Most expensive La Liga signings of summer 2021

Another exciting transfer window shuts close and clubs get to manage until the winter transfer window opens in January. We had quite a strange and historic window this summer as we got to see both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi switch sides by joining Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain respectively. While most of the talk was on the Premier League and the Ligue 1 transfer windows for how extraordinary they were, the Primera Division transfer window had its moments as well.

We did not get to see any big-money transfer in Spain early on in the season as most clubs spent between €10 and €40 million to acquire new players. You too are definitely eager to find out more about the

most expensive La Liga signings of summer 2021

. So read on as we delve deeper into their careers and get to see how they have fared so far at their new clubs.

Most expensive La Liga transfers of summer 2021

From Rafa Mir to Juan Foyth and Eduardo Camavinga, there are some incredible talents on the list of most expensive La Liga signings of summer 2021 and all of them have cost less than €35 million. Here is everything you need to know about these footballers and the details of their transfers in the summer.

Antoine Griezmann

• Transfer: Barcelona – Atletico Madrid

• Transfer fee: Loan/€10M

Antoine Griezmann was yet another example of bad investment from Barcelona’s side as they continued to deplete their resources on signing failures after Neymar’s departure. Griezmann arrived at Barcelona as one of the club’s most expensive signings ever as he joined the Blaugrana for an eye-watering fee of €120 million in 2019. This move angered the

fan-base as they felt betrayed by the Frenchman and they were in the right to feel so.

The 2018 World Cup winner did not live up to the billing in any way, shape or form as he turned into a flop of a signing from the very first weeks of his arrival at Camp Nou. The center-forward went on to make a total of 102 appearances for Barcelona, but only managed to score 35 goals while providing 17 assists in the process.

These stats were certainly not enough for the Barcelona fans as they rightly expected a lot from such an expensive signing. That is why Diego Simeone decided to give Griezmann another chance by signing him on loan for the rest of the 2021-22 season.

Even though Atletico Madrid have signed the France international on loan for the time being, his loan fee was higher than most other arrivals in the Spanish top-flight, which is why he was named amongst the

most expensive La Liga signings of summer 2021

. The 30-year-old striker has managed to get back up on his feet for a bit as he has scored 5 goals in 12 appearances.

But it will take a long time for the Frenchman to make up for his past mistakes with the Rojiblancos. Being on the list of summer 2021 most expensive La Liga signings, Griezmann will be eyeing a fairytale of a return as he aims to finish amongst the top scorers of the Spanish top-flight this season.

Gonzalo Montiel

• Transfer: River Plate – Sevilla

• Transfer fee: €11M

Julen Lopetegui might have messed things up during his spell at Real Madrid, but he has more than made up for his past form with his incredible management at

. The Spaniard decided to add more depth to his defense by signing Gonzalo Montiel from River Plate for a reported fee of €11 million. Sevilla actually acquired one of the

most expensive La Liga signings of summer 2021

for a bargain as the right-back’s actual market value is at least €6 million more than what the Spanish side have paid for his services.

The 24-year-old is quite an exciting talent and we have seen his market value soar through the sky throughout the years. Montiel rose to prominence thanks to his phenomenal performance at

, for whom he went on to make a total of 138 appearances from 2014 to 2021 and even managed to grab himself 6 goals and 14 assists in the process. The Argentina international must be buzzing right now as he won the Copa America in the summer and then quickly found his place on the list of 2021 La Liga summer transfer window most expensive signings.

Gonzalo Montiel has not managed to settle in at his new club so far as Lopetegui does not seem favor him for the time being. The former River Plate right-back will have to do more than just being amongst the most expensive La Liga signings of summer 2021 to earn his place on Sevilla’s regular starting-XI.

Boulaye Dia

• Transfer: Stade Reims

• Transfer fee: €12M

Next on the list of

most expensive La Liga transfers of summer 2021

is Boulaye Dia, who joined

from Stade Reims for €12 million on 13 July 2021. The 25-year-old center-forward has got the potential to become an effective center-forward in the future, which is exactly why the Yellow Submarines have invested in the France-born Senegalese striker. Dia joined

in 2018 and slowly earned his place on the club’s regular starting line-up.

He went on to score 28 goals while providing 3 assists in a total of 88 appearances for the Ligue 1 side, which was apparently more than enough to convince Unai Emery to splash €12 million on signing the center-forward in the summer transfer window. Things have not panned out as well as Dia might have wanted, since he has only managed to score a single goal in his first ten games for his new club.

While the Senegal international started the season as Villarreal’s main striker, he has since been demoted to a substitute as he does not get to play the full 90 minutes. As one of the most expensive La Liga signings of summer 2021, Dia will have to do a lot more to earn back the trust that he lost in his first few matches for the Spanish side.

