It has been a relatively quiet winter transfer window in La Liga, especially from the league leaders, as Real Madrid and Barcelona haven’t done much. There weren’t many famous names that joined the Spanish top-flight, as most transactions completed by the teams went under the radar, unlike in the Premier League (for example).
Still, the La Liga 2026 odds have Barcelona and Real Madrid as the frontrunners for this year’s championship, but it’s theirs to lose. With the teams below them loading up, they cannot afford to underestimate them. At the time of writing, they’re going toe-to-toe at 55 and 54 points, with at least a nine-point cushion over the rest of the chasing pack.
Now that the January transfer window has concluded, allow SBOTOP to discuss who were the biggest gainers and losers in the market.
Winner: Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid are easily the biggest winners in the recently concluded winter transfer window, as they added a whole lot to their firepower while getting rid of their deadwood. For one, Los Rojiblancos paid €40 million for Ademola Lookman, as the 28-year-old had entered the final 18 months of his contract.
It helped Diego Simeone’s side that Lookman was looking for a move elsewhere, as he had grown disenchanted with Atalanta’s front office. The Nigerian forward went on strike earlier this season after he did not get his desired transfer to Inter Milan, but his insistence eventually paid off.
Big picture-wise, Lookman is also seen as a potential replacement for Antoine Griezmann, who is getting up there in age. The former Fulham man will join a loaded frontline that already has Julian Alvarez, Alexander Sorloth, Alex Baena, and Thiago Almada. Diego Simeone’s side also acquired 20-year-old midfielders Obed Vargas from the Seattle Sounders FC for free and Rodri Mendoza from Elche for €15 million.
In return, Atletico Madrid sold Rodrigo De Paul, Javi Galan, Giacomo Raspadori, and Conor Gallagher for a combined €77.5 million, which could be used to add more exciting youngsters.
Loser: Barcelona
Barcelona’s well-documented financial constraints remain in full effect, so they didn’t do much this winter. Their only notable moves include loaning Marc-Andre ter Stegen to Girona and signing Joao Cancelo from Al-Hilal on loan until the end of the season.
Joan Garcia has effectively usurped ter Stegen at the first-choice goalkeeper role, so the latter needed to go elsewhere to get more playing time. Meanwhile, Cancelo is back in Catalunya after spending just one full campaign in the Saudi Pro League. In his first stint with Barcelona, the 31-year-old full-back made 42 appearances across all competitions, scoring four goals and setting up five more before returning to Manchester City.
Considering they were linked to moves with Josko Gvardiol, Nathan Ake, Dusan Vlahovic, and Alessandro Bastoni, among others, only getting Cancelo is an underwhelming return for Hansi Flick’s side.
Barcelona also lost one of their top La Masia kids in Dro Fernandez, whose €6 million release clause was activated by PSG to acquire him. The 17-year-old is one of the finest young prospects in Europe, so much so that Fernandez drew a start and notched an assist in their 6-1 win against Olympiacos in the Champions League last October.
Winner: Villarreal
Villarreal’s Top 4 push received a massive boost with the €3.5 million signing of Alex Freeman, one of the top standouts in Major League Soccer and the United States men’s national team. The Yellow Submarine saw the opportunity to acquire him, as Freeman was in the final year of his contract. The 21-year-old can play either as a winger or a right-back, providing competition for the likes of Nicolas Pepe and Santiago Mourino, and scouts see him as an American version of Denzel Dumfries.
Besides Freeman, Villarreal also signed Alfon on loan from Sevilla and Pau Navarro from their B team to refresh their backline. They also loaned Ilias Akhomach to Rayo Vallecano to give him more playing opportunities.
Loser: Real Madrid
The only thing Real Madrid did in the recently concluded winter transfer window was to let Endrick go to Lyon on loan, and the Brazilian wunderkind is doing well in Ligue 1. They were linked with several players, but Fiorentino Perez is reportedly gearing up for the summer transfer window instead.
According to the La Liga 2026 news, Los Blancos are keen on acquiring Dayot Upamecano, Bruno Fernandes, and Vitinha, among others. Considering their worrying injury list, it would’ve been better for the team to have made some acquisitions this winter to give interim head coach Alvaro Arbeloa more to work with for the next few weeks.
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