The 20 Biggest Soccer Transfers of the Summer (So Far)

For soccer fans, the summer is a time to relax, spend time with friends, and frantically click the refresh button on their favorite transfer rumor websites. However, this summer has been a bit different and, well, a bit more hectic. Two major international tournaments (the Copa America Centenario and the European Championships) have come and gone, and a third (the Olympics) is set to start in early August.

With all that action, fans could be forgiven for taking their focus off the transfer window for a few weeks. For the men in suits, however, that isn’t an option. Business is business, and the business of player transfers has been booming. So, now that things are winding down and the rumor mills are gearing up, here are the 20 biggest moves that have happened so far.

1 of 20 Ousmane Dembele - The French teenager signed for Dortmund from Stade Rennais for €15m, and became just one of a plethora of talented players heading to the Westfalenstadion this summer.

2 of 20 Alvaro Morata - One of the strangest transfer sagas thus far saw Morata return to Real Madrid from Juventus for €30m. Los Blancos activated the buy-back clause that they had inserted in the player's contract when they sold him to Turin in 2014.

3 of 20 Henrikh Mkhitaryan - The Armenian winger became Manchester United's third signing of the summer when he moved from Dortmund in July for €42m.

4 of 20 Ilkay Gundogan - The German international jumped from Dortmund to Manchester City for €26m after new City manager Pep Guardiola informed Gundogan that he needed "a player like Ilkay Gundogan."

5 of 20 Mats Hummels - In May, the big centerback departed Dortmund for Bayern Munich, where he had played from 1995 to 2008. It only cost Munich a paltry €38m to get their former academy player back.

6 of 20 Samuel Umtiti - The young French defender has had a decent summer. He earned a starting spot for Les Bleus at Euro 2016 and finalized a move from Lyon to Barcelona for €25m.

7 of 20 Zlatan Ibrahimovic - After his initial insistence that Manchester move to Sweden, Zlatan eventually put pen to paper on a one year contract (with an option for a second). The free transfer was made official when Ibra announced the move on Instagram. Official club statements be damned!

8 of 20 Ever Banega - Another good bit of business saw Banega (who recently managed his second straight Europa League title AND a strong performance at the Copa America Centenario) move from Sevilla to Inter Milan for the price of free.

9 of 20 Granit Xhaka - The Swiss international's €45m transfer was finalized early so that Xhaka could focus on the Euros... and Arsenal fans could spend even more time happily watching YouTube compilations of his greatest moments at Borussia Monchengladbach.

10 of 20 Andros Townsend - Crystal Palace paid recently-relegated Newcastle €15.6m for the right to employ Townsend, an under-the-radar transfer that could pay big dividends this season.