Winter Transfer Frenzy: Guardiola Spends More Than All Bundesliga and La Liga Clubs Combined
3 February 2026
Winter Window Spending at a Glance
In the winter transfer window, spending across Europe's top leagues showed a wide gulf, with German Bundesliga clubs notably more cautious than their rivals.
According to Transfermarkt, first-tier German clubs committed around 97 million euros during the winter window.
This figure is modest next to the English Premier League's total of 453 million euros, used to strengthen squads across the division.
Notably, Manchester City, led by Pep Guardiola, spent about 95 million euros—nearly the entire Bundesliga total on its own.
Looking at the league-by-league ranking, Serie A was second with 244 million euros, while Brazilian clubs sat third with 202 million euros after Flamengo broke South American transfer records by signing Lucas Paquetá from West Ham United for 42 million euros.
MLS logged 144 million euros, Ligue 1 105 million euros, underscoring a greater willingness to spend compared with the Bundesliga.
In contrast, La Liga trailed with 76 million euros, and the Saudi Pro League spent 93 million euros.
These numbers highlight the financial gap among Europe's top clubs and suggest that teams like Manchester City can turn the winter window into a one-man wrecking ball, while the Bundesliga remains more conservative than its rivals.
League-by-League Breakdown
These figures reveal the divergent levels of appetite for winter signings and hint at where power dynamics might shift in the coming seasons.
City's outlay stands out as a single club eclipsing an entire league's winter spend, illustrating how far the resource gap has grown from a few years ago.
Punchline 1: If money talked, winter would be a blockbuster.
Punchline 2: My wallet just filed a transfer request to City—it's now the richest member of the squad.
