VfB doubles old record
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The 18 Bundesliga clubs spent 601.2 million euros on new signings this summer – significantly less than last year, when 864.28 million euros were spent. However, there can be no talk of restraint on the transfer market, as the bottom line for 2023 was a transfer surplus of 296 million euros, while the top division clubs had a transfer deficit of 82.8 million euros in the most recent transfer period. It was the first time since 2019 that more was spent than earned. Four clubs from the top division even broke their spending record in the last transfer period.
VfB Stuttgart prepared itself for the first Champions League season since 2010 with 15 new players and spent 75.5 million euros on Deniz Undav, Ermedin Demirovic & Co. The Swabians thus significantly exceeded the previous high of 33.7 million euros from the summer of 2018, but also earned 66.4 million euros through sales – the only other year they earned more was after relegation in 2019 (69.5 million euros).
1. FC Heidenheim found itself in a similar situation this summer, albeit on a much smaller scale. The departures of Jan-Niklas Beste and Tim Kleindienst brought in €15 million in cash, while the squad had to be strengthened for the first European Cup participation in the club’s history. Nevertheless, it was only on deadline day that FCH broke its own spending record from 2021 (€3.85 million) with the €3.5 million signing of Niklas Dorsch, putting a total of just over €6 million on the table for transfers.
TSG Hoffenheim and Holstein Kiel also spent more money on new players this summer than ever before, even though the exact amount for each new signing is not known. The Kraichgau team paid a total of €51 million for record signing Adam Hlozek (€18 million) and co., plus the transfer fee for Brazilian central defender Arthur Chaves (market value: €1.2 million), about which nothing has been revealed so far.
Kiel’s database still lacks the transfer fee for left-back Tymoteusz Puchacz, who came from 1. FC Union Berlin. Nevertheless, the Storks reached spending of €3.2 million before their first Bundesliga season, pushing past FC St. Pauli, who invested €1.8 million this summer. This means that the 2022 transfer period (€3.1 million) remains the one with the highest spending for the Kiezkickers.
RB Leipzig ahead of FC Bayern: 155.5 million euros for Openda & Co. in 2023
The league-wide record is still held by RB Leipzig. Last year, the Saxons spent 155.5 million euros on Loïs Openda, Castello Lukeba and Co., more than record champions FC Bayern ever spent in a transfer window.
The Munich team, who invested the most in new signings this summer with 142 million euros, paid 150 million euros a year ago for Harry Kane, among others. Borussia Dortmund is now the only club to have broken the 100 million mark – in 2016 it was 132.5 million euros.
The truth is that when RB and Bayern made their record spending, even higher revenues were generated on the transfer market. At RB, it was €244 million in the summer of 2023, and at Bayern, €174 million. When BVB set its spending record in 2016, it generated €110.5 million from player sales.
