The transfer window officially closed on Tuesday, meaning clubs across Europe must now make do with the players available to them until at least January.
It has been an eventful few months, with Lionel Messi ending his 21-year association with Barcelona by joining Paris Saint-Germain and Cristiano Ronaldo sealing an emotional return to Manchester United from Juventus.
The drama continued to unfold right through until the final stages of the window as Antoine Griezmann rejoined Atletico Madrid on an initial loan and Chelsea snapped up Saul Niguez from the Spanish champions, while Real Madrid brought in rising star Eduardo Camavinga from Rennes.
With Kylian Mbappe staying at PSG and Harry Kane still a Tottenham player, Jack Grealish's £100million switch to Manchester City from Aston Villa was the biggest deal in monetary terms, followed by Romelu Lukaku's £97.5m (€115m) move to Chelsea from Inter.
Stats Perform takes a look at the best deals that went through.
Hakan Calhanoglu: Inter to Milan (free transfer)
After failing to agree new terms at Milan, Calhanoglu completed a shock move across the city to rivals Inter, signing a three-year deal.
While not necessarily the most popular transfer, getting a player who created 98 chances last season – the most of any player in Europe's top five leagues – for free is quite something.
The Turkey international got a goal and an assist on his debut in the 4-0 win over Genoa, prompting coach Simone Inzaghi to proclaim the player "doesn't realise how good he is".
Manuel Locatelli: Sassuolo to Juventus (loan with €25m obligation)
One of Italy's most prized young assets, Locatelli secured a move to Juventus on a two-year loan that includes an obligation to buy for an initial €25m.
Among midfielders in Serie A last season, the 23-year-old made the most touches (3,304), passes (2,749) and tackles (81). He then impressed as Italy won Euro 2020, scoring twice in the group-stage win over Switzerland.
For a club looking to strengthen while saving money, this could prove a shrewd deal for Juve.
Danny Ings: Southampton to Aston Villa (£25m)
Villa appear to have invested the money they received for Grealish in shrewd fashion, signing Leon Bailey, Emiliano Buendia and striker Ings.
While the Ings deal materialised very quickly in early August, he certainly did not seem to need much time to adjust to new surroundings, scoring twice in his first three league games this season.
With 34 goals across his final two league campaigns with Southampton, there is reason to think the 29-year-old could be one of the smartest signings of the window.
Lionel Messi: Free agent to Paris Saint-Germain
The most spectacular free transfer of all time came after Barcelona had agree a new contract with Messi only to be forced to admit they could not let him sign it due to financial restrictions.
A tearful Messi bade farewell to his boyhood club before securing a move to PSG, who now boast a frankly terrifying forward line of Messi, Neymar and Mbappe.
Describing it as a 'free' transfer is somewhat misleading given the various costs involved in the different aspects of the deal, but for PSG to sign arguably the greatest player in history without paying a transfer fee is pretty amazing business.
Romelu Lukaku: Inter to Chelsea (£97.5m)
Chelsea smashed their transfer record to bring back Lukaku, whose last action in his first spell at the club was to miss a penalty in the UEFA Super Cup shoot-out loss to Bayern Munich in 2013.
Lukaku plundered 24 goals and 11 assists in 2020-21 to fire Inter to the title and claim Serie A's MVP award, after which he pushed for a return to Stamford Bridge, where he felt he had unfinished business.
It might have been a serious financial outlay, but Lukaku showed in the 2-0 win at Arsenal what a difference he could make to a Chelsea side who are extremely tough to beat but not exactly free-scoring.
Eduardo Camavinga: Rennes to Real Madrid (€30m)
Madrid may have missed out on top target Mbappe, but they managed to get a deal over the line for fellow Frenchman Camavinga, bringing an end to 18 months of speculation surrounding the young midfielder.
It is the first time Madrid have spent money on a transfer fee since 2019, when they signed Eden Hazard from Chelsea for €100m, and in Camavinga they are signing a player for the here and now rather than the future.
Since making his debut for Rennes in April 2019, no player in Ligue 1 has attempted (230) or won more tackles (139) than the three-cap France international, who will now provide competition for Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Federico Valverde.
Saul Niguez: Atletico Madrid to Chelsea (loan with option to buy for £30m)
After being regularly linked with the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool in recent years, Saul will finally get a chance to play in the Premier League with Chelsea this season.
A box-to-box midfielder, the Spain international is at his best operating in a central role, though his versatility and workrate have often seen him deployed out wide by Atletico coach Diego Simeone.
He made just 22 league starts last season, his lowest figure since 2014-15. However, since August 2019, Real Madrid's Casemiro (190) is the only midfielder to have attempted more tackles than Saul (159) in LaLiga.
Antoine Griezmann: Barcelona to Atletico Madrid (loan deal with an obligation to buy)
Two years after leaving Atletico in a big-money transfer, Griezmann has returned to the Spanish capital to boost an attack that already includes Luis Suarez, Joao Felix, Angel Correa and fellow new recruit Matheus Cunha.
Griezmann's Camp Nou career never truly took off and he failed to score or create a single opportunity across Barca's first three league games this season.
