The madness of the transfer window appears not to afflict continental Europe quite as virulently as England and there were few major deals concluded this week. Diego Forlan's €5m (£4.43m) switch from Atletico Madrid to Internazionale was the most eye-catching, with Inter also taking former Birmingham striker Mauro Zarate from Lazio on loan.
Serie A clubs were the busiest outside England, with Roma spending €10m on Bosnian playmaker Miralem Pjanic, and agreeing loan deals for Simon Kjaer, the Danish defender, Fernando Gago of Real Madrid, and former Chelsea striker Fabio Borini (now at Wolfsburg).
Milan signed Italian international Antonio Nocerino from Palermo as cover for the injured Mathieu Flamini while Juventus spent €9m on Dutch winger Eljero Elia.
Atletico Madrid also sold Brazilian midfielder Elias to Sporting Lisbon for €8.5m, replacing him with compatriot Diego from Wolfsburg on loan.
Paris St-Germain, the summer window's biggest spenders after Manchester City, completed their €86.2m outlay with the capture of Uruguayan defender Diego Godin from Fenerbahce for €3.5m.
Dennis Rommedahl, once of Charlton, is back at Brondby while former Arsenal midfielder Alex Hleb is at Wolfsburg on loan.
And Kaka signed for Apoel Nicosia. No, not that one, there is another Kaka, a 30-year-old defender, who has signed for the Cypriot champions from Hertha Berlin.
The Independent
