Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid Swallowed Almost All of LaLiga's Summer Spending, With $874 Million Changing Hands

Close to 755 million euros (roughly 874 million dollars) changed hands this summer in LaLiga's transfer market. And as usual, three clubs carved up nearly the entire pie. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid accounted for the vast majority of the spending, while on the other end of the scale, a newly promoted side decided to break the austerity script.

Let's start with the biggest spender. Real Madrid put 225 million euros on the table to rebuild a squad that has gone two seasons without lifting a major trophy. New arrivals included names like Yan Diomande, Carlos Espi, Bernardo Silva, Denzel Dumfries, Marc Cucurella and Ibrahima Konate, but the signing that grabbed all the headlines was Diomande himself: 125 million euros in fixed fees, the most expensive deal in Spanish soccer this summer.

Barcelona didn't hold back either. The Catalan club invested 184 million euros in eight signings, among them Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi, Rodri Hernandez, Gabriel Jesus, Dominik Livakovic and Joao Cancelo. Gordon (80 million) and Rodri (60 million) were by far the club's most expensive additions.

Atletico Madrid rounded out the podium in spending with 123 million euros across five signings: Morten Hjulmand, Kang In Lee, Cuti Romero, Alejandro Grimaldo and Jonathan David (the latter on loan). Three of those deals, Hjulmand, Kang In and Romero, each came in around 40 million.

The sales that funded Madrid

So where did all that money come from? In Real Madrid's case, much of it came from within. The club raised close to 220 million euros in departures, with the sale of Nico Paz to Como for 60 million as the headline figure, followed by Gonzalo (40 million), Victor Munoz (20.5 million), Mario Gila (15 million) and a long list of academy products who found new homes throughout the summer.

Across LaLiga as a whole, sales came close to 497 million euros. Beyond the Paz transfer, notable deals included the 50 million PSG paid Barcelona for Ferran Torres and the 25 million Aston Villa paid Atletico for Matteo Ruggeri. Even smaller clubs cashed in: Rayo Vallecano pocketed 23.40 million for Nobel Mendy (Hull City) and 20 million for Pep Chavarria (Chelsea).

Deportivo, the surprise of a frugal summer

Outside the big three, the word of this transfer window was austerity. Most Spanish clubs watched every euro to avoid bumping up against LaLiga's salary limits and running into registration trouble. Only Athletic Club spent literally nothing.

Against that backdrop, Deportivo de A Coruna was the great exception. Despite being newly promoted, the club invested 26 million euros in six signings, bringing in notable names such as Marc Casado, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Josema Gimenez and Adama Traore. A bold move for a club returning to the top flight that chose not to play it safe.

At the opposite end sat Rayo Vallecano, which sold 42.4 million worth of players while spending just 10 million on three signings, and Villarreal, which has historically been active in the market but this time invested only 16.5 million in two signings. Between giants spending without restraint and clubs surviving under a magnifying glass, that's the picture LaLiga's summer painted.