Amongst plenty of discussion about the monopolisation of money in football, in particular from the Premier League, Barcelona are blowing even English teams away in the transfer market. At seemingly their lowest point, a reported €1.3bn in debt, President Joan Laporta has come out swinging.
Following the signing of Jules Kounde, Barcelona have spent more than anyone else this transfer window, as per Mundo Deportivo. The deal for the French defender (€50m + €10m) takes the total spend for Barcelona to €158m, without including add-ons.
Second to Barcelona is Bayern Munich, who have spent €127.5m, over half of that on Matthijs de Ligt. Only Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus disturb the top ten from outside of England after that, with Arsenal (€132.06m), Leeds, Tottenham, Chelsea and then West Ham completing the list in that order.
Not until 15th place do you reach the next Spanish team, Real Madrid, who spent all of their €80m this summer on Aurelien Tchouameni.
As much as this serves as a statement summer from Barcelona, in many ways it proves just how much of an advantage the big two in Spain hold over their competitors.