Premier League clubs have already spent £400m in initial transfer fees before the new season. That dwarfs the tallies of top-flight clubs in Germany, Spain, Italy, France and Saudi Arabia.
There’s still a long way to go to match last summer’s final tally of £1.98bn spent by Premier League clubs on player transfers, while the record outlay of £2.36bn was set in summer 2023.
Chelsea begin their Club World Cup campaign against Los Angeles FC on 16 June, while City play Moroccan side Wydad AC on 18 June.
Both sides have new faces in their touring party, with City landing Wolves left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri for £31m and bringing in goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli from Chelsea as cover.
They also announced the signing of attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki from Lyon before the deadline for an initial fee of £30.45m.
Chelsea have spent more than any other club so far, splashing out initial fees of £89.5m on Liam Delap (£30m), Dario Essugo (£18.5m) and Mamadou Sarr (£12m), while Estevao Willian (£29m) will join after agreeing a move a year ago.
Manchester United are not in the Club World Cup but have made the most expensive move yet, spending £62.5m on Wolves forward Matheus Cunha.
That deal has already eclipsed the biggest fee in the Premier League last summer, when Spurs spent an initial £55m on striker Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth.
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