Liverpool 3rd & Dortmund 5th – Which clubs have made most money in January since 2000?

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€446m top 

©TM/IMAGO

It’s been a relatively slow start to the January transfer window but business is expected to gather pace over the coming weeks. Marcus Rashford is destined to leave Manchester United this month, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is edging closer to joining PSG and Arsenal need to strengthen their attacking options to avoid another trophyless season.

The January window is considerably shorter than the summer with less money spent. Clubs traditionally refresh their squads in the summer with the January window predominantly for short-term fixes – often loan deals – and clubs exploring market opportunities. But there has been some massive deals completed in January including Philippe Coutinho joining Barcelona from Liverpool, Virgil van Dijk moving to Anfield and Enzo Fernández’s big-money move to Chelsea. But which club has generated the most money from player sales in January since 2000? Let’s find out.

Benfica have earned the reputation for developing a conveyor belt of talent and they’ve raised the most income from transfers in January this century. The Portuguese giants have generated €446 million from player sales including Fernández’ €121m move to Chelsea – one of only two January deals in excess of €100m. Chelsea are renowned for their big-spending across recent seasons but they are also excellent at cashing in on players and they rank second. Diego Costa and Oscar both departed Stamford Bridge in January for €60m with their total standing at €362m.

As the graphic above illustrates, Liverpool rank third with Coutinho’s €135m move to Barcelona in 2018 accounting for over 35% of their total of €306m. Perhaps surprisingly, Genoa take fourth spot with Krzysztof Piatek their record January sale at €35m with Borussia Dortmund completing the top five. Interestingly, three South American clubs – River Plate, São Paulo and Boca Juniors – feature in the top ten for January sales but if you factor in both summer and winter windows then there’s no clubs from the continent in the top 45. A major factor behind this is their seasons finish in the winter and clubs will be more willing to allow young starlets to leave.