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#3 Barcelona (€2.06 billion)
The most notorious spenders among the elite, Barcelona's transfer business over the past few seasons is a masterclass on how not to spend the big bucks. They have been one of the biggest spenders in football over the last two decades but of late, their big signings have all proven to be ill-advised.
After getting close to £200 million from the sale of Neymar, Barcelona bought Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool for £130.5 million and Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund for £124.2 million. In the 2019 summer transfer window, they signed Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid for £108 million.
None of these signings have been able to justify their price tags so far. Some of the other expensive deals that the Blaugrana have pulled off include Neymar from Santos (£79.38 million), Luis Suarez (£73.55 million), Frenkie De Jong (£67.5 million), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (£62.55 million) and Miralem Pjanic (£54 million).
#2 Real Madrid - €2.14 billion
When you build your brand around 'Galacticos' who cost a fortune to buy and pride yourself on fielding the most star studded lineups in Europe, you are bound to spend a ridiculous amount of money. Can you really fault them though after winning 13 Champions League titles?
No eyebrows are raised anymore when Los Blancos start spending ridiculous sums on some of the biggest stars in the world. They have consistently been able to sign some of the best players in the world.
Their most expensive signings in the last 20 years are Eden Hazard (£103.5 million), Gareth Bale (£90.90 million), Cristiano Ronaldo (£84.6 million), Zinedine Zidane (£69.75 million), James Rodriguez (£67.5 million) and Kake (£60.30 million).
#1 Chelsea - €2.16 billion
Chelsea have been the team to observe in this transfer window. Roman Abramovich has proved once again that he has not lost any interest in the club and continues to back his managers in the transfer market by breaking the bank time and again.
Chelsea's fortunes took a turn for the better after the Russian took over at the helm shortly after the turn of the millennium and brought Jose Mourinho to transform a mid-table side to world beaters.
The Blues have been able to lure some world-class players and continue to do so thanks to their financial clout. Some of Chelsea's most expensive signings are Kai Havertz (£72 million), Kepa Arrizabalaga (£72 million), Alvaro Morata (£59.4 million), Christian Pulisic (£57.60 million), Fernando Torres (£52.65 million) and Jorginho (£51.3 million).
