Gulf in finances between La Liga and Premier League laid bare with January statistics | OneFootball

It’s no secret that La Liga has rather strict financial rules. The matter has divided opinion in recent years, but ultimately, they are here to stay. However, it does mean that clubs are less likely to splash out, especially mid-season.

That was the case for the 2025 winter transfer window, which closes on Monday night. La Liga clubs did a fair amount of business, but not much money was spent – instead, many loan deals were sought, such as Arthur Melo to Girona and Tajon Buchanan to Villarreal.

In the end, Sport say that €26m was spent among the 20 La Liga clubs during the winter transfer window. Real Betis were the biggest contributors to this, as they spent half (€13m) to bring in Cucho Hernandez from MLS side Columbus Crew, with that operation being concluded on deadline day.

Cucho Hernandez was La Liga’s biggest January signing (Photo by Real Betis Balompie)

By comparison, this is a very small amount when compared to the other top leagues in Europe. €475m was spent by Premier League sides, while Serie A teams spent €228m, and those in Ligue 1 splashed out to the tune of €200m.

Remarkably, the €26m spent by La Liga clubs placed them in 16th of leagues with the most money spent during the winter transfer window. The top leagues in Belgium, Russia, China, Mexico and Argentina outspent them, and so did teams in the second tier of German football (2. Bundesliga).

It is worth noting that none of Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atletico Madrid spent a single penny during the transfer window, which each of these clubs choosing to keep faith in their respective squads for the second half of the season. From this information, it can be asserted that there is much less money available outside of La Liga’s top three, and although that makes it tough to compete financially, they do a good job on the pitch when in European competition.