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The 2021 summer transfer window has finally slammed shut. What began like any other window quickly unravelled with several unexpected moves before hitting breakneck speed on deadline day.
Multiple teams have bolstered their ranks this summer. PSG have obviously been the biggest beneficiaries, picking up Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, Georginio Wijnaldum and Gianluigi Donnarumma on free transfers. The Parisians also went on to add full-backs Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes in a restructuring for the ages.
In England, Aston Villa lost Jack Grealish to Manchester City, but quickly brought in Danny Ings, Emiliano Buendia and Leon Bailey to fill that gap. Arsenal splashed £149 million on six players, but find themselves bottom of the Premier League table after three games.
Without a doubt, there are plenty of talking points to touch upon after the close of the summer window. Here, we look at five key takeaways from this summer and how they could impact their clubs' fortunes this season:
#5 The Premier League topped the spending charts, but Liverpool remained largely quiet
According to a report by Deloitte, the Premier League topped the spending charts among the top five European leagues this summer. The English top-flight saw a gross transfer spend of £1.1 billion, followed by Serie A (£475 million), Bundesliga (£360 million), Ligue 1 (£325 million) and La Liga (£250 million).
Understandably, the bulk of the Premier League's transfer spendings came from their top six clubs. Arsenal topped the list, spending £149 million on six players, while Manchester United spent £126 million on four. Manchester City splurged £106 million on Jack Grealish, their sole incoming this season, while Chelsea spent £108 million on three players. Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur spent £60 million to bring in five players.
The only big club missing from this list is Liverpool, who spent £35 million to sign only one player: Ibrahima Konate. Jurgen Klopp's side couldn't offload much of their deadweight either, with the likes of Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino still on their wage list.
Liverpool still have plenty of quality in their ranks, but may have missed a trick that could cost them in crunch moments during the 2021-22 season.
#4 Free transfers continue to be the preferred mode of business in European football in the COVID-19 era
The free transfer route has been of massive importance to numerous clubs this summer. In an economy fiercely handicapped by the COVID-19 pandemic, free transfers have offered clubs the opportunity to sign players without incurring any intra-club expenditure.
PSG have arguably been the biggest beneficiaries of the free transfer market this summer. The Parisians brought in four world-class players without shelling out any money, in a coup for the ages. Barcelona also used this route, bringing in Memphis Depay, Eric Garcia and Sergio Aguero this summer. Real Madrid, meanwhile, brought in David Alaba from Bayern Munich on a free transfer.
The fact that two of Spain's biggest clubs relied on free transfers to fulfil key roster holes is a testament to the impact the pandemic has had on clubs' finances. The trend only looks set to continue next summer, with Kylian Mbappe, Paulo Dybala and Leon Goretzka among those whose contracts expire in 2022.
#3 Flurry of loan deals on deadline day
The 2021 summer transfer window came to an exhilarating close with a number of deals going through in the final hours. Interestingly, most of them were loan moves.
As in the case of free transfers, loan deals also afford clubs cheap, albeit short-term, solutions to their problems. The final hours of this summer's window were particularly exciting in this regard.
Antoine Griezmann's underwhelming two-year spell at Barcelona came to an end, as he returned to former employers Atletico Madrid. Needing a replacement for their departed forward, Barcelona picked up Sevilla striker Luuk de Jong on loan for the 2021-22 campaign. Saul Niguez completed a triumvirate of final-hour La Liga loan deals by moving to Stamford Bridge for a year.
Prior to these deals, Arsenal sent Hector Bellerin on loan to Real Betis, and signed Bologna's Takehiro Tomiyasu on a permanent deal to replace him. PSG followed suit by signing talented left-back Nuno Mendes on loan from Sporting Lisbon. The deal also saw PSG's Spanish winger Pablo Sarabia go to the Portuguese club on loan in return.
While the contracts for these deals suggest they are short-term moves, it is worth noting that they satisfy many of the clubs' long-term needs. It will be interesting to see how these players plug the gaps for their respective teams and if they do enough to secure permanent moves next summer.
#2 Did emotion override logic for some clubs?
Warning: this is not targeted at any single club. Many of the clubs mentioned in this sub-point have had tremendous transfer windows on numerous fronts.
Yet, amid their nuanced transfer business strategies, these clubs seem to have had emotion get in the way at some point. Manchester United are the most significant example here. The club's owners finally decided to splash some cash to sign the players the manager wanted, with United landing Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho to bolster their squad.
Their only other glaring requirement was a central midfielder. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side were strongly linked with Ruben Neves and Eduardo Camavinga throughout the summer. But neither arrived at the club, and the Red Devils, instead, signed Cristiano Ronaldo a few days before the window concluded.
Granted, the return of the prodigal son to Old Trafford has been expectedly well received, and Ronaldo looks happy with the move as well. But the transfer took the sting out of fans' requests for a defensive midfielder. Ronaldo is sure to win matches for Solksjaer's side over the course of the season. But the massive hole in midfield that Fred and Nemanja Matic can no longer fill could prove to be the Red Devils' undoing this campaign.
Similarly, Barcelona brought in Sergio Aguero on a free transfer. The deal looks like an excellent one on paper; the Blaugrana needed a goalscorer, and the Argentine is one of the greatest strikers to have graced the game.
Yet, an injury-prone Aguero is hardly the answer Barcelona require at this point in time. Besides, the former Manchester City man's signing seemed more to have been part of the effort to keep Lionel Messi at the club. About a month from Aguero's arrival, he is set to be on the treatment table for at least another month while Messi has just made his debut for PSG.
Arsenal are yet another example. The Gunners chose to bring back Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid after a decent loan spell last time around at the Emirates.
While the Norwegian is a truly talented youngster, it is baffling that Arsenal let Emiliano Buendia slip from their hands. The Argentine, a proven Premier League performer, is now at Aston Villa after rejecting the Gunners' interest. Odegaard is an excellent player, but Mikel Arteta's side need more than just youth and talent at the moment.
Of course, we don't know what happens behind the scenes with such deals. Perhaps, all of the clubs' targets weren't willing to move to their new destinations, or maybe their present clubs did not wish to sell them. But emotion does seem to have trumped logic in most transfers that have happened this summer. The clubs will hope that does not negatively impact them, come the end of the 2021-22 season.
#1 Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo exchange moments in the spotlight
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have often found themselves in the limelight for their on-field performances. The duo has combined for 11 of the last 12 Ballon d'Or awards, and are, without a doubt,t two of the greatest players to have graced the game.
This summer, though, the two made headlines for their moves off the field. Messi's moment came first. Fresh off winning Copa America 2021 with Argentina, the forward returned to Barcelona for the new season. But he was informed the club would not renew his contract due to their woeful financial situation. Messi held a tearful press conference to confirm his exit, and PSG swiftly swooped in to secure his signature.
The Parisian club's announcement for Messi led to a massive boost in their off-field fortunes. PSG's social media following hit new peaks, while their club store sold all their Messi jerseys in no time following the move of the summer.
But Messi was quickly one-upped by Ronaldo a couple of weeks later. Courted for days by Manchester City, the Portuguese was convinced by several Manchester United legends to rejoin his old club. Ronaldo paid heed, and chose to return to Old Trafford this summer.
Excitement quickly hit fever pitch among fans and pundits. The Red Devils' announcement on Twitter regarding Ronaldo's return reportedly received the most likes in an hour for a sports-related post on the platform.
In a crazy transfer window that had several headline moves, it was eventually Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo who once again stole the spotlight. The duo will hope to fulfil their new clubs' dreams in the upcoming season.
