In January 2017 there were 547 transfers for a total value of £651m. Last summer Paris St-Germain broke the world record by paying £198m for Neymar, contributing towards a total sum of £4.07bn for 1,407 deals. In the window that just finished there were 531 transfers for a total value of £802.2m.

Scroll down to see how it got to £5bn over only three transfer windows



Paris St-Germain leading the way

In January 2017 the Guardian started collecting data on every transfer in the top leagues in Europe for our shiny interactive. It is no surprise to find PSG as the biggest net spenders in two of the three windows we’ve covered so extensively, buying Julian Draxler and Gonçalo Guedes for a combined £56.9m. Crystal Palace are perhaps the standout surprise in that top five, having had to spend to stay in the Premier League.

Neymar deal sees spending reach another level

The summer window 2017 saw Europe’s clubs lose all their senses. PSG spent £198m on Neymar alone and the scariest thing about their net spend of £155.1m is that it did not include the signing of Kylian Mbappé, who somehow arrived on loan from Monaco. Milan went on an extraordinary spree and Manchester City played their part too. As for the clubs bringing money in, there were two clubs from France, two from Germany and one from Italy in the top five.

Coutinho move sparks another arms race

Europe’s top clubs showed that there is seemingly no end to their appetite to spend money on players. Barcelona – because of Philippe Coutinho – led the way with a net spend of £103.7m and Manchester City were in the top five again despite the feeling they had a quiet window. Athletic Bilbao profited from City’s money for Aymeric Laporte to be in the top five earners.

What will the 2018 summer transfer window bring? The trend suggests that the figures are only going to be even more astonishing.