Newcastle United take on Barcelona in a blockbuster clash to open their Champions League campaign on Wednesday, but how do the clubs’ summer spending compare?
The Champions League is back and Newcastle United couldn’t have been given a much bigger fixture than Barcelona at St. James’ Park to celebrate their return to Europe’s top competition.
Eddie Howe guided his side to their first win of the season on Saturday as they narrowly defeated rock bottom Wolves 1-0 at home.
Debut boy Nick Woltemade scored the winning goal with a towering header from Jacob Murphy’s cross, in what was a dream start for Newcastle’s record signing.
In contrast, Barcelona smashed Valencia 6-0 on Sunday in their last match before Champions League football returns, though they are likely to be without teenage sensation Lamine Yamal due to injury.
Newcastle have their own injury concerns with new signings Yoane Wissa and Jacob Ramsey missing, but it’s still set to be a remarkable night on the Tyne.
The Magpies are welcoming a titan of European football to the city, but which of the two sides spent more this past summer?
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Newcastle United transfer spend vs Barcelona
It was a tough transfer window for Newcastle, as they spent months in frustration after missing out on target after target and then Alexander Isak decided to throw everything into chaos.
The wantaway Isak finally forced through his Liverpool transfer on deadline day, but Newcastle did manage to bring in Woltemade and Yoane Wissa to replace him.
The attacking duo’s arrival saw Newcastle’s spending surpass £260m, by far the most PIF have spent in a single window since buying the club in 2021.
Anthony Elanga, Malick Thiaw, Ramsey and Aaron Ramsdale also arrived to strengthen the squad, with Newcastle finally free to spend again after a year of PSR frustration.
Barcelona’s window pales in comparison, as they finally ran out of ‘financial levers’ to pull in order to make new big-money signings.
The Catalonians only brought in three new players this past summer, with their spending not coming close to Newcastle’s.
| Newcastle United summer signings | Barcelona summer signings |
| Anthony Elanga – Nottingham Forest, £52m (rising to £55m) | Joan Garcia – Espanyol, £21.6m |
| Aaron Ramsdale – Southampton, Loan fee £4m | Marcus Rashford – Manchester United, loan |
| Park Seung-soo – Suwon Bluewings, minimal | Roony Bardghji – FC Copenhagen, £1.7m |
| Malick Thiaw – AC Milan, £30m (rising to £34.4m) | |
| Jacob Ramsey – Aston Villa, £39m (rising to £43m) | |
| Nick Woltemade – Stuttgart, £65m (rising to £69m) | |
| Yoane Wissa – Brentford, £50m (rising to £55m) | |
| Total spend: £240m (rising to £260.4m) | Total spend: £23.3m |
Newcastle United massively outspend Barcelona, but still aren’t favourites
Newcastle vastly outspending a football powerhouse like Barcelona certainly suggests that a shifting of the guard could be on the horizon one day, but it doesn’t mean Hansi Flick’s side are lacking in quality.
Even without Yamal, thanks to their widely unadvised spending in recent years despite financial hardship, they have managed to recruit the likes of Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo.
Not to mention Frenkie de Jong, who is set to be available after injury, and La Masia graduates like Gavi, Pedri and Alejandro Balde.
Barca have a brilliant squad that claimed La Liga glory last term and will be the favourites against Newcastle, even if the Magpies have a significant home advantage.
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