Latest FIFA transfers report says men’s fees hit $13bn in 2025

FIFA said clubs spent a record more than US$13bn on international transfer fees in 2025, as the governing body reported a fresh high in cross-border player movement and pointed to continued growth in the women’s market. The figures were published in FIFA’s Global Transfer Report 2025 alongside an interactive data platform that breaks down international transfers by association, confederation and club. FIFA said overall international moves across the professional and amateur game reached a new peak of more than 86,000 transfers during the year.FIFA chief legal and compliance officer Emilio García Silvero said: “FIFA is proud to be closely engaged with all football stakeholders in the shaping of the international transfer system. We remain committed to ensuring that our regulatory framework remains robust, transparent, effective and proportionate to meet the ever-evolving demands of the football industry. “The numbers reflected in this report demonstrate that this goal has been overwhelmingly achieved.” At the core of the report is men’s professional football, where FIFA said transfer-fee spending climbed to US$13.08bn, the highest annual total recorded by the organisation. FIFA said international deal volume also increased again, with around 24,600 men’s professional international transfers completed during 2025, and more than 5,000 clubs involved.FIFA said the market continues to broaden in terms of participation as well as value. A record more than 1,200 clubs paid at least one international transfer fee in the men’s professional game last year, while a record almost 1,500 clubs received at least one fee. FIFA also said the share of men’s professional international transfers involving a fee reached a new high, even though most international moves still take place without a fee.The report also underlined how concentrated spending remains at the top end of the market. FIFA said most fee-paying transfers were agreed for relatively modest sums, but that category represented only a small proportion of total transfer-fee outlay. By contrast, FIFA said a small number of very high-value transfers accounted for close to half of global spending in the men’s professional market.FIFA’s breakdown of payment structures shows clubs are still relying primarily on fixed fees, with add-ons and conditional payments making up a smaller – but still significant – part of the total. FIFA said release clauses contributed only a limited share of overall fee activity. By association, FIFA said English clubs were again both the biggest spenders and the biggest recipients of international transfer fees in men’s professional football, with spending around US$3.8bn and receipts around US$1.8bn in 2025.FIFA added that Brazilian clubs led the world on total men’s professional international transfer volume, recording the highest number of incoming and outgoing international transfers. FIFA’s headline numbers also combined activity across the entire international system, not just the men’s professional market. The organisation said total club spending on international transfer fees across football surpassed US$13bn in 2025 for the first time, clearing the US$10bn barrier that it described as a milestone for the industry.The women’s professional game continued to show strong upward movement, FIFA said, with transfer-fee spending rising to about US$29m and international transfers of professional players reaching about 2,400 for the year. FIFA said the number of clubs involved in women’s international transfers also increased, and that more clubs are both paying and receiving fees than in previous years, which it linked to more players turning professional and a maturing transfer market. At amateur level, FIFA said international player movement also reached a new high, reflecting what it described as football’s global reach and the scale of cross-border participation outside the professional game.FIFA said the Global Transfer Report includes expanded analysis of transfer types, player characteristics and contracts, and for the first time contains a dedicated section on trials, which it defined as short training stints that allow clubs and players to assess fit and potential. FIFA added that a separate report covering transfers concluded in the January 2026 window will be published in early February.