Barcelona are spending money like it's going out of fashion.

The Blaugrana confirmed on Friday afternoon that they had completed the signing of Antoine Griezmann, prying him from Atletico Madrid to the tune of a reported €120 million.

Admittedly, there are still a few economic details to thrash out with Atletico, but it continues an alarming trend for Barcelona spending astronomical amounts in the transfer window.

Long gone are the days where they would succeed from the conveyor belt of talent at La Masia and wag their finger in the distance as Real Madrid started hoovering up 'Galaticos.'

Now, it seems the shoe is on the other foot and that Barcelona are willing to rinse their back account in order to bring the Champions League title back to Camp Nou.

Barcelona's heavy spending

That, and the fact Barcelona are becoming acutely aware of their reliance on Lionel Messi and are desperately scrambling to secure their future under a new generation.

There can be little doubting that their transfer activity is eye-watering, but how does it actually compare to fellow big spenders like Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City?

Well, Barcelona have actually earned themselves the title of being the first club to spend over €1 billion since the beginning of the 2014/15 season - in other words: the last five years.

Barcelona spend €1 billion

Their hefty spending commenced with the purchase of Luis Suarez for €60 million, while Ousame Dembele and Philippe Coutinho both arrived for over €100 million.

Then there's over €300 million of transfers from this year alone with the purchases of Frenkie de Jong and Griezmann, making them the biggest spenders in the last half-decade.

So, using statistics from Dutch magazine Voetbal International, see the full breakdown of statistics down below:

1. Barcelona - €1.08 billion

2. Manchester City - €996 million

3. Manchester United - €890 million

4. Chelsea - €875 million

5. Juventus - €868 million

6. Atletico Madrid - €800 million

7. Paris Saint-Germain - €773 million

8. Real Madrid - €755 million

9. Liverpool - €714 million

10. AS Roma - €586 million

It's pretty surprising to see PSG in seventh place, despite capturing Kylian Mbappe and Neymar for the most expensive transfer fees in history.

Meanwhile, Chelsea and Juventus - the latter of which being famous for free transfers - also find themselves higher than might be expected.

However, if there's any saving grace for Barcelona in this whole situation, it's the fact they have also made plenty of money from transfers on the side.

Their transfer income comes in at a staggering €627 million and one-sixth of that has come from this summer alone with players like Andre Gomes and Jasper Cillessen departing.

What stands out the most, though, is the fact that Barcelona seem to be escaping the same criticism as City and PSG despite now passing into the billions. Crazy money.

Do you think Barcelona get away lightly with their spending? Have your say in the comments section below.