Real Madrid and Barcelona\'s Transfer Window: Who They Bought, Who They Sold

The curtain fell on La Liga's summer transfer window on Tuesday night. Spanish football's eternal rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona both made significant moves to rebuild and strengthen their squads ahead of the 2026/27 season.

Both giants spent heavily to bring in new stars while also bidding farewell to a number of familiar faces.

Real Madrid
The most expensive signing of the window for Real was Ivorian winger Yann Dioumande, who arrived from RB Leipzig for €125 million.

To add depth to the squad, Real also signed Spanish left-back Marc Cucurella from Chelsea for €55 million, Spanish striker Carlos Espí from Levante for €25 million, and Dutch midfielder Denzel Dumfries from Inter Milan for €20 million. In addition, Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva from Manchester City and French centre-back Ibrahima Konaté from Liverpool both joined Santiago Bernabéu on free transfers.

Real Madrid's total spending on new signings this window came to €225 million.

On the outgoing side, the club raised significant funds from player sales. Los Blancos sold Gonzalo García to Fulham for €40 million and Cesar Palacios for €10 million. Dani Ceballos departed on a free transfer to Real Betis, while veterans Dani Carvajal and David Alaba left upon the expiry of their contracts.

In total, Real earned €58.5 million from player sales, leaving their net spend at €166.5 million.

Real had also been in discussions to sign Rodri, and talks had progressed to a certain point — but Rodri ultimately decided to join Barcelona instead.

Barcelona
Despite financial constraints, Barcelona spent considerably to bolster their squad. They brought in English winger Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United for €80 million and Spanish midfielder Rodri from Manchester City for €60 million.

German winger Karim Adeyemi joined from Borussia Dortmund for €22 million, and Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus arrived from Arsenal for €10 million. Portuguese full-back João Cancelo returned to the club on a free transfer, while Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livaković was signed for €2 million.

Barcelona's total outlay on new arrivals this summer came to €184 million.

The Catalan club also recouped a healthy sum through player sales. Ferran Torres was sold to PSG for €48.5 million, while Ansu Fati (Monaco) and Tommy Märkees (Braga) each brought in €11 million.

The most high-profile departure was Robert Lewandowski, whose contract had expired — the Polish striker joined MLS side Chicago Fire without a transfer fee. Goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen was loaned to Ajax Amsterdam, and defender Ronald Araújo was sent on loan to Liverpool.

Barcelona's total income from player sales stood at €89.5 million, leaving their net spend at €94.5 million.

Before turning to Jesus, the La Liga champions had their eye on Julián Álvarez — but Atlético Madrid refused not only to sell him to the Catalans, but would not even enter into any discussions on the matter.