La Liga’s Winter Transfer Window: An Overview of Spending Trends

The winter transfer window has once again closed, and for the third consecutive year, La Liga finds itself at the bottom of the European ‘top 5’ in terms of spending. Spanish clubs invested €75.3 million during this transfer period, a stark contrast to the English Premier League, which remains dominant with an investment of €453.17 million to bolster its squads. Other leagues, such as Serie A, Bundesliga, and Ligue 1, also outpaced La Liga in player acquisitions.

Notably, the €75.3 million spent this year marks more than double the expenditure of €32.84 million recorded last season. However, it still falls short of the higher figures seen in previous seasons, such as €288.7 million, €162.13 million, and €114.15 million from the campaigns of 2017-18, 2019-20, and 2018-19, respectively.

Looking at the trend over the past decade, La Liga has consistently spent less than its four rival leagues in the last three seasons, with a negative balance compared to the Premier League across all ten years. It only achieved a positive balance against Serie A twice (2022-23 and 2017-18) and outperformed the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 on three occasions each.

In terms of player departures, for the first time in six seasons, La Liga has generated over €100 million from player sales, allowing it to surpass both the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 in revenue. The Bundesliga remains the least lucrative in terms of winter market sales.

The highest recorded income from player sales by Spanish clubs in the winter market over the last decade was €215.08 million in the 2017-18 season, with only the Premier League exceeding this figure.

In this winter transfer window of 2026, half of the teams in La Liga made financial investments in new signings, while nine clubs opted not to engage in any transfer activity. Atlético de Madrid emerged as a significant player in the market with the additions of Lookman and others. It is noteworthy that the current leaders of La Liga, Barcelona and Real Madrid, did not make any expenditures. Meanwhile, Manchester City led the spending with an outlay of €95 million on five new players.