The biggest transfer window spends in football history

Liverpool broke the bank last summer in the transfer window, but their investment does not look like paying dividends, this season at least.

Fourth in the table but distant from Premier League leaders Arsenal, a spending spree from the champions has seen the Reds lack cohesion.

With the transfer window open, we’ve looked at the five biggest single-window spends in football history and how those sides fared.

5. Chelsea (summer 2025/26) – £282.2m

Chelsea ’s astonishing spending under BlueCo and Clearlake Capital means the Blues are responsible for four of the 10 most expensive transfer window spends ever.

Nestled in at number five is last summer’s spree, which included arrivals such as Estevao Willian, Alejandro Garnacho, Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens, and others.

The most expensive of the lost was Joao Pedro, as the West Londoners looked in a familiar direction to poach the £60m player from favourite shopping location, Brighton.

4. PSG (summer 2023/24) – £295m

Paris Saint-Germain spent close to £300m in summer 2023, in a recruitment drive that delivered mixed results.

The arrivals of Manuel Ugarte (£50m) and Randal Kolo Muani (£77.7m) can be labelled as misses, though both Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele became key figures in the club’s treble-winning 2024/25 campaign. The latter’s performances even earned the Frenchman the 2025 Ballon d’Or.

3. Al-Hilal (summer 2023/24) – £298m

Saudi Arabia became almost an overnight force in football, as the country’s Public Investment Fund ploughed millions into turning the Saudi Pro League into a go-to destination.

Al-Hilal, one of the league’s big guns, broke the bank in 2023. Neymar was the headline arrival after joining from PSG , while Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinković-Savić, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Malcom and Kalidou Koulibaly added to a star-studded side.

To little surprise, Al-Hilal promptly claimed the league title.

2. Chelsea (summer 2023/24) – £391m

Chelsea smashed the previous record for a single-window spent in 2023, becoming the first-ever team to surpass £350m.

The Blues bought big, including a then-British record £115m deal for Moises Caicedo. Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, Romeo Lavia, Axel Disasi and Robert Sanchez also arrived, with eight players signed for fees upwards of £20m.

The best business of the lot was the £40m arrival of Cole Palmer , who ended his debut campaign as the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year.

1. Liverpool (summer 2025/26) – £414.5m

Liverpool became the first club to spend £400m+ in a single window last summer. The Reds reinforced their Premier League title-winning team, twice breaking the British record in the same window. Florian Wirtz joined from Bayer Leverkusen for a fee that could rise to £116m, while Alexander Isak’s £125m move from Newcastle on deadline surpassed even that fee.

Hugo Ekitike (£69m), full-back duo Jeremie Frimpong (£29.5m) and Milos Kerkez (£40m) also joined the ranks, alongside teenage defender Giovanni Leoni (£26m). Add in the pre-arranged £25m to sign Georgian goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili and Liverpool spent at an unprecedented rate.

It’s not led to the Premier League