European football’s biggest summer sellers so far…
Having looked at the nine biggest spenders in Europe this summer, it’s time to shed light on their counterparts. Which sides have recouped the most in transfer fees?
Sevilla – £65.45m
The severe* blow of not being able to win the Europa League for a fourth consecutive year has clearly hit the Spanish side hard. After finishing fourth in La Liga but suffering a Champions League last-16 exit at the hands of Leicester, Sevilla have overseen a busy summer so far. Five players have arrived for just over £40million, but the moves have been funded by a raft of sales. Winger Vitolo is the most high-profile departure, leaving for £34m to join transfer-banned Atletico Madrid. Vicente Iborra has also rocked up at Leicester, clearly impressed by what he saw in February and March.
The departures (permanent only): Vitolo, Vicente Iborra, Yevhen Konoplyanka, Adil Rami, Mariano, Sebastián Cristóforo, Benoît Trémoulinas.
Chelsea – £65.88m
The six players Chelsea have actually received a fee for this summer made a combined 27 Premier League starts at the club. Twenty-seven – not 26 – was coincidentally also the minute that John Terry was substituted off in his final appearance for the club before departing for Aston Villa, such was the hilarious and baffling nature of his self-absorbed self-lovefest. One can imagine Diego Costa boosting the Blues’ transfer kitty/warchest further in the coming weeks, with the departures lounge otherwise filled with loanees.
The departures: Nathan Aké, Juan Cuadrado, Asmir Begovic, Bertrand Traoré, Christian Atsu, Nathaniel Chalobah, John Terry.
Tottenham – £73.2m
Kyle Walker might account for a large portion of Tottenham’s £73million summer sales, but that ludicrous transfer fee paints only half the picture. The north London side also received a sizeable £16m from Schalke for Nabil Bentaleb after the winter transfer window, while Clinton N’Jie and Federico Fazio depart as bona fide club legends. Eric Dier could almost double the tally if he gets his supposed wish to join Manchester United.
The departures: Kyle Walker, Nabil Bentaleb, Clinton N’Jie, Federico Fazio.
Juventus – £74.97m
Most clubs would look to build on the existing foundations after almost tasting success, but then Juventus have typically bucked that trend. The summer after losing the 2015 Champions League final they sold Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez and Arturo Vidal. After falling at the final European hurdle to Real Madrid in June, Leonardo Bonucci and Dani Alves have already bid farewell, with Rodrigo Bentancur the only permanent new face. Perhaps receiving £10.7m from Valencia for Simone Zaza has made The Old Lady feel untouchable.
The departures: Leonardo Bonucci, Kingsley Coman, Simone Zaza, Neto, Simone Ganz, Younes Bnou Marzouk, Dani Alves, Nico Hidalgo, Marcelo Djaló, Carlos Blanco, Michele Cavion, Anastasios Donis, Francesco Anacoura, Giorgio Siani, Elvis Kabashi, Ouasim Bouy, Stefano Pellini, Paolo De Ceglie.
Lyon – £85.85m
The most high-profile departure was obviously that of Alexandre Lacazette, but Lyon have been busy negotiating with sides away from north London too. Bayern Munich swooped to sign Corentin Tolisso for £35m, making the midfielder the most expensive player in Bundesliga history. The 22-year-old, along with Messrs Valbuena and Gonalons, is proof that if you are looking for a tricky French midfielder, Lyon is your first port of call. Les Gones truly are alright.
The departures: Alexandre Lacazette, Corentin Tolisso, Maxime Gonalons, Mathieu Valbuena, Jordy Gaspar, Rachid Ghezzal.
Everton – £90.34m
Three clubs appear in the top nine of both Europe’s biggest spenders and Europe’s biggest sellers, and few sides have been quite as busy as Everton this summer. Seven players have moved to Goodison Park, with six moving in the opposite direction so far. Romelu Lukaku does account for more than 80% of their revenue generated through player sales after his move to Manchester United, but the Toffees have also received fees for Gerard Deulofeu, Tom Cleverley and Aiden McGeady, which is an art in itself.
The departures: Romelu Lukaku, Gerard Deulofeu, Tom Cleverley, Aiden McGeady, Conor McAleny, Arouna Kone.
Roma – £92.01m
No wonder Roma manager Eusebio Di Francesco described Mohamed Salah as “classless” earlier this month. The Egyptian left for Liverpool in a £34.3m move in June, but implored his former teammates to follow suit soon after. ‘The time for Radja now’ read the post he left on Instagram, suggesting that midfielder Nainggolan should be the next to depart the Italian capital. Antonio Rudiger took the hint and joined Salah in England after securing his switch to Chelsea, while a handful of other players have also left. Among them is Ionut Pop, who has a better name than you or I.
The departures: Mohamed Salah, Antonio Rudiger, Leandro Paredes, Federico Ricci, Marco Frediani, Tiago Casasola, Ionut Pop, Franck Cedric, Tomas Svedkauskas.
Monaco – £94.35m
Perhaps more impressive than Monaco receiving almost £100m for members of their title-winning squad thus far is that a number of other eminently saleable assets remain at the club. Kylian Mbappe, Thomas Lemar, Fabinho, Benjamin Mendy and Djibril Sidibe could all conceivably move for all the euros, and yet Monaco would withstand the effects to remain competitive. It is all part of their master plan after all.
The departures: Bernardo Silva, Tiemoué Bakayoko, Valère Germain, Abdou Diallo, Nabil Dirar, Corentin Jean, Morgan De Sanctis, Seydou Sy.
Benfica – £95.46m
In terms of selling players for gargantuan fees, Portuguese sides most certainly lead the way. Since the 2007/08 season, Tottenham rank third in generating the most money through player sales (£535.70m), but they are a full £70m behind the leading pair. Porto (£609.23m) top that list, pipping Benfica to the post by little more than £1.7m. This summer has been no different for the capital club, with Ederson, Victor Lindelof and Nelson Semedo moving to Manchester City, Manchester United and Barcelona respectively, all for fees of at least £26m.
More to the point, how exactly does one pronounce the surname of winger ‘Daniel Candeias’, who joined Rangers for a nominal sum in June? Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson really wants to know.
The departures: Ederson, Victor Lindelof, Nelson Semedo, Marcal, Hany Mukhtar, Daniel Candeias, Kevin Friesenbichler, Nuno Santos, Pele.
* (HAHA. DO YOU GET IT?)
Matt Stead