With the second half of the La Liga campaign in full swing, how each of Spain’s ‘big three’ conducted themselves in the January transfer window could have a huge bearing on the latter part of the season – and beyond. Of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, there’s been a clear winner in terms of who has done the best business, and it doesn’t make good reading for Florentino Perez. Frankly, Los Blancos have been lagging behind Barcelona domestically now for a while, but their Champions League triumphs have masked how poor they’ve been. Though it’s only conjecture, perhaps that’s why Perez and his board are finding it harder and harder to tempt players to come to the white half of the Spanish capital. In January, Real only dipped into their coffers to sign Brahim Diaz from Manchester City, and with no big names signed the previous summer either, it’s left many questioning exactly what their transfer policy is likely to be moving forward. Rodrygo Goes is known to be on the way from Brazil come July 1, and Eden Hazard is making all of the right noises, but that’s six months down the line. Signing Diaz and selling Kiko Casilla to Leeds is a pathetic return for a club of Real’s size. Cross city rivals Atleti haven’t fared too much better in truth, but their purchase of Alvaro Morata is an interesting one. He’s been woefully out of form but there’s little doubt that in the right team and right environment, he still has the tools to be able to flourish as a front man. Importantly for the Rojiblancos, he’s available for the Champions League and if he hits the ground running, he presents Diego Simeone with a real conundrum. Diego Costa, whom Morata replaced at Chelsea, is currently injured and, despite struggling himself in front of goal, has requested parity with Antoine Griezmann in terms of salary. Considering the Frenchman is on €17.5 million per year, which is a cool €10m a season more than Costa’s current deal, there’s every chance that Morata’s hire could be the signal for Costa to up sticks and move to China – as he’d promised if a new bumper deal wasn’t forthcoming. Loaning Gelson Martins to Monaco has barely made any ripples for the simple fact that the player has done nothing of note during his time at the Wanda Metropolitano. By contrast, Barcelona couldn’t be any happier with their January business. At 19 years of age, Jean-Clair Todibo was one of the hottest properties in French football before Barca made their move.