The winter transfer window has ended and many players have transferred to other clubs for monetary gain or more “play time”.

One quick thing to note before the rumors and facts start is that FC Barcelona’s transfer ban has been lifted! Yay, Barcelona fans can rejoice as the team can buy all the players they want again. With the ban lifted, players that FC Barcelona bought the previous season like ex-Atletico Madrid midfielder Arda Turan and ex- Sevilla winger and right back Aleix Vidal can finally play for the club. Sadly though, but yet thankfully, Barcelona didn’t buy or sell any of their world-class players.

Paul Pogba, who currently plays for Juventus in the Italian league, is linked to many of the world’s top clubs, mainly FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Barcelona is heavily interested in the young Frenchman. According to BleacherReport.com, they are so interested that Pogba’s agent has stated that he is “unsure whether Juventus has a chance of holding onto [Paul Pogba] next summer.”

One interesting event that occurred during this transfer window was that BOTH Madrid clubs, Atletico and Real, were handed transfer bans! According to ESPNFC.com, both bans were temporarily lifted. If the bans were to have remained, then it would have given Real Madrid’s rivals, FC Barcelona, a chance to snatch some of the world class players, but neither club obtained any new players.

Chinese clubs also made some maneuvers during the transfer window. Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande spent a club record of $45.8 million on Colombian striker Jackson Martinez. To be honest, Martinez is not worth the $45.8 million, well not anymore at least. When Atletico Madrid bought Martinez from FC Porto for about the same value, he was top the top goalscorer. However, he is now a fallen striker, much like his compatriot Radamel Falcao. According to goal.com, Martinez has scored only a meeger 3 goals in 22 games this season. This number pales in comparison to his 32 goals in 41 games last season.

One of the most sought after managers in the world is Pep Guardiola. In his youth Guardiola played for the Spanish Titans FC Barcelona, eventually becoming their manager in 2008 until 2012. For the few years he managed the Catalan club, Guardiola led the club to the coveted treble in his first season as manager. He also led the club to three La Liga titles three years in a row. When his stay at Barcelona finished, he packed his bags and went off to Germany to manage the tank that is FC Bayern Munich. In the three seasons that he managed them, he led them to two consecutive Bundesliga title wins and possibly now a third (the season is still in progress and Bayern Munich is in first place). However, all good things must come to an end, after three seasons, Pep Guardiola will not renew his contract with the German tanks and will instead head to England in order to manage the other side of Manchester, Manchester City.

Sports is nothing without trade rumors and speculation. It makes the game interesting and fun to follow. However, with the winter transfer window closing, there won’t be any talk for quite some time. Managers and players are going to stay put for a while.