But Simeone will be confident he can get the Frenchman, who scored 94 LaLiga goals in 180 appearances in his first stint at the club, operating at somewhere close to his former glory.
Cristiano Ronaldo: Juventus to Manchester United (£12.9m rising to £19.7m)
Twelve years after departing Old Trafford, Ronaldo is once again a Manchester United player after completing a surprise return to the club where he won the first of his five Ballons d'Or.
Ronaldo scored 118 goals in 292 appearances under Alex Ferguson in his first spell, 42 of those goals coming in the 2007-08 season alone, and he remains a prolific forward despite his all-round game changing with time.
The Portugal captain scored 29 league goals in his third and final season with Juventus to win the Capocannoniere, making him the first player to finish as top scorer in Serie A, LaLiga and the Premier League.
Foden matches Messi and Haaland feat with 50th league goal under Guardiola
Phil Foden equalled the feats of Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland when he scored his 50th league goal as Manchester City stormed into a 3-0 lead against Brighton.
Foden scored twice in the first half at the Amex Stadium on Thursday, setting Pep Guardiola's team on the way to a potentially pivotal win in the Premier League title race.
The England international's first, which came after Kevin De Bruyne's excellent diving header, came as his free-kick deflected in off the unfortunate Pascal Gross.
It was that goal that marked Foden's 50th in league football, with all of those coming under Guardiola.
That makes Foden just the third player to score 50 league goals under Guardiola while aged 23 or younger, after City team-mate Haaland and Barcelona great Messi.
Foden netted his 51st Premier League goal soon after, drilling in after City capitalised on some slack Brighton play.
Arne Slot wants to join Liverpool, 'confident' agreement will be struck
Arne Slot has confirmed he wants to succeed Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and is confident the Reds will reach an agreement with his current club Feyenoord.
Klopp confirmed this would be his final season at Anfield in January, and though former midfielder Xabi Alonso was immediately linked with the post, he remains committed to Bayer Leverkusen.
Sporting CP's Ruben Amorim was another name linked with the Reds, but on Wednesday, widespread reports suggested an approach had been made for Slot.
Slot delivered Feyenoord's 16th Eredivisie title – and just their second since the turn of the century – in 2022-23, also leading the Dutch giants to KNVB Cup glory on Sunday.
Speaking ahead of his team's trip to Go Ahead Eagles on Thursday, Slot – who has previously been linked with Tottenham and Leeds United – confirmed talks between the clubs are ongoing.
"The clubs are negotiating, I am waiting on the outcome. It's no secret I want to go to Liverpool. My decision is clear," Slot told ESPN.
"I am waiting for the clubs to reach an agreement and I'm confident that will happen."
Slot's Feyenoord have become known for their high-octane, possession-based approach. Prior to Thursday's match, he had a 64.4 per cent win ratio from 146 games in charge, winning 94, drawing 29 and losing just 23.
Feyenoord have scored 329 goals under the 45-year-old, who previously coached SC Cambuur and AZ Alkmaar, averaging 2.2 per game. In the Eredivisie, they have averaged 2.13 points per match since he took charge in 2021.
Feyenoord appear destined to lose their Eredivisie crown to PSV this season, with Peter Bosz's team only losing one of their 31 games this term, surpassing 100 goals for the campaign by routing Heerenveen 8-0 on Thursday.
Bellingham alone won't win Euros for England - Desailly
England cannot rely on Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham alone to win them the Euro 2024 crown, according to France great Marcel Desailly.
Bellingham has enjoyed a sensational debut campaign at Madrid that has seen him score 21 goals in all competitions and assist eight more.
Despite still being aged just 20, the youngster will already have the weight of a nation on his shoulders in the European Championship finals.
Desailly is a big fan of Bellingham, but he suggests Gareth Southgate may have to consider tweaking formation if England are to succeed.
"Too much quality can kill the quality," Desailly told Stats Perform. "This is your problem, you see?
"All the players have to be able to perform at the same time and help each other. The Dutch have had this kind of problem in the past.
"The Dutch always have high levels of expertise, but every time it was difficult for them to all unite together at the same time and perform.
"The talent is there for England, even though Fabio Capello has said their defence is a bit weak, which I agree with.
"But too much quality kills the quality. Let's see how the coach is able to adjust the side and make certain choices.
"He may have to remove some of the players into a different tactical system to protect the team for the performances needed."
Bellingham's latest goal came in added time to earn Real Madrid a 3-2 win over Barcelona in a thrilling Clasico clash last weekend.
He is already being mentioned as a frontrunner to win this year's Ballon d'Or, which could depend on how England perform in the Euros.
The ex-Borussia Dortmund ace is also being likened to one of the all-time greats in Zinedine Zidane, but Desailly says there is a long way to go.
"In the game against Barcelona, he wasn't outstanding yet he was still key for his team," the World Cup 98 and Euro 2000 winner said.
"Carlo Ancelotti took Vinicius Junior off because he knew what Bellingham could give him in that position.
"He also has the legs to defend and score the killer goal, or use his cleverness for the collective of the team.
"He's a good player. But trying to compare him to Zidane? It is difficult for us to accept he could be at that level.
"There are differences between them, but the potential of the talents is quite similar."
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