We will have to wait and see if he can turn the tides in his favor in the coming months, or if he is going to be a flop of a signing for the rest of the season.

Emerson Royal

• Transfer: Real Betis – Barcelona

• Transfer fee: €14M

It seems that

forgot how to treat their players for a period of time as they let go of their star man Luis Suarez so easily that the Uruguayan left in tears. But the now Atletico Madrid man is not the only Barcelona player that was mistreated by the Blaugrana. Emerson royal joined Real Betis and Barcelona at the same time as he was co-owned by the two Spanish clubs for a couple of years.

Having arrived in Spain from

in 2019, the right-back went on to spend a couple of years at Real Betis to gain more experience before finally making his big move to Barcelona. He made a total of 79 appearances for Los Verdiblancos and even managed to bag himself 5 goals and 10 assists in the process. Come the 2021-22 season and Emerson was finally ready to join the club of his dreams and don the iconic Barcelona shirt for the first time.

He Arrived at Barcelona as one of the most expensive La Liga signings of summer 2021 thanks to his €14 million transfer fee.

But it did not take him long to be shunned away from the squad as the club decided to offload their new arrival in a matter of months. Emerson was sold to Tottenham for €25 million as he and his supporters were in awe of how Barcelona treated their young talent. Of course it was not too bad for the Brazilian in the end as he found himself a new home at Tottenham, for whom he has already made more than 10 appearances across all competitions.

Juan Foyth

• Transfer: Tottenham – Villarreal

• Transfer fee: €15M

While Emerson Royal joined

from a La Liga side, Juan Foyth moved in the opposite direction as he joined a Spanish club from Tottenham in the summer transfer window. The Argentinian joined Villarreal for a reported fee of €15 million. Foyth actually spend the last campaign on loan at Villarreal and he was already familiar with the club and its players. That is why the Yellow Submarine made the decision to make Foyth’s move permanent based on his fine performance last season.

Even though €15 million is not considered a whopping fee nowadays, considering how the transfer market has gotten inflated in recent years, it was still enough to put the Argentina international on the list of

summer 2021 most expensive La Liga signings

.

The 23-year-old center-back is already the main choice at Villarreal and has already made more than 10 appearances for Unai Emery’s side this season. of course overall, few things have been on Juan Foyth and his side’s favor until now as they are currently sitting in the middle of the table instead of competing for a spot amongst the top-4.

Rafa Mir

• Transfer: Wolverhampton – Sevilla

• Transfer fee: €16M

Juan Foyth and Emerson are not the only ones to have joined a La Liga side from a Premier League club this season. Rafa Mir joined Sevilla from Wolverhampton Wanderers for €16 million and earned a place on the list of

2021 La Liga summer transfer window most expensive signings

. While Juan Foyth spent a season on loan at Villarreal before making his move permanent, Rafa Mir spent some time on loan at other clubs such as

and Las Palmas in recent years before joining Sevilla in August 2021.

He initially joined Wolverhampton from

’s reserves for €2 million in 2018, but it seems that the center-forward just couldn’t leave La Liga as he quickly returned to Spain in a matter of months. The 24-year-old scored 13 goals and provided a single assist in the Spanish top-flight last season, which convinced Lopetegui to splash around €16 million to sign him on a permanent deal.

Mir has already scored 4 goals in his first 10 league appearances for Sevilla. But it will take a lot more from the striker to earn his place amongst the starting-XI. For the time being, he will have to live up to the billing as he is currently being judged solely based on his position as one of the most expensive La Liga signings of summer 2021.

Arnaut Danjuma

• Transfer: Bournemouth – Villarreal

• Transfer fee: €23.5M

Villarreal have been on quite a shopping spree this season as they have spent dozens of millions of Euros on acquiring new player for their squad overhaul. Three of their new signings are on the list of 2021 La Liga summer transfer window most expensive signings and these are not the only arrivals for the Spanish side. One of the main three arrivals is Arnaut Danjuma who joined the La Liga side from Bournemouth for a reported fee of €23.5 million. Being a PSV Eindhoven youth academy product, Danjuma joined NEC Nijmegen and Club Brugge before finally joining Bournemouth for €16 million in 2019.

He went on to become the English side’s main man on the wing as he got to show his class in the Championship by scoring 15 goals in 33 appearances. Of course he was not able to stop his club from being relegated to the second-tier of English football during his first season at Bournemouth. But that doesn’t mean that Danjuma is not a talented winger. The Nigeria-born Dutch forward is only 24 years old and has got immense potential to realize in the future.

