New Delhi: FIFA reported that clubs spent a record $2.35 billion on international transfer deals during a flourishing January market period for men’s football, driven by Saudi Arabia and England. Additionally, the 5,863 international transfers—those that FIFA handles between clubs in other nations—were 900 more than the previous record set the year before. Only one deal, Gonçalo Ramos’s confirmation of a permanent move from Benfica to Paris Saint-Germain, was reported to be for more than 30 million euros ($31 million) in January 2024.
Ten such transfer payments were agreed to last month, four of which went to Manchester City, who signed Victor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov, Omar Marmoush and on the deadline day, Nico Gonzalez. The most expensive was Colombian forward Jhon Durán’s $80 million move from Aston Villa to join Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
Which leagues spent the most?
English teams together spent the highest money on transfer fees—$621.6 million—while earning only $186 million from the selling of players to overseas teams. It is a usual sighting in every transfer window where top English clubs are always taking the lead when it comes to net-spending and the number of transfers.
Saudi Arabia had the second-largest deficit, with teams spending over $160 million more than they brought in. Al Nassr, Al Hilal, and other clubs that were all owned with sovereign money by the Public Investment Fund were mostly responsible for the $202 million in spending. The $295.7 million invested by German teams was largely offset by $226.2 million made via transfer sales. French teams made a combined profit of over $160 million by collecting the largest amount of transfer fees ($371 million) and spending only $209.7 million.
Clubs in Portugal earned a total of $136 million from revenues of $176.4 million and expenses of just $40.2 million. According to FIFA statistics, clubs in the US earned $125 million in transfer fees and spent $145 million.
The January transfer window of 2025 shattered records, with global spending reaching an unprecedented $2.35 billion across nearly 6,000 deals. Here’s a look at how much money was spent and also which league spent the most. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
