Back in September, Latin Post took a look at the summer transfers of two of the most noted teams in the world -- Real Madrid and Barcelona. Back then the conclusion was as follows: "Barcelona is clearly getting more out of their players thus far. But it will be interesting to see what happens in a month's time when the teams have had more time to work together and gel."

That article was published on Sept. 22, when Los Blancos had a record of two wins and two losses on the year. Meanwhile, Barcelona was setting the world on fire with a tremendous start to the season that was fueled by its summer additions in many ways.

But how has that changed? If at all? Which side's summer transfers have performed at a higher level? 

Barcelona

At the start of the year, it was nearly unanimous that the addition of Ivan Rakitic was a tremendous piece of genius from management. He was finding away of filling for Xavi and carrying the team's midfield play.

But things have actually not been greater for the Croatian since the early part of the season. On one hand, he has seen more time on the bench in favor of Xavi. More importantly, he really is not producing for Blaugrana. He has three goals and zero assists, a far cry from what one would expect from a man with 12 goals and 10 assists on an inferior Sevilla side last year. Some might claim that he is not expected to deliver offensively on this side the way he was on Sevilla, but that still represents a rather concerning situation.

His key passes per game are way down from last year (2.3 down to 1.1 per game) and he is averaging over 13 passes more per game with Blaugrana. Meanwhile, Xavi, albeit in fewer games, is creating over 0.5 more key passes per game with almost 10 fewer passes per game. And he is also connecting on far more passes as well (92.5 to 90 completion rate in Xavi's favor). Not the kind of performance one would expect from Rakitic.

The other big addition was Luis Suarez and his results have been mixed thus far, at best. The Uruguayan, who scored over 30 goals for Liverpool last season, has yet to score a single goal in the Spanish League for his club. He has a Champions League tally against APOEL, but his scoring has not registered domestically. He does have four assists in seven appearances and is averaging 2.8 key passes per game (second most behind Messi), but there is still a hope that he starts putting some in the back of the net for Barcelona's often anemic offense. The team has come to rely heavily on Messi for goals, especially with Neymar's well seemingly drying up. Having Suarez score some would be a big boost for the team and a huge load off Messi's shoulders.

Jeremy Mathieu has been solid, but ranks eighth on the team in tackles per game. He is however in the top three in interceptions and is second best in clearances per game with an average of three. No one can claim that the team is not getting what it asked for from the Frenchman. That said, his tackles per game are well below his career average of 2.4 as are his interceptions per game and clearances per game. A lot of that has to do with Barcelona's possession play and his not needing to make as many defensive plays per game.

The only transfer that has been undoubtedly terrific thus far has been goalie Claudio Bravo. He has stepped well into the shoes left vacated by Victor Valdes and has dominated the position for the team. He has nine clean sheets this season and has only conceded six goals in 13 games!

Regarding the remaining transfers, Marc-Andre ter Stegen was expected to be the number one goalie but he has undoubtedly lost the spot to Bravo and has yet to look like he is capable of taking the reins. He has played in all five Champions League matches this team but has only pitched three clean sheets, two of them against lowly APOEL. He struggled in the big game against Paris Saint-Germain so it should be interesting to see how he develops or whether he actually winds up leaving the team in the near future.

Meanwhile, Thomas Vermaelen and Douglas have had no impact for the team. Vermaelen has yet to make a single appearance!

Real Madrid

The reigning European champions only brought in four players while losing a ton. Early on in the season, it looked like the transfers were poorly made decisions and that the losses incurred were going to wreck the team completely. But that could not be further from the case.

Remember when there were complaints about Toni Kroos not being able to adjust to the holding midfielder position? How he was often found out of position? Is anyone complaining about that anymore?

The German has seen a drop in his key passes per game over the long haul, but that is to be expected considering that he finds himself deeper and deeper in the midfield. And yet he is third on the team with an average of two key passes per game behind Cristiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez. He is averaging 73. 2 passes per game and completing a whopping 93.5 percent of them! Only one other player, Luka Modric, is averaging over 90 percent completion rate on their passes. He also has one goal and six assists for the team thus far. But defensively he is also doing a tremendous job. He is averaging a career-high 2.4 tackles per game (his career average is 1.9) while also completing an average of one interception per game in all competitions (his career average is 0.8). Not quite Xabi Alonso numbers yet, but still a big improvement.

Then comes James Rodriguez who early on was the scourge of many Madrid fans who dreamed of Angel Di Maria. And the criticisms were right on in many ways. What was the Colombian going to bring that the Argentine superstar didn't already have?

The answer is the unexpected one naturally: defense. Rodriguez is currently eighth on the team in average tackles per game with 1.6. Of the eight players ahead of him in this category, five are defenders. The other two are Kroos, who plays a deeper position, and Isco, who also tends to play deeper in coach Carlo Ancelotti's system. Rodriguez is also eighth in interceptions per game with 0.9; with the exception of Luka Modric, the remaining six players ahead of him are defenders and one of them, Fabio Coentrao, has a sample size of two games. Rodriguez is also only being dispossessed 0.5 times per game, his best such statistic in his career. So clearly Rodriguez is showcasing his ability to improve his defensive game. For those wondering, Di Maria is averaging 0.7 tackles per game for Manchester United and 0.8 interceptions (he averaged 1.3 tackles per game last season for Real Madrid and 0.6 interceptions; he is being dispossessed 1.5 times per game and was around the same figure for Los Blancos last year).

The defense alone shows that Rodriguez has added a new dimension to the team's midfield. But everyone wanted to see how he would deliver offensively, especially after the World Cup. And he has not disappointed. He has five goals and five assists in the Spanish League and continues to score in phenomenal fashion. In fact, he is just two goals behind his career high in goals scored in a single domestic league season and is primed to blow those numbers out of the park. He has one goal and one assist in the Champions League and recently added a brace in the Copa del Rey. He is second on the team in key passes per game with 2.5 (his career average is 1.9) and he is also averaging more crosses and long balls this season than he ever has before. His passing success rate is also at an all-time high as well. In essence, Rodriguez is exceeding expectations in every way expected of him.

But not all the transfers are working out well. In the case of Javier Hernandez and Keylor Navas, lack of playing time is making them ineffective. The Mexican has scored three times for Los Blancos in the Spanish League but has only gotten one start and five appearances off the bench. Navas has gotten starts in the Domestic League and Copa del Rey and has acquitted himself quite well when called upon.

Winner: There is certainly a shift occurring. Barcelona was winning the transfer window early on, partially because they got more players and were getting more out of their large selection. Meanwhile, Real Madrid is now getting a lot more out of two players than Barcelona is getting out of most of its roster. Clearly Ancelotti and company are getting things right in Madrid.