Things are looking brighter than ever for Danjuma as he has already found his feet at his new club by scoring an incredible 7 goals and providing 2 assists in his first 15 games for Villarreal. While some might crumble under the pressure of being amongst the most expensive La Liga signings of summer 2021, Arnaut Danjuma has managed to live up to the billing quite easily and fans are already expecting him to up his game for the rest of the season.

While it might take some time for the Netherlands international to win any major silverware with Villarreal, at least his trophy cabinet is not completely empty thanks to the Belgian Super Cup that he won during his days at Club Brugge.

Matheus Cunha

• Transfer: Hertha BSC – Atletico Madrid

• Transfer fee: €26M

Atletico Madrid have been spending heavily on bringing in new strikers for the new season, despite already having the likes of Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann. Few could doubt Diego Simeone’s tactics as he is the one who has completely overhauled Atletico’s status as a top club in both Spain and in the world. The Madrid-based club paid €26 million to sign Matheus Cunha from Hertha Berlin in the summer after the center-forward spent only a single season at the Bundesliga side.

The 22-year-old joined

from RB Leipzig for €18 million in the 2020 January transfer window after impressing everyone with his raw talent at Leipzig. While 14 goals and 10 assists in 40 appearances is not a world-class record in any shape or form, it was still enough to convince Diego Simeone that Matheus Cunha has a bright future ahead of himself and they should splash more than €25 million to sign him immediately.

The Brazilian center-forward’s market value has already skyrocketed since his move to Atletico Madrid as he is currently valued at around €30 million. Cunha is currently trying his best to settle in at his new club as he is being deployed as a late-minute substitute rather than being deployed as the main man on the frontlines.

Despite his lack of chances game time, the Brazil international has managed to score his first goal for Atletico, which came in a league draw against Levante. The center-forward is already an Olympic medalist and will certainly be looking forward to winning major silverware under Diego Simeone’s management.

Eduardo Camavinga

• Transfer: Stade Rennais – Real Madrid

• Transfer fee: €31M

Everyone expected Real Madrid to make a final offer for Kylian Mbappe as they thought

would accept the generous offer from Los Blancos and we would finally see the Frenchman don the all-white jersey of Real Madrid. In the end, however, Florentino Perez went the other way around and surprised everyone by signing Eduardo Camavinga from Stade Rennais for €31 million.

Almost everyone has already heard about Camavinga as many believe that he is the future of Real Madrid and French football with his prowess in the middle of the park. The 19-year-old is without a doubt a talent to watch and has already managed to impress both his manager and the incredibly critical Madridistas. Having become one of the most expensive La Liga signings of summer 2021 at the age of 18 years old is certainly a difficult and quite heavy burden on any youngster.

But the France international has managed to overcome his fears by proving to be quite an effective central midfielder for his new side. Camavinga was the star man at

and used to be a regular starter for the Ligue 1 side as he got to make a total of 88 appearances for the French club before joining Real Madrid in the summer of 2021.

The 19-year-old has already managed to make more than 10 appearances for Los Blancos and Madridistas couldn’t be any happier to see their new young signing thrive under pressure. He has managed to get his first goal and assist at Madrid and is on his way towards greatness at one of the most decorated clubs in the world.

Camavinga played his first full-90 minutes in their 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano in La Liga. Madrid fans are still waiting for news and rumors about Kylian Mbappe’s transfer to their beloved club. But perhaps things are not as simple as they seemed to be a couple of years ago.

Rodrigo de Paul

• Transfer: Udinese – Atletico Madrid

• Transfer fee: €35M

Rodrigo de Paul is the most expensive signing of the 2021 summer transfer window as Atletico Madrid paid a whopping €35 million to acquire his services from Udinese in July. The central midfielder appeared in more than 180 games for the Italian side and even managed to bag himself 34 goals and 36 assists in the process. As an unbelievably versatile midfielder, the Argentine enables his managers to deploy him in almost any position on the pitch as he is without a doubt comfortable playing all around the park.

However, de Paul might be a bit more comfortable in the center of the field as he can make any team work like clockwork with his accurate passes and his possession-based game style. The 27-year-old is currently worth more than €40 million and has become an integral part of Simeone’s plans so far this season. He has already reached the 15-appearances milestone and will be eyeing to become an even more regular starter for Atletico Madrid in the rest of the current season.

Having won the Copa America in the summer, the Argentina international is certainly buzzing right now as he has also become quite an important figure at his new club thanks to his performances. He has already provided a couple of assists in league games and we will have to wait and see if his fine form continues for the rest of the season as well or not. For the time being, however, the former Udinese man can enjoy his title as the most expensive arrival in La Liga in the summer of 2021.

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