Hello and welcome to the European version of transfer grades. For the rest of the week, the three of us (Kim, Neel and Mohamed) will be digging into 20 of the most interesting teams on the European continent. Today, we’re starting with the 5 La Liga teams that qualified for the UEFA Champions League:

Reiterating the stuff up top from the Premier League transfer grades:

We’ve tried our best to find accurate information about add-ons, loan fees, and youth player transfers, but there isn’t detailed and accurate reporting on every single transfer. Because the achievability of add-ons varies so much, they’re just added in full to everyone’s totals.

Loan obligations or options to buy are not included in fees. We’ll include them in the window they’re executed. Several players who were loaned in with buy obligations over the last two windows are included here, since this summer is when those transfers were executed. All fees are in Euros for this set of teams, rather than GBP, since that’s what they all use. They should convert from the fees in previous transfer grades pretty cleanly, but exchange rates do vary daily.

OK, that’s the spiel. Onto the grades:

Unspectacular midfielder Morten Hjulmand is Atlético Madrid’s most expensive signing of the summer at €45m. He can do a solid enough job holding things down in midfield, but he is a tad limited for my liking, especially for a side that only plays with two in the middle of the park.

The other signings are all decent deals at the reported fees, and continue to move the squad towards a more ball-playing style. Lee Kang-in is the pick of the bunch for me as this looks like a really good team-player fit for the 25-year-old dynamic attacker, who should remain productive for a good few seasons. Cristian Romero joins some of the club’s top earners, but does significantly improve the on-ball ability of the back line. Alejandro Grimaldo is another standout in possession, while Jonathan David’s profile also fits the team and should prove useful as a rotation striker on a season-long loan. —NS

Grade: B

I feel Atléti could have gotten a bit more on their major sales. In particular, €25m for Matteo Ruggeri is on the lower side for a Premier League buyer since he still had a good few years on his contract. Thiago Almada’s career trajectory continues to baffle as he first agitated for a move to Europe (which first came via a record-breaking move to Botafogo followed by a loan to Lyon in John Textor’s totally financially sound multi-club group), and has now gone back to Argentina 18 months later for a national record fee of €20m (just under what Atlético paid for him last year). Other departures include loan deals for older players, which help by getting some salary chunks off the books.

Of course, most of the noise at the Metropolitano surrounded Julian Alvarez. The ex-Manchester City forward has ended up staying put after a drawn-out transfer saga that included offers from both Barcelona and Real Madrid, with Arsenal also coming into the picture later on. The player made his desire to leave clear even during an ongoing World Cup, kicking all sorts of drama off.

Atléti ultimately refused to negotiate with Barcelona after becoming frustrated by their insufficient offers, Real Madrid’s €150m bid was widely perceived as a ceremonial move to fulfil Florentino Pérez’s election campaign promises rather than a serious offer, and Alvarez reportedly did not want to move back to England. Los Colchoneros were undoubtedly put in a tough spot, but given just how messy things got, I wonder if trying to work out an agreement with Barcelona would have been a better option than getting into a public spat. —NS

Grade: C+

The Alvarez saga aside, my view of Atlético Madrid’s window remains largely consistent from last year. They have continued to take the squad in the right direction stylistically, though the lack of young signings is a minor issue. Diego Simeone, who is now in the final year of his contract, is unlikely to maximise the team’s potential, so they should aim to be under new management this time next year. Who they hire next in such a case will determine how effective these windows truly prove. —NS

Overall grade: B-

It’s weird to say this given their previous track record, but Barcelona did some smart things over the summer. Moving early for Anthony Gordon has aged better with each passing day given how crazy the market ended up being. He’s joined on the flanks by Karim Adeyemi, who despite concerns in the past about his consistency, represents a capable backup option. Rodri adds to their embarrassment of riches in midfield, especially if he returns to his peak (which was hinted at during the World Cup). I’m not sure how much Gabriel Jesus has left in the tank, but if it’s anything notable, he can help alleviate concerns of not having enough viable depth through the middle.

You’ll notice that the name Julián Alvarez was not included in Barcelona’s signings. Despite the Argentine’s desire to make the move to Catalonia, Atlético Madrid stood firm and didn’t sanction a sale in what became football’s biggest saga over the summer. The early results to this season might indicate La Blaugrana will be fine, relative to the exorbitant price it would’ve required to sign him. —MM

Grade: B

The two major departures were Ferran Torres and Robert Lewandowski, with their exits depleting Barcelona’s depth up front. They did get a notable fee from Paris Saint-Germain for Torres, while Lewandowski’s exit helped alleviate the club’s financial strain. Getting any fee for Ansu Fati is decent given his constant injuries, with him trying to rebound in Monaco. Gordon’s signing meant Marcus Rashford’s buy option was not exercised. Meanwhile, a host of loans occurred, highlighted by Ronald Araújo move to Liverpool. It’s hard to believe though that the €55 million buy option will be triggered. —MM

Grade: C+

You can poke holes at Barcelona’s summer business. If Raphinha can’t stay healthy, the odds of them winning major silverware takes a notable hit. It also would’ve been nice to acquire another left central defender to help with potential injuries. Even still, the combination of some sensible signings and clearing the wage bill still made this a net-positive summer for Barcelona (with room for improvement). —MM

Overall grade: B-

Parrott looks like an excellent signing at striker after a couple of productive campaigns with AZ Alkmaar. He scored 14 non-penalty goals and had 0.5 npxG p90 last season. He’s fighting with incumbent Cucho Hernández for playing time at the moment, but has already scored and has 0.72 npxG p90 in his early season appearances.

