International transfer spending hit $16 billion in 2025, FIFA study shows
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Among the most expensive deals of the year was Florian Wirtz’s move from Germany's Bayer Leverkusen to Premier League champions Liverpool.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- FIFA reported a record 24,558 men's international transfers in 2025, with spending reaching US$13.08 billion (S$16.5 billion).
- Florian Wirtz moved to Liverpool for a guaranteed £100 million, headlining a year of major European club transfers.
- Women's football transfers rose by 6% to 2,440, with record spending of $28.6 million, including Ovalle to Orlando Pride for $1.5M.
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LONDON - Clubs around the world completed a record 24,558 international transfers in men's football in 2025, with total spending rising to US$13.08 billion (S$16.5 billion), world soccer’s governing body FIFA said in its Global Transfer Report published on Jan 28.
The number represents an increase of more than 7 per cent from 2024 and marks the highest volume of international men’s transfers ever recorded.
Across all levels of the game - men’s and women’s professional soccer as well as amateur football - FIFA said an all-time high of 86,158 international player transfers were completed in 2025.
Among the most expensive deals of the year was German midfielder Florian Wirtz’s move from Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen to Premier League champions Liverpool, one of several headline transfers involving major European clubs.
Liverpool signed the 22-year-old for a guaranteed £100 million (S$174 million) and up to £16 million in potential bonuses.
The top five international transfers also featured Hugo Ekitike (Eintracht Frankfurt to Liverpool), Jhon Duran (Aston Villa to Al-Nassr), Benjamin Sesko (RB Leipzig to Manchester United) and Nick Woltemade (VfB Stuttgart to Newcastle United).
Women’s football saw another year of significant growth, with 2,440 international transfers completed in 2025, more than a 6 per cent rise from the previous year. Total transfer spending reached a record US$28.6 million, more than 80 per cent higher than in 2024.
One of the standout transfers was American side Orlando Pride signing Mexican winger Lizbeth Ovalle from Liga MX Femenil club Tigres for a women’s world-record transfer fee of US$1.5 million.
FIFA recorded 59,162 amateur players moving to clubs abroad in 2025, a new high and a 9.4 per cent increase from the previous year. REUTERS
