The more prosperous the summer transfer window was, the bleaker the winter one became.
Real Madrid were banned from making signings, Barcelona made no moves, and Atletico Madrid had no such plans either.
With none of La Liga's three giants making a move, the league's biggest transfer took place at Real Sociedad, who signed Rulli from Man City for seven million euros.
However, Sevilla were the biggest spenders.
The team currently sitting second in La Liga were clearly harboring ambitions for the second half of the season. During the winter break, they brought in two players: Walter Montoya from Rosario in Argentina and Langley from Ligue 1 side Nancy. The two players cost Sevilla 10.5 million euros, making them La Liga's biggest spenders of the winter window.
Villarreal, meanwhile, were the biggest earners. They transferred Brazilian forward Pato to Tianjin in the Chinese Super League for 18 million euros, giving everyone another glimpse of the financial power of the Chinese Super League's wealthy clubs.
Incidentally, the entire European Football world was now keeping an eye on the Chinese Super League because its purchasing power was simply astonishing. But from another perspective, that might not necessarily be a good thing.
The Chinese Super League's large-scale star buying was not unprecedented. Leagues in Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and elsewhere had experienced similar waves of enthusiasm in the past. Clubs such as Shakhtar Donetsk, CSKA Moscow, and Anzhi had even competed with the giants for in-demand superstars for a time.
But the problem was that the final outcome was obvious. After a few years, those clubs had all faded into obscurity.
How many people still remembered Hulk and Witsel, who had transferred from Primeira Liga to Russia for hefty fees back then?
Eto'o had transferred to Turkey on astronomical wages, but eventually returned to