The biggest deals on Deadline Day
This top star puts Cristiano Ronaldo in the shade
02/03/2026 – 10:29 amReading time: 2 minutes
Deadline Day brings a lot of movement to the transfer market in summer and winter. It was the same this year, a lot of money flowed on the last day of the transfer window.
Karim Benzema is the name of the man who probably attracted the most attention on this year’s Winter Deadline Day. The Frenchman moved within Saudi Arabia – from Al-Ittihad to league leaders Al-Hilal. Benzema’s time at Al-Ittihad ended in a dispute and differences arose regarding the drafting of the contract.
Due to the differences, Benzema went on strike recently and was not in the squad for the last two games. The former French international received a one-and-a-half year contract with the leaders of the Saudi league, where he played alongside internationally known players such as Theo Hernández and Darwin Núñez.
The transfer fee is impressive for a 38-year-old: According to media reports, Al-Hilal will pay 18 million euros to Benzema’s previous club Al-Ittihad. No player over 36 years old has ever been transferred so expensively. The previous record was set by Cristiano Ronaldo, who moved from Juventus to Manchester United for 17 million euros. The two old stars will now fight each other at the top of the table – only one point behind Al-Hilal is Al-Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo’s club.
The transfer of Jørgen Strand Larsen did not attract much less attention. He moved within the Premier League – from Wolverhampton Wanderers to Crystal Palace. According to consistent media reports, he is changing clubs for around 55 million euros including bonuses.
At first – as bizarre as it sounds – it doesn’t sound that special for the Premier League. But it is because Strand Larsen as a center forward has only scored one goal in 22 appearances. The Norwegian was strong in the previous season, scoring 14 goals for Wolverhampton as a loan striker.
Ademola Lookman should still be familiar to fans from Germany. He once played for RB Leipzig, then came to Atalanta Bergamo in the Italian Serie A via the Premier League. Now his journey continues – Lookman was transferred to Atlético Madrid in Spain on deadline day. The transfer fee is 35 million euros, but can increase to 40 million euros through bonuses.
