The closing day of the 2026 summer transfer window has reshaped football’s all-time list of biggest deadline-day deals, with four transfers completed in its final hours breaking into the historical top 20, according to analysis by Winsportsonline.
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The headline deal saw Manchester City pay Chelsea €145 million for Enzo Fernández, matching the existing record set by Liverpool’s move for Alexander Isak from Newcastle in 2025.
Fernández already held the separate record for the most expensive January deadline-day transfer, having joined Chelsea from Benfica for €121 million back in 2023, making him the first player in recent memory to simultaneously hold one record outright and share another.
Three further deals from this year’s closing day also broke into the top 20. City completed a second addition of their own, paying Everton €70 million for Iliman Ndiaye, while Newcastle signed Matías Fernández-Pardo from Lille for €60 million and Aston Villa brought in Ibrahim Mbaye from Paris Saint-Germain for €55 million.
City’s double swoop for Fernández and Ndiaye gives them four entries in the all-time top 20, more than any other club, having previously featured through Matheus Nunes and Nico González. Manchester United sit second with three entries, while Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle each have two.
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The ranking has shifted rapidly in recent years, with nine of the current top 20 completed in 2025 or 2026 alone, and 14 since 2023. Long-standing deals like Gareth Bale’s €101 million move to Real Madrid in 2013 have been pushed well down the order as a result.
Premier League clubs were the buyers in 16 of the 20 deals overall, including all four of this year’s new entries, with only Bale, Randal Kolo Muani, Jhon Durán and Galeno’s moves taking players elsewhere.
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