Soccer’s summer transfer windows are known as the “silly season” for good reason, a players and coaches pursue new jobs at dizzying speeds, and teams spend money with reckless abandon.
The summer 2016 transfer window more than lived up to its billing. Simply put, the last few months have been nothing short of silly season on steroids.
The transfer window for most of Europe’s major leagues closed Wednesday, ending a period of record spending, optimism and desperation. Rosters now are largely set until New Year’s Day when the January 2017 transfer window opens for one month.
For now, let’s look at some winners and losers (in no particular order) from this summer’s transfer windows.
Joe Hart
Loser. New Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola didn’t need much time to decide Hart didn’t fit into his plans. Rather than remain at Etihad Stadium as the third-string goalkeeper, Hart decided to try his luck abroad and join Italian club Torino on loan. Now Hart must try to hold onto his job as England’s No. 1 from afar. Good luck with that.
Bundesliga
Winner. Clubs in Germany’s top flight spent and received record amounts, luring some of Europe’s most talented youngsters to the Bundesliga. The recruitment spree might not lift German clubs for a few years, but the Bundesliga’s status as a proving ground is secure.
Barcelona
Winner. Signing Andre Gomes and Paco Alacer, two of La Liga’s hottest prospects and shoring up its defense with with Samuel Umtiti and Lucas Digne looks like good squad management by Barcelona. Dani Alves’ exit was the only blot on an otherwise strong summer.
Real Madrid
Loser. The European champion bought back Alvaro Morata from Juventus and promoted a few young players from the reserve team. Sales of Jese and Denis Cheryshev helped balance the books. Real Madrid faces a year-long transfer ban, and we expected more recruitment from Zinedine Zidane’s team.
Juventus
Winner. The five-time-defending Italian champion sold Paul Pogba for a world-record fee and bought Gonzalo Higuain from domestic rivals Napoli. Juve also signed Miralem Pjanic, Dani Alves, Medhi Benatia and Juan Cuadrado. A shot at the Champions League title could be on Juventus’ horizon.
AC Milan
Loser. The sale of the seven-time European champion promised stellar signings. No big names arrived.
Newcastle
Winner. Rafa Benitez revolutionized a team that suffered relegation from the Premier League last season. The 12 new faces should help the Magpies earn promotion, and the £30 million sale of Moussa Sissoko
David Luiz
Winner. The Brazilian defender returned to Chelsea on deadline day. Rather than remain at a stagnating PSG, Luiz, 29, can lead Chelsea’s defense for the next few years and go as far as new manager Antonio Conte takes the Blues.
Arsenal
Winner. After a summer of transfer-window angst, Arsenal fans welcome the arrivals of Shkodran Mustafi, Lucas Perez, Granit Xhaka and Rob Holding as reinforcements to the team that finished second in last season’s Premier League.
Manchester United
Winner. Big time. Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly strengthened the Red Devils’ spine and signaled manager Jose Mourinho’s intent to win right away.
Manchester City
Winner. Guardiola bolstered his defense and attack in a first-year spending spree. More importantly, he loaned high-earning and under-performing players like Wilfried Bony and Samir Nasri on deadline day and settled the “Hart affair.”
Jack Wilshere
Loser. The Arsenal midfielder joined Bournemouth on loan because he couldn’t nail down a spot at his parent club. He’ll play regularly for the Cherries in an effort to re-build his career, but the bright lights of London and pursuit of trophies would be more exciting for the England midfielder.
Mario Balotelli
Loser. The maverick Italian left Liverpool for France’s Nice. Balotelli’s Anfield departure is good for all parties, but we sense he’s hitting rock bottom in his once promising career.
Paul Pogba
Winner. After winning just about everything, Pogba returned to Manchester United for a record fee. Three years from now, he’ll be a soccer and marketing superstar, and his £89 million ($118 million) price tag will look like a bargain.
Liverpool
Winner. By subtracting players, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has made the Reds his own team quicker than we expected.
Leicester City
Winner. Losing N’Golo Kante was a blow, but keeping Jamie Vardy and Ryad Mahrez from Arsenal’s clutches was most important. Leicester City also broke its transfer record three times this summer, signing Nampalys Mendy, Ahmed Musa and Islam Slimani.
PSG
Loser. Luiz, Digne and Ibrahimovic left, and PSG added Jese, Hatem ben Arfa, Grzegorz Krychowiak and a few other unheralded players in an underwhelming summer to regret.
Thumbnail photo via Brace Hemmelgarn/USA TODAY Sports Images
