would seemingly roll out 10 center-backs at once if he could. After finishing second in three consecutive seasons, Arsenal are deeper and better equipped to get over the hump this time around.

That could be a blessing or a curse for Arteta, depending on how you view it - there can be no excuses for a trophyless season - but, sitting here in early September, it's objectively a positive thing for the north London side.

Loser: Bundesliga

The Premier League flexed its financial muscle yet again - more on that later - and Germany's top flight was the primary target. The Bundesliga got picked apart this summer, with Wirtz, Ekitike, Woltemade and Sesko all going to England for huge fees. Xavi Simons, Jamie Gittens, Jeremie Frimpong, Lois Openda, and Piero Hincapie all left, too. The talent drain was real, especially at Bayer Leverkusen.

When even Bayern Munich can't compete to keep up-and-coming German talent in the country, as was the case with Woltemade, you know something's amiss. Bundesliga clubs now prefer to sell abroad, knowing that the financial reward is greater beyond the borders. There's nothing inherently wrong with that; money in the coffers is great for the selling clubs, after all. But a healthy bank account doesn't score goals, win matches, and get fans excited about coming to the stadium.

Winners: Andrea Agnelli, Florentino Perez

As the architects of the infamous Super League project, Agnelli and Perez are chiefly to blame for the bungled rollout. There's no denying that they totally blew it. But it's also become increasingly clear in the intervening years that the underlying principle was sound. The ex-Juventus president claimed the sport was heading toward an "inexorable decline," and suggested drastic action was required to stop the Premier League from hoarding the best talent and "marginalizing" other leagues. He was branded a heretic. Let's check in on that prediction now, shall we?

England's top flight, powered by its domestic and international broadcast deals, set a new record by spending over £3 billion on summer transfers. That was more than La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, and the Bundesliga combined. The Premier League was responsible for 19 of the window's 25 most expensive deals, and finished with a net spend of over £1 billion, according to figures from Transfermarkt. Serie A finished second in that category ... at €100 million.

Like it or not, a "Super League" already exists.

Losers: Barcelona

Barcelona extended Lamine Yamal's contract, locking up the teen superstar until 2031 on a deal that could make him the club's top earner. That could eventually prove to be the single most important move of the entire summer for any team. But, aside from that, it was an underwhelming window for the La Liga champions. Barca were seconds away from reaching the Champions League final last season, and should've been looking to push themselves over the top in a bid to go for the treble this year.

Instead, it was mostly crickets for the famously cash-strapped club. Joan Garcia was a nice addition in goal, even though it created a firestorm involving incumbent 'keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Marcus Rashford should be very motivated to succeed during his loan spell in Catalonia, but he's a clear downgrade from Nico Williams, who shunned Barca to stay at Athletic Bilbao. If anything, Barca probably got worse in one key area, letting veteran center-back Inigo Martinez leave for Saudi Arabia and not replacing him. They're putting a lot of faith in Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo's ability to stay fit, which is more than a little worrying.

To make matters worse, eternal rivals Real Madrid reloaded in a significant way this summer, rebuilding their backline with Dean Huijsen, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alvaro Carreras, while also securing Argentine starlet Franco Mastantuono's coveted signature.

Other winners and losers

Winner: Reclamation projects. This was a great window for players looking to rejuvenate stagnating careers. Jack Grealish can be a maverick again after leaving Manchester City for Everton; Evan Ferguson and Rasmus Hojlund are looking to get back on an upward trajectory in Italy; Marcus Rashford escaped Manchester United and landed, incredibly, at Barcelona; Paul Pogba returned home to France to put some trying recent years behind him.

Loser: Erik ten Hag. Did anybody in the sport have a worse summer than Ten Hag? The Dutch coach took over Bayer Leverkusen in May, promptly watched on as most of the team's best and most influential players departed, and then got sacked just three games into his tenure. This was supposed to be the job that resuscitated his tarnished image after a dismal Manchester United stint. Instead, it made things even worse.

Winner: Transfer insiders. Here we go! The trademark slogan of Fabrizio Romano, the world's preeminent transfer journalist, has already been a staple of the lexicon for several years. But during a window rife with protracted sagas that involved hundreds of incremental, daily updates, he and several others were omnipresent, providing constant updates to their millions of followers and capitalizing on social media monetization in a big way.

Loser: Pep Guardiola's heart rate. It might be a good thing that the Manchester City manager doesn't have any hair, because watching Gianluigi Donnarumma try to pass the ball out of the back probably would've made the notoriously animated coach pull it out on the touchline. Guardiola has been open about his plan to take an extended break after leaving Man City, and another stressful season might push him closer to expediting that plan.

Winner: Major League Soccer. MLS teams kept one-upping each other this summer. The league's incoming transfer record was broken three times in a matter of months, culminating with Son Heung-min's celebrated move to LAFC. Thomas Muller then added more star power by joining the Vancouver Whitecaps. In total, MLS clubs spent around $336 million on transfers, nearly doubling the previous annual high.