The biggest Jan windows ever

Clubs across Europe’s top five leagues spent a massive total of £1.1bn on transfers this January, more than doubling the amount spent last year in the same period.

Manchester City were far and away the biggest spenders, splashing out £181m on five new players, including Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt, Nico Gonzalez from Porto, Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens, Vitor Reis from Palmeiras and Juma Bah from Real Valladolid.

But how does City’s spree compare to previous record-breaking windows? Here’s an in-depth look at the 9 biggest January window spends of all time, with the help of data from Transfermarkt and news sources.

9

Chelsea (January 2011)

Money spent: £71.3m

Following Roman Abramovich’s takeover of the club in 2003, Chelsea often made a habit of spending big in the summer, but took it a little easier in January.

That was until 2011, when they decided to splash £69m – a club record at the time – on two big new signings.

First was the high-profile and controversial arrival of striker Fernando Torres from Liverpool, who Chelsea splashed £50m on. Then, on deadline day, defender David Luiz arrived from Benfica for a reported fee of £21.3m.

8

Liverpool (January 2018)

Money spent: £75m

All of the money Liverpool spent in the January 2019 transfer window went on one player: Virgil van Dijk.

The fee, which was a world record for a defender at the time, has since proven to be money extremely well spent, with Van Dijk establishing himself as one of, if not the, best defenders in world football, helping Liverpool win everything there is to win, including the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup and Champions League.

His stellar performances this season have the Reds and new manager Arne Slot on course for another top-flight triumph.

7

Juventus (January 2022)

Money spent: £79.5m

After years of trying to land him, January 2022 finally marked the arrival of Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic at Juventus, with the Old Lady splashing a massive £66m to bring him to Turin from Fiorentina.

While he can’t exactly be considered a flop, he’s not reached the heights many perhaps would have hoped, finding the net 54 times in 129 games – an average return for a player who is netting around a cool £350,000 per week.

Defender Federico Gatti, signed in the same window for just £7.5m, on the other hand, has proven to be far better value for money.

6

Jiangsu Suning (January 2016)

Money spent: £80.85m

The only non-European club to be included on this list, Chinese side Jiangsu Suning spent around £81m in January 2016 to sign Alex Teixeira from Shakhtar Donetsk, Ramires from Chelsea and a number of other low-profile stars – including former Manchester City striker Jo.

The window was supposed to be the start of a revolution for the club, but it never materialised. Suning went on to have just one successful season, finishing second in the 2016 Chinese Super League and the Chinese FA Cup, before eventually dissolving in 2021.

5

Newcastle United (January 2022)

Money spent: £91.6m

Shortly after Newcastle United were taken over by a Saudi-led consortium in October 2021, the Magpies went big in the 2022 January transfer market.

The club brought in Chris Wood from Burnley, Dan Burn from Brighton & Hove Albion and Kieran Trippier from Atlético Madrid, but their marquee acquisition was that of Bruno Guimaraes, who completed a £41.6m move to Tyneside from Ligue 1 side Lyon.

The Brazilian has since gone from strength to strength at St James’ Park, establishing himself as one of the Premier League’s finest midfielders.

4

Paris Saint-Germain (January 2024)

Money spent: £105m

In January 2024, Paris Saint-Germain forked out a massive £105m to reinforce all over the park, signing striker Goncalo Ramos from Benfica, midfielder Gabriel Moscardo from Corinthians and defender Lucas Beraldo from Sao Paolo.

The revamp, however, hasn’t exactly yielded the results that the French giants would have hoped.

Moscardo spent last season on loan with Reims, making just four appearances before returning to PSG, where he has yet to play a game, while Beraldo is a mere squad player.

Ramos, who cost £70m as PSG made his loan move permanent (technically outside of the January window), has managed 22 goals in 56 games. It’s a respectable figure, but no doubt PSG would have been hoping for more given the money they paid for him.

3

Barcelona (January 2018)

Money spent: £152.5m

Barcelona spent a huge £152.5m in January 2018. £10.5m of that went on Colombian defender Yerry Mina, who joined from Brazilian side Palmeiras. The remainder was spent on signing Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool.

Still the club’s record signing, the midfielder was never able to show the form he displayed at Anfield, being loaned out twice in four years before eventually being sold to Aston Villa in 2022 for the measly fee of £17 million.

Former Arsenal and England star Ian Wright once described the move as the “worst transfer of all time”.

2

Manchester City (January 2025)

Money spent: £181.2m

After a quite dreadful (at least by their own lofty standards) start to the 2024/25 season which saw them lose six Premier League games before the new year, Manchester City decided to fix the problem the only way they know how – spending a ton of cash.

Pep Guardiola went big, spending a combined £181.2m on six new players, the most expensive of whom was Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush, who City paid Eintracht Frankfurt £63m for.

A 5-1 defeat to Arsenal on the eve of the transfer window closing, however, suggests the spending hasn’t done too much good.

1

Chelsea (January 2023)

Money spent: £330.1m

​​​​​​​No club in football history has ever come close to spending as much money in a January transfer window as Chelsea did in 2023. The Blues splashed a quite unbelievable £330.1m on an array of new talent that included the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke and Malo Gusto.

Their only sale that month was Jorginho to Arsenal, who cost the Gunners just £9m. That was lower than their cheapest incoming, with Joao Felix arriving on loan from Atletico Madrid for a £9.7m fee.

With the £100m-plus Fernandez flattering to deceive, Mudryk banned for failing a drugs test, Madueke seemingly being unable to pass the ball in the final third and Gusto warming the bench, Chelsea fans will probably be wishing they can have their Champions League-winning Italian midfielder back instead.