The global transfer spending record has been broken this summer, according to figures from Transfermarkt.
Clubs worldwide have spent a combined £6.56billion on 1,617 players so far, surpassing the previous high for a single window of £6.51bn set in 2019.
Here, the PA news agency breaks down the record-breaking total.
Highest spending leagues
The Premier League is comfortably the highest-spending division in 2023-24, with almost £2.1bn having been invested in 269 players.
The Saudi Pro League is second on the list with a combined total of £727million, ahead of Italy’s Serie A (£683m), Germany’s Bundesliga (£598m), France’s Ligue 1 (£597m) and Spain’s LaLiga (£342m).
The English top flight has moved further clear of rival leagues compared with 2019, with Premier League spending almost doubling in value and now accounting for 32 per cent of the global total, up from 20 per cent four years ago.
In contrast, the remaining four of Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues have all spent less than they did in 2019, albeit with more than 48 hours of the window still to go.
Those declines have been offset by a huge rise in Saudi Pro League spending, from less than 1 per cent of the total in 2019 to more than 11 per cent in 2023.
The increase in Saudi Arabia’s market share has come at the expense of LaLiga clubs in particular, whose spending is worth just five per cent of the worldwide total this summer – compared with 18 per cent four years ago.
Highest spending clubs
Chelsea have spent £359m on new players this summer, the most of any club worldwide according to Transfermarkt.
The Blues are top of the spending charts for the third consecutive window under Todd Boehly’s ownership, with their total transfer outlay closing in on £1bn since last summer’s takeover.
Unlike previous windows, however, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal (£304m) are the second-highest spending club, ahead of Arsenal (£202m), PSG (£180m), Tottenham (£166m) and Manchester United (£165m).
The remaining three clubs owned by the gulf state’s Public Investment Fund – Al-Ahli (£157m), Al-Nassr (£142m) and Al-Ittihad (£65m) – also feature in the top 25 highest spenders so far this season.
Most expensive transfers
Despite the rise in Saudi Pro League spending, all three nine-figure transfers this summer have involved Premier League clubs.
Moises Caicedo, Harry Kane and Declan Rice all moved for an initial £100m, with Brighton, Tottenham and West Ham extracting club-record fees for their prized assets.
Caicedo and Rice stayed in the English top flight by moving to Chelsea and Arsenal respectively, while Kane joined 11-time reigning Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in search of silverware.
At an initial £88.5m, Jude Bellingham’s switch from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid is fourth on the list, while Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol and Al-Hilal’s Neymar are joint-fifth having joined for £77.6m from RB Leipzig and PSG respectively.
Fiorentina 2-2 Napoli: Kvaratskhelia keeps visitors' slim European hopes alive
Dethroned Italian champions Napoli's hopes of playing European football next season are hanging by a thread after they played out a 2-2 draw at Fiorentina in Serie A on Friday.
Napoli took the lead in the eighth minute through defender Amir Rrahmani, who nodded home a corner by Matteo Politano.
Cristiano Biraghi levelled for Fiorentina in the 40th minute from a free-kick, before M'Bala Nzola put the hosts in front two minutes later when he fired a shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia responded with another stunning free-kick early in the second half to rescue a point for his team.
Eighth-placed Fiorentina, on 54 points and with a game in hand, are five points behind Lazio in seventh.
They can still earn a Europa League spot either by leapfrogging the Rome side or by winning the Europa Conference League final in which they face Greece's Olympiakos on May 29.
Ninth-placed Napoli, on 52 points, still have a slim chance of making the Europa Conference League playoffs.
Data Debrief
Fiorentina left-back Biraghi has now scored six goals from direct free-kicks since the start of 2021-22, which is behind only James Ward-Prowse (seven) - now of West Ham and formerly of Southampton - as the most across Europe's top five leagues in that period.
Kvaratskhelia also levelled via a direct free-kick, making this the first Serie A match in which both teams scored via that route since Fiorentina against Lazio in April 2018 (Jordan Veretout and Luis Alberto in that case).
Southampton 3-1 West Brom (3-1 agg): Saints set up play-off final with Leeds United
Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.
Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.
Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.
Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.
Marc Skinner signs Manchester United Women contract extension
Marc Skinner has signed a one-year contract extension as Manchester United Women head coach with the option of a further 12 months.
The 41-year-old guided United to their first major silverware last weekend with victory over Tottenham in the Women's FA Cup final.
United are fifth in the Women's Super League with one game to go - a massive drop on last term's runners-up finish - but Skinner will stay on.
"It's an honour to extend my stay at Manchester United," Skinner, who was appointed in 2021, told United's official website after the news was confirmed on Friday.
"I've always felt at home here, with our excellent players, staff, and fans.
"Being able to secure the team's first major trophy at Wembley was a real career highlight for me and another sign of our continued growth, on and off the field."
United conclude their campaign on Saturday against Chelsea, who lead Manchester City on goal difference entering the final day.
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