Premier League spending has once again dominated the global transfer market, with clubs splashing out £2.7billion on international signings throughout 2025.
Manchester City topped the worldwide spending charts, followed by Liverpool and Arsenal in second and third positions, respectively.
Premier League sides occupied eight of the top 10 spots for highest-spending clubs globally.
Newly-promoted Sunderland ranked in sixth and relegation-threatened Wolves in seventh.
Germany and Italy were the only other nations whose clubs surpassed the one billion dollar threshold in transfer expenditure.
English football also proved lucrative on the selling side, with clubs receiving £1.28billion in fees for outgoing international transfers during the calendar year.
Fifa’s Global Transfer Report, published on Wednesday, disclosed that men’s professional football witnessed an unprecedented £9.49billion spent on international transfers during 2025.
This figure represents a surge of more than 50 per cent compared with the previous year’s total of £6.23billion.
Premier League spending has once again dominated the global transfer market
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The 2025 spending also eclipsed the previous record of £7.01billion set in 2023 by a substantial margin.
An all-time high of 86,158 international player moves were completed across men’s and women’s professional football and the amateur game combined.
The number of clubs actively purchasing players also reached a record, with 1,214 clubs spending on incoming transfers.
Liverpool’s acquisitions of Alexander Isak from Newcastle United for a British record transfer fee of £125million, Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for £116million and Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt at £79million represented the three most expensive international deals of the year.
Liverpool acquired Alexander Isak from Newcastle United for a British record transfer fee of £125million and Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for £116million
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Benjamin Sesko’s switch from RB Leipzig to Manchester United also ranked among the top transfers.
Newcastle’s club-record £65.5million purchase of Nick Woltemade from Stuttgart and Martin Zubimendi’s £55.8million transfer from Real Sociedad to Arsenal were also in the top 10.
Manchester United slipped two places to 15th in the global spending rankings, with their international recruits including Sesko, Patrick Dorgu and Senne Lammens.
The women’s game continued its remarkable trajectory, with international transfer spending reaching a record £20.74million in 2025.
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This represented a dramatic increase of more than 80 per cent compared with the previous year’s figures.
A total of 2,440 international transfers involving professional female players were recorded, marking a 6.3 per cent rise from 2024.
The number of clubs participating in women’s international transfers grew to 756, an increase of 8.3 per cent.
Fifa’s report highlighted that 135 clubs spent money on incoming transfers, up 23.9 per cent, while 155 clubs received fees for outgoing players, representing a 25 per cent increase.