Bernal is pretty much a pure destroyer in midfield, with no passing and carrying output to speak of during his time in Brazil, and little sign that he’ll provide much of that in his early Betis appearances. While I am generally skeptical of this kind of midfielder, €10m for an early prime player who’s a great athlete is a reasonable investment.

The duo of cheap Real Madrid players look like good pickups. Ceballos returns home and should provide an instant playmaking boost in midfield, while Garcia was quite inexpensive for a guy who’s put up good numbers as a backup left back for Los Blancos.

If I had to add a criticism for Betis, it’s that I think their squad is still short a talented winger and could run into some problems if they get an injury in that area of the pitch, but overall this is very good business. —KM

Grade: A-

Altimira is the one minor slip-up here, given how his career has progressed. Two summers ago, off the back of a brilliant campaign, Betis probably could have sold him for a bigger fee. But he had a reduced role last season, it likely tanked his value, and they sold him laterally (Sporting CP) instead of up.

Mendy to Hull is a great sale after he spent last year on loan at Rayo Vallecano, to extremely mixed results. Garcia is a youngster who wasn’t great in his appearances last year, but Betis got a big sell-on percentage in the event they sold too early and he blossoms at Racing Santander.

In addition to having a positive net spend for the summer, Betis have likely reduced their wage bill by a fairly significant number given their departures. The free transfer players were all very experienced older players on significant wages. —KM

Grade: A-

Betis could have stood to get more aggressive with some younger signings, but overall, this is a very good window. They made smart financial decisions that will give them plenty of flexibility heading into next season, and they did it without making their squad worse. Achieving a positive net spend and reducing the wage bill while remaining a top 5 team in Spain and a favorite to advance out of the Champions League first phase is a job well done. —KM

Overall grade: A-

Real Madrid’s headline summer signing has to be Yan Diomande. After a stellar World Cup, building on a brilliant 2025/26 campaign in Germany, the Ivorian teenager was the subject of serious transfer interest from some of the world’s very best sides. RB Leipzig, ever the shrewd sellers in such situations, took full advantage by setting an astronomically high asking price. It proved enough to scare Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain out of the negotiations, but Los Blancos eventually agreed to a €125m+ fee to get the deal over the line.

To me, that is a ridiculously high figure. I am quite high in Diomande, but he is far from the finished product and therefore unlikely to be an immediate superstar at the biggest stage. Moreover, it makes no sense for Real Madrid to spend so much when they already have two of the world’s very best left-sided attackers. Yes, Diomande can also play on the right, but he is less effective there, and there are other good options in the squad as well.
As a result, I actually think the Carlos Espí deal is the best of the lot. He’ll only be a super sub since Kylian Mbappé has the striker spot on lock, but the box-occupying striker is already proving quite effective in that role and is exactly the sort of profile this attack needs.

Among others, the full-back signings are fine. Two quality players were brought in as free agents, though their salaries are on the higher side. Bernardo Silva’s two-year contract is alright, so Ibrahima Konaté’s reported ~€400,000 per week deal is the bigger concern. —NS

Grade: B-

Selling academy products with no real role in the first team for over €50m altogether has to be considered good business, even if about 90% of that amount came courtesy of inside man Álvaro Arbeloa at Fulham. The only other departures are due to a few ended contracts, but they also won’t have a significant impact on the pitch given those players’ limited contributions last season.

The biggest decision in terms of sales was a deal that didn’t go through. I would’ve been tempted to strike a nine-digit agreement and let Vinícius Júnior go in the final year of his contract – certainly over giving him a six-year extension at an eye-watering salary – but Real Madrid chose to keep hold of their 26-year-old superstar. While he certainly can continue to produce the goods, parting ways would have resulted in a chance to improve the balance of the attack. As things stand, José Mourinho’s side will remain extremely left-biased for at least a couple of more years, as Mbappé’s current contract runs till 2029. —NS

Grade: B+

Real Madrid have addressed a few areas of need in their squad with their signings, though their squad continues to lack a true number six. Vinícius’ contract extension means they have lost no significant contributors, so they can go into the season feeling that they have improved their side. Some overpay isn’t such a big concern for them given their ability to print money through sponsorship deals and the renovated Bernabéu. —NS

Overall grade: B

Compared to last summer, Villarreal were very quiet with player trading. Nathan Saliba was the only signing to come in for a notable fee following his sole season with Anderlecht. He arrives to provide another option in midfield as more in the all-action mold. Péter Gulácsi’s 11 year run as RB Leipzig’s goalkeeper ended, having been a mainstay for the German club between the sticks ever since their controversial rise in the 2010s. Otherwise, they’re hoping loan returnees Ilias Akhomach and especially Carlos Romero can provide an injection of quality. —MM

Grade: C+

The ill-fated signing of Thomas Partey thankfully only lasted a single season. Meanwhile, both Dani Parejo and Alfonso Pedraza left the club after successful tenures as Villarreal players (especially in Pedraza’s case since he spent 15 years with the club dating back to youth level). Replacing the two veterans won’t be easy. Nothing else of note happened, besides getting a modest fee from Getafe for Ramón Terrats. —MM

Grade: C

Villarreal are banking on continuity among their core talents to remain competitive. In that respect, keeping Pape Gueye for another year is huge given how good he’s become in Spain. This should make new coach Iñigo Pérez’s job a bit easier to deal with, although early results have not gone their way. It remains to be seen how much the departures of Parejo and Pedraza will be felt. We’ll see if the understated summer from the ‘Yellow Submarine’ ends up in them once again gaining qualification to the Champions League for the 2027-28 season. —MM

Overall grade: C+

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