We've already covered the Premier League and Serie A, and now it's time to take a look at the biggest happenings in La Liga. The league often provides plenty of excitement during the summer transfer window.
The eternal love story between Los Blancos and Kylian Mbappé has finally come to fruition. Rumors have been swirling for nearly five years, with Mbappé almost joining Real Madrid two years ago, only to stay at PSG a bit longer to try and win another Champions League title for his city. That didn’t happen, and Mbappé left PSG on a free transfer to Real Madrid. It never really felt like any other club was in the running. This must be counted as the greatest free transfer in history, even though Mbappé is being handsomely rewarded. However, there are a few question marks. Mbappé thrives best on the left wing, but that spot is already occupied by the world’s second-best left winger, Vinícius Jr. Mbappé hasn’t impressed when playing centrally in the attack, even though I suspect that’s where Ancelotti will position him. In Mbappé's shadow, the club also brought in Brazil's next super talent, Endrick. Given the club's history with young Brazilians, it's only a matter of time before Endrick becomes a world star. Not many players have left either, though Toni Kroos retiring will leave a massive void in the midfield. For now, there’s no indication they’ll strengthen that position, opting instead to rotate Camavinga, Tchouaméni, Modrić, and Ceballos. As usual, an academy player has to depart; this time, it’s the young center-back Rafa Marín, who leaves for Napoli.
There’s much to say about how Barcelona has managed its finances in recent years, but everyone can agree it hasn’t been handled well. The club continues to churn out superstars from La Masia, the most recent being Lamine Yamal, who helped Spain win the European Championship. Don’t be surprised if Fermín López goes on to become the best player of the Olympic tournament if Spain wins the gold. Add to that Gavi, Pedri, Balde, Fati, etc., all under 23, and you understand how incredibly skilled they are at talent development. Unfortunately, they’re not as good at signing ready-made players. Since the finances aren’t really there for Barcelona, they had to choose between trying to secure one of the breakout stars from the European Championship, Nico Williams or Dani Olmo. They went with Dani Olmo, which feels a bit odd to me since the club has good depth centrally and a greater need for a left winger, but maybe Ansu Fati will get one last chance. Like their Madrid rivals, most of the sales have been of academy players and talents. Chadi Riad goes to Betis, and Marc Guiu ends up at Chelsea. If Barcelona wants to bring in more players, they’ll need to sell first, with Ferran Torres or Raphinha being the most likely to go. The problem is that no club is willing to meet Barcelona’s valuation of these players so far.
The other big club from Madrid seems to have emptied its piggy bank to challenge its big brother once again. Los Colchoneros, who had a rather tough season last year, surprisingly finished behind the breakout team Girona in only fourth place. This prompted the management to take immediate action. The club started by strengthening the defense, which has always been Cholo Simeone's trademark. Robin Le Normand arrived from Real Sociedad for €34 million. The newly crowned European champion will slot right into the starting eleven alongside Giménez, with the ever-reliable Hermoso also available. This is very good business by the club. They also brought in the towering Dane Alexander Sørloth from Villarreal, who came close to winning the top scorer title last season. But they’re not satisfied there, as the club now seems very close to making the summer's most expensive signing, Julián Álvarez from Manchester City. The deal is reportedly worth a staggering €80 million. If the deal goes through, I expect the club will need to sell a few more players. So far, they’ve only managed to sell Morata and Söyüncü to Milan and Fenerbahce, respectively, but the sums involved aren’t significant. I fully expect more departures, with players like João Félix, Lemar, and Correa potentially on the way out, and it now seems almost certain that the super talent Omorodion will leave for Chelsea. Atlético will undoubtedly be an exciting team to follow next season.
Girona had a great season last year, but I see it as a one-off. The other clubs will have to fight for the remaining European spots. The gap in Spain is just too big right now. Real Sociedad, who have become something of a guarantee for European spots, took the Le Normand money and reinvested it in the squad. They’ve secured the player dubbed “the new Modrić” in Luka Sučić, as well as two left-backs, Sergio Gómez from Manchester City and Javi López from Alavés. Copa del Rey winners Athletic Bilbao have brought in the technical winger Djalo from Braga. Last season's surprise package Girona lost last year’s top scorer Dovbyk to Roma but received €30 million for the striker who came, saw, and conquered. They used the money to invest in Abel Ruiz, who is currently trying to win Olympic gold with Spain. They also signed center-back Ladislav Krejci from Sparta Prague. Beyond that, there’s not much else to note from La Liga; many clubs still have a lot of work to do in the last three weeks of the window, so don’t be surprised if things start to heat up soon.