Barcelona have made transfers worth over €2 billion and it's fair to say things didn't always go according to plan!
It's probably fair to say Barcelona's behaviour in the transfer market has led to some frowned eyebrows across the world.
Financial problems made it hard for the Catalans to register new players recently, yet at the same time they were spending large amounts on new, high-profile players.
Just in the summer of 2022 alone they brought in the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde and Raphinha for significant sums.
Their willingness to spend big is not necessarily new, though, even if it's not always been the most successful approach.
Just think Philippe Coutinho. Expensive star signing not too long ago, Aston Villa player now. Or Antoine Griezmann. Another expensive star signings. Another player now plying his trade elsewhere again.
In short, Barcelona's transfer activity has been hit and miss.
Barcelona most expensive transfers by season
Season
Most expensive signing
Fee
Total spending
2022/23
Raphinha
€58M/£52.20M
€153M/£137.70M
2021/22
Ferran Torres
€55M/£49.50M
€69.50M/£62.55M
2020/21
Miralem Pjanic
€60M/£54M
€112M/£100.80M
2019/20
Antoine Griezmann
€120M/£108M
€298.50M/£268.65M
2018/19
Malcom
€41M/£36.90M
€141.10M/£126.99M
2017/18
Philippe Coutinho
€135M/£121.50M
€365.10M/£328.59M
2016/17
Andre Gomes
€37M/£33.30M
€124.75M/£112.28M
2015/16
Arda Turan
€34M/£30.60M
€51M/£45.90M
2014/15
Luis Suarez
€81.72M/£73.55M
€166.72M/£150.05M
2013/14
Neymar
€88M/£79.20M
€101M/£90.90M
2012/13
Alex Song
€19M/£17.10M
€33M/£29.70M
2011/12
Cesc Fabregas
€34M/£30.60M
€60M/£54M
2010/11
David Villa
€40M/£36M
€72.50M/£65.25M
2009/10
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
€69.50M/£62.55M
€113.50M/£102.15M
2008/09
Dani Alves
€35.50M/£31.95M
€96M/£86.40M
2007/08
Thierry Henry
€24M/£21.60M
€68.50M/£61.65M
2006/07
Gianluca Zambrotta
€14M/£12.60M
€31M/£27.90M
2005/06
None
Nil
Nil
2004/05
Samuel Eto'o
€27M/£24.30M
€78.50M/£70.65M
2003/04
Ronaldinho
€32.25M/£29.03M
€43.85M/£39.47M
2002/03
Juan Roman Riquelme
€10M/£9M
€19M/£17.10M
2001/02
Javier Saviola
€35.90M/£32.31M
€95M/£85.50M
2000/01
Marc Overmars
€29.30M/£26.37M
€82.40M/£74.16M
TOTAL
€2.38B/£2.14B
*All figures are taken from Transfermarkt unless stated otherwise.
Barcelona's top 10 most expensive player signingsGetty10Ferran Torres | €55 million/£49.50 million | Manchester City | 2021
Ferran Torres was the first big-money signing made by Xavi, with Barcelona paying €55 million (£49.50 million) to Manchester City to acquire his services.
The former Valencia man was considered surplus to requirements by City manager Pep Guardiola and his move was made official in January 2022, when he signed a five-year contract with Barca.
AdvertisementFC Barcelona9Raphinha | €58 million/£52.20 million | Leeds | 2022
Raphinha was part of Barcelona president Joan Laporta's revolutionary summer transfer window of 2022.
The Catalan giants were desperate to strengthen their right wing and Raphinha, who netted 11 times for Leeds United in the 2021-22 season of the Premier League, was deemed the perfect fit.
Leeds had no other option but to cash in on the Brazilian winger following his desire to move on, with Barcelona beating competition from Chelsea and Arsenal when they agreed to pay a fee of €58 million (£52.20 million) to sign him.
Reprodução/Twitter FC Barcelona8Miralem Pjanic | €60 million/£54 million | Juventus | 2020
Part of an "accounting" transfer designed by Barcelona and Juventus in 2020, Miralem Pjanic and Arthur swapped teams at an inflated price in order to balance the books for both clubs.
Just one year after his move to the Camp Nou, the Bosnian joined Besiktas on loan, and he ended his troubled time at the Catalan club permanently in the summer of 2022 following a free transfer to UAE based Sharjah FC.
Pjanic made 30 appearances for Barcelona, playing just 1,296 minutes in his time there.
Getty Images7Zlatan Ibrahimovic | €69.50 million/£62.55 million | Inter | 2009
Back in 2009, Barcelona decided to go big in the transfer window when they set their eyes upon Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
They paid an eye-watering €69.50 million (£62.55 million) for the striker, but things quickly turned sour for the Sweden legend.
He fell out with then manager Pep Guardiola, thus losing his place in the starting XI.
Despite that, Zlatan enjoyed a decent goal-scoring record with 22 goals in 46 games for Barcelona, winning the Club World Cup, La Liga, UEFA Super Cup and two Spanish Super Cups along the way.
After loaning him to AC Milan for a season in 2010, Barcelona sold him to the Italian giants for €24m (£21.60m).
