Following Gareth Bale's world-record €100
million move from Tottenham to Real Madrid last
year, we have already seen the €80m barrier
broken twice this time around.
With clubs enjoying greater commercial and
broadcast revenues than ever and on the back of
the shop window that is the World Cup, it is safe
to expect more big signings between now and
September.
But what have been the most expensive transfers
so far?
Luis Suarez may have seen his World Cup end in
ignominy, but it wasn't long after his time in
Brazil that Barcelona paid what is currently the
biggest fee of the summer - a staggering €88m -
to bring the Premier League player of the year to
Spain.
Not to be outdone by their Clasico rivals, Real
Madrid splashed out €80m on James Rodriguez,
who captured the attention of the world with his
Golden Boot-winning performances in Brazil and
promptly moved to the Spanish capital from
Monaco. Interestingly, this is the only transfer
currently in the top 10 not to include a club
from England's top flight.
David Luiz will not be missed at Chelsea
according to Jose Mourinho, but Paris Saint-
Germain will hope that their €49.5m outlay on
the Brazilian - the highest fee ever paid for a
defender - will not go to waste.
Chelsea, of course, wasted little time in reinvesting the
funds, paying €44m to Atletico Madrid to bring
Diego Costa to Stamford Bridge.
Currently in fifth place is Alexis Sanchez , who
became Arsenal's second most-expensive player
when he joined from Barcelona. Just behind him
is Luke Shaw, whom Manchester United made
the costliest teenager in football history when
they forked out just over €37.8m to
Southampton for his services.
Shaw's new United team-mate Ander Herrera is
seventh in the table, with Athletic Bilbao
receiving €36.5m for the midfielder, with Cesc
Fabregas' return to the Premier League placing
him in eighth.
In ninth place - the fourth deal involving Chelsea
in the table - is Romelu Lukaku, who joined
Everton in a club-record transfer, while Adam
Lallana completes the current top 10 after
joining Liverpool for €31.5m.
A number of other significant summer moves
just fall short of a place in our list. Toni Kroos
and Antoine Griezmann both cost a fraction
around €30m as they joined Real and Atletico,
while Mario Mandzukic - Costa's replacement at
Atleti - is down in 15th with a fee of around
€22m.
Juan Iturbe is the most expensive signing made
by a Serie A side so far, with Roma's new
attacker placed ahead of Alvaro Morata. Jeremy
Mathieu became the most expensive defender
ever over the age of 30 while Ciro Immobile is
the priciest Bundesliga arrival of the summer at
€18.5m.
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