Which coaches will be delighted with their club's business and which players will be devastated by how things panned out?

The European transfer window slammed shut on Friday night, with a number of the continent's top clubs leaving it right until the last minute to try wrap up deals, with Raheem Sterling joining Arsenal from Chelsea and being promptly replaced at Stamford Bridge by Jadon Sancho.

Overall, spending was down this year, for a variety of reasons. England's elite remain wary of falling foul of the Premier League's Profit & Sustainability Rules (PSR), while many Saudi Pro League sides were either unable or unwilling to splash anything like the same cash as last summer, which resulted in less money flooding into Europe – a major issue for those leagues struggling to make any money out of the sale of TV rights.

However, there were still plenty of major moves, which delighted some supporters and upset others. So, who were the big winners and losers of the window? GOAL breaks it all down below…

Getty WINNER: Manchester City

Say what you will about Manchester City and how they've got to this point, but they've become masters of the transfer market. After winning a treble last year and a historic fourth-consecutive Premier League title in May, there was a risk that some of their senior stars might decide to move on, having won everything that's worth winning during their time at the Etihad.

However, City managed to convince Kevin De Bruyne and Ederson to spurn Saudi Arabian interest in their services, while at the same time taking £21m ($27.5m) off the Public Investment Fund (PIF) in exchange for outcast Joao Cancelo.

The English champions also got treble-winning captain Ilkay Gundogan back off Barcelona for nothing and signed Savinho from Troyes for the same money they sold Cancelo, thus perfectly illustrating the benefits of being part of a multi-club ownership group.

To top it all off, Atletico Madrid were willing to commit to an £81.5m ($107m) deal for Julian Alvarez. Pep Guardiola would have liked to have held onto such a valuable utility forward, but it was an offer simply too good to refuse from City's perspective – particularly when one considers that it means the club has made a massive profit this summer without weakening their squad. Remarkable.

AdvertisementGettyLOSER: Barcelona

This summer was meant to be different for Barcelona. President Joan Laporta insisted the club was very close to getting back on an even keel after years of instability caused by his predecessor Josep Maria Bartomeu, who resigned in 2020 with the club on the verge of bankruptcy.

However, even in spite of all of Laporta's lever-pulling, Barca still found themselves scrambling around in the final week of the transfer window, trying to cobble together enough cash to register their one significant signing of the summer, Dani Olmo.

Most shockingly of all, even after selling academy products and allowing serial winner Ilkay Gundogan to leave for nothing just to get last-season's top assist-maker off the wage bill, Barca were only able to register Olmo because of a conveniently-timed injury to centre-back Andres Christensen, as La Liga's financial rules allow clubs to exceed their salary cap limit if a player is ruled out for an extended period of time.

It is incredible to see Barca in such a perilous financial position, but they obviously only have themselves to blame because while Bartomeu created this mess, it's now become clear that Laporta & Co. aren't doing a particularly good job cleaning it up.

GettyWINNER: Paris Saint-Germain

Might Paris Saint-Germain be better off without Kylian Mbappe? It may sound strange, but the French champions could benefit from the departure of their former poster boy, at least in the long run. Obviously losing him for nothing was devastating and replacing his goals is going to be a seriously tough task, but Mbappe was PSG's problem child. He'd embarrassed them on more than one occasion and Parc des Princes should be a far more stable environment without one of the most petulant characters in the game today.

His departure has also created space for other top talents to flourish at PSG, such as Bradley Barcola, who has made a very strong start to his second season in the French capital, and new signing Desire Doue, the latest potential superstar to come out of the Rennes talent factory.

Elsewhere, Willian Pacho is already looking like an excellent partner for Marquinhos in the centre of defence, while Portugal teenager Joao Neves has wasted little time showing why so many of us believe him to be a generational talent.

PSG probably could have done with signing a striker during the summer, especially as Goncalo Ramos is facing a spell on the sidelines, but the change of recruitment strategy we're seeing under sporting director Luis Campos and coach Luis Enrique could pay off handsomely. Mbappe may be gone, but it will be worth keeping an eye on the new project in Paris.

GettyWINNER: Kylian Mbappe

Talk about player power! Mbappe made both PSG and Real Madrid jump through hoops for him for the past two years before eventually leaving the former to join the latter very much on his own highly-lucrative terms.

Madrid, remember, were astounded when Mbappe decided against moving to Santiago Bernabeu in 2022. They thought the deal was done, but the France forward decided to stay at PSG, who had to deny claims that they'd made him their de facto sporting director in order to convince him to extend his stay at the Parc des Princes.

He was always going to end up at Madrid, though, and there were no hard feelings on show as Florentino Perez proudly presented Mbappe to an adoring 80,000 fans at the Bernabeu on July 16. Did they really need another forward? Not at all, but Perez doesn't give up on Galacticos. He simply has to sign them.

As for Mbappe, the transfer really does represent "a dream come true". The boy from Bondy that had Cristiano Ronaldo posters on his bedroom wall growing up, is Madrid's most celebrated signing since the Portuguese phenomenon.

The only problem now, of course, is that Mbappe has to prove that himself worth the wait – and the money…