During the winter transfer window, there is often an expectation of high activity from clubs in acquiring new and famous players, but most teams choose not to waste money and wait for the summer to make the desired changes. However, this year was exceptional - football clubs not only delighted their fans with new and famous purchases, but also broke transfer records, making this January transfer window exceptional in the football world.
Records
It was known for a long time that this winter would break the transfer window record. Due to a transfer ban, "Atletico" could only officially register Diego Costa in January, so his 66 million euro transfer had to become the biggest purchase in winter transfer window history. However, even before January, the record belonged to another team - "Liverpool" did not spare 75 million pounds (85.6 million euros) for Virgil van Dijk, making him not only the most expensive winter signing of all time, but also the most expensive player in his position in football history.
Finally, when "Barcelona" bought Philippe Coutinho, this record was broken again. The Catalans paid 120 million euros for the Brazilian, a sum that could later rise to as high as 160 million euros. In total, this winter saw the top five most expensive winter transfer window purchases of all time - alongside the above-mentioned trio, Aymeric Laporte and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang deals were also included.
Most Changes
Madrid's "Real" coach Zinedine Zidane mentioned before the transfer window that he was satisfied with his squad and felt that no changes were needed. These words were confirmed by the team's actions in January - "Real" was the only team in the top five European leagues that did not participate in any deals during the winter transfer window.
The most changes in their teams were made by "Serie A" clubs, but among them were mostly players who had received less playing time and would hardly become key players. Meanwhile, clubs in the top German league were the most satisfied with their squads and made the fewest changes compared to all other top five leagues.
In total, new signings and departing players (not including loaned players) were as follows:
"Premier League": 29 new players and 21 players left their clubs.
"La Liga": 21 new players and 26 players left their clubs.
"Bundesliga": 18 new players and 24 players left their clubs.
"Serie A": 25 new players and 36 players left their clubs.
"Ligue 1": 18 new players and 26 players left their clubs.
Exchanges and Loans
This winter, a rare occurrence in the football world was recorded: "Arsenal" and "Manchester United" decided to exchange players. Henrikh Mkhitaryan moved to London with a cash payment, while "The Red Devils" strengthened their squad with Alexis Sanchez.
Meanwhile, the "Chelsea" club again expressed itself by loaning players - several players left the team on loan basis, with the intention of returning to the London team in the summer. Among the loaned players was striker Michy Batshuayi, who joined the team for 39 million euros in the summer of 2016 and will soon defend the honor of "Borussia."
Adding the players loaned in the summer, a total of 21 players belonging to "Chelsea" will spend the remaining part of the season at other clubs.
