Only 6 clubs sold for more money
© Imago
Bayer 04 Leverkusen has probably the greatest upheaval that a Bundesliga club ever did in a summer. The Werkself has invested an unprecedented sum in newcomers in Germany, but also lost a large number of regular players on the other. This is also noticeable in the statistics of the highest transfer income in a summer. With 229.5 million euros, Leverkusen earned as much money as six teams before.
The teams that received most of the money from player sales in a transfer summer come from the same category: clubs that have had a very good phase and in which the market values of their own players skyrocket, but they are clearly behind the international heavyweights in the (financial) food chain. In addition to Leverkusen, which after the Doubles win 2023/24 also dared a second attempt with similar staff and now had to bring the silverware to the man, this also applies to clubs such as the AS Monaco, RB Leipzig, Ajax Amsterdam or Borussia Dortmund.
On the other hand, heavyweights such as Atlético Madrid, FC Chelsea, FC Liverpool and FC Barcelona are represented, but both the Rojiblancos 2019/20, the Blues 2023/24 and Reds this year, but despite the great income, and are therefore in a different category. Barça made it to the top 10 in 2017/18 alone through the 222 million euro sale from Neymar.
Monaco had its best phase in club history between 2013 and 2018 when the top 3 of the Ligue 1 came five years in a row. The title was even won in 2017 and the semi -finals of the Champions League were reached. In summer 2018, as with Leverkusen, the big sale followed: for Kylian Mbappé, Thomas Lemar, Fabinho & Co., a total of 365.4 million euros were taken – the highest sum of a club in a transfer phase to date.
On the other hand, the impressive sum of 122.4 million was invested for the replacement – so the parallels to Bayer 04 are quite there. The bad news for all fans of the Werkself: the following year the club played a long time from the principality against relegation and ended the season in 17th place, only two points above the line.
Great Einbuch 2018/19
Table place development of the AS Monaco
For statistics
The negative tendency after a large wave of sales can also be clearly seen in other clubs. Ajax Amsterdam took out 216.6 million euros in the summer of 2022 (11th place worldwide) and missed the championship in the Eredivisie for the first time after four years. A season later it even went down to fifth place. When BVB gave Ousmane Dembélé in summer 2017 and took a total of 209.5 million euros (12th place), the second worst placement followed with fourth place in the Bundesliga in the successful 2010s. And Leipzig came into the top 3 in both years after the departures of Josko Gvardiol, Dominik Szoboszlai and Christopher Nkunku from the summer of 2023, which brought together 240.7 million euros-which had previously worked in four of five years.
“It was necessary that the squad was given fresh blood, that fixed hierarchies and structures are broken up and there is space for new stories and for players who can surprise,” said Leverkusen’s sports director Simon Rolfes the upheaval to this summer. With the dismissal of coach Erik Ten Hag, who had to go back in office after only three games, the first negative story of the new Bayer team has already been written and the tendency has been shown by the championship and vice title in the past two years.
However, encouragement gives: all the clubs mentioned again caught after a short phase of weakness. Monaco made it regularly into the Champions League from 2020, the BVB scratched the title in 2023 and Ajax also came back to old strength after fifth place in 2023/24 and only played the championship at the last few meters last season. Only at RB Leipzig does it have to be shown this season whether the curve goes up again after missing the European places.