Jan 28 (Reuters) - Clubs around the world completed a record 24,558 international transfers in men's football in 2025, with total spending rising to $13.08 billion, world soccer's governing body FIFA said in its Global Transfer Report published on Wednesday.
The number represents an increase of more than 7% 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 pounds ($137.77 million) and up to 16 million pounds 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% rise from the previous year. Total transfer spending reached a record $28.6 million, more than 80% 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 $1.5 million.
FIFA recorded 59,162 amateur players moving to clubs abroad in 2025, a new high and a 9.4% increase from the previous year.
($1 = 0.7258 pounds)
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru;Editing by Christian Radnedge)
