Chelsea smash world spending record for summer transfer window

Suraj Radia

• 1 Sep 2022 10:47 CDT
• 3 min read

Chelsea have shattered the world record for the most money spent in a single window after the arrival of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The Blues were neck and neck with Real Madrid, who spent approximately £272 million in 2019, but the projected £12m signing of Aubameyang has taken their outlay to a new high of £273.5m, inclusive of add-ons.

While the numbers are not an exact science, Chelsea have signed eight players for significant sums of money this summer as well as paying compensation for a host of youngsters for their under-23s side.

Chelsea could also end the window signing a midfielder before the transfer window closes, which would further extend their record, with Ajax's Edson Alvarez the subject of a £40m bid on deadline day.

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How have Chelsea splashed the cash?

The biggest signing of the window for the Blues has been the arrival of Wesley Fofana, with the Leicester defender joining for £70m.

Chelsea spent a vast portion of their budget restructuring their defence after seeing the likes of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen leave, with Kalidou Koulibaly signing for £34m from Napoli and Brighton's Marc Cucurella joining in a £62m deal.

The first signing of Chelsea's summer was Raheem Sterling and the Manchester City forward arrived at Stamford Bridge for a fee of £47.5m.

The rest of the money was made up through the signings of young talents such as Gabriel Slonina (£12m), Carney Chukwuemeka (£20m) and Cesare Casadei (£16m).

Youth prospects Omari Hutchinson, Zak Sturge, Eddie Beach, Shumaira Mheuka and Tyler Dibling all commanded fees or compensation packages but these have not been added to the overall £273.5m total.

Real Madrid had previously held the record through their 2019 summer spending, which included the £103m signing of Eden Hazard from Chelsea as well as the big money aquisitions of Luka Jovic, Eder Militao and Ferland Mendy among others.

Man City were thought to have had the biggest window in Britsh history previously, spending £223.8m in 2017, edging out Chelsea's £221.4m outlay in 2020.

Chelsea have also brought in just under £50m in fees this summer through the sales of players such as Timo Werner and Emerson Palmieri, however new owner Todd Boehly clearly has wasted no time with investing in the first-team squad.