As Manchester City won the Champions League for the first time in their history, it marked the end of the season for top European leagues.
As we all know, this marked the opening of the Summer transfer window and we have already seen some remarkable signings thus far.
Jude Bellingham became the most expensive British player after his insane but expected move to European giants Real Madrid.
Bellingham, who celebrated his 20th birthday on June 29, left Dortmund after three seasons and was named Bundesliga Player of the Year in the most recent campaign.
A shocker has been the number of players that have made the move to the Saudi Arabian League, following in Cristiano Ronaldo’s footsteps.
Karim Benzema and Ngolo Kante both made the move to join Al Ittihad as well as Edouard Mendy.
After a horrid English Premier League campaign, Chelsea have remained in the headlines with a massive exodus from Stamford Bridge.
As it stands, only three first team players who won the Champions League with Chelsea two seasons ago are left in the squad.
From now until the transfer window ends on Friday, September 1, there are still many transfer rumors that could materialize within the top clubs.
SportPesa Blog’s transfer talk will keep you updated and here we look at the top 5 already confirmed deals.
LIONEL MESSI (PSG to Inter Miami)
The 36-year old Argentine stunned the world after reaching an agreement to join David Beckham’s Inter Miami.
Messi left PSG after two seasons and was heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia but that fell through at the last minute.
Messi will make his Inter Miami debut on 21 July, according to the club’s managing owner, Jorge Mas.
Messi’s contract is worth between $50m and $60m a year and will include salary, bonuses and equity in the club once he retires.
JUDE BELLINGHAM (Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid)
Belligham signed a six-year deal with the Spanish heavyweights and became the most expensive English player.
Real paid an initial £88.5m for Bellingham and this was estimated to rise until £115m including add-ons.
The 20-year old has shown great promise and was named the Bundesliga Player of the Season.
When Bellingham was at the peak of his powers during the World Cup with England, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti had his say on where he ranks as one of the best young midfielders in the world.
KAI HAVERTZ (Chelsea to Arsenal)
The German forward has not been on top of his game since winning Chelsea the Champions League and he has left the club.
Arsenal confirmed the signing of Havertz in a £65m deal on an unspecified long-term contract.
Havertz will wear the same number ’29’ jersey he wore for the Blues after he became the Gunners’ first summer signing.
Chelsea signed Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen in 2020 for £75m and becomes the latest player to make the London switch.
Willian, David Luiz, Petr Cech and more recently Jorginho are some of the players who have left the Bridge for the Emirates.
JAMES MADDISON (Leicester City to Tottenham Hotspur)
It is no secret that most people expected Maddison to leave the Foxes after they were relegated from the English Premier League.
Tottenham have signed the England midfielder on a five-year deal for £40m from Leicester.
The 26-year-old has won three caps for England and helped the Foxes claim the FA Cup for the first time in their history in 2021.
He made 203 appearances for Leicester after joining from Norwich in 2018 for a fee of around £20m.
He joins a healthy crop of players in London as they continue to seek a first piece of silverware.
ILKAY GUNDOGAN (Manchester City to Barcelona)
The Man City captain chose to leave on a high after winning a historic treble under Pep Guardiola.
Gundogan was offered a new deal by City but will instead move to the Spanish champions on a two-year deal, with the option to extend for another year.
The 32-year-old’s contract with City expires at the end of June.
“Manchester has been my home and I have felt part of a very special family at City,” the Germany midfielder said.
Gundogan played 51 games in 2022-23, scoring 11 goals, as he played a key role in City winning the Treble.
He scored six goals in his final seven games – including a double in the FA Cup final win over Manchester United.