The last signing market beat historical records in male and female professional football, as confirmed by the FIFA International Transfer Report of January 2025.
According to this report, prepared by the Division of Legal Services and Compliance, which is based in Miami, in January a total of 5,863 international transfers were made in male professional football. This is the highest figure registered in a January, and exceeds the previous January 2024 record in almost 20 %.
The clubs spent 2,265 million euros, which also represents a historical maximum in this registration period. This amount is 57.9 % higher than January 2024 and 47.1 % higher than that of the previous record, registered in the same month of 2023.
In women’s professional football, historical maximums were also reached in both sections. The clubs spent 5.1 million euros on international signings, the highest amount registered in this registration period and more than double (180.6 %) than the previous record of January 2024. In women’s professional football 455 international transfers, 22.6 % more with respect to the maximum registered to date (January 2024).
The Premier, ‘leader’
In male football, English clubs led the list with 616.6 million euros. The first five positions were completed by the Clubs of Germany (288.7 million), Italy (221.8 million), France (206.7 million) and Saudi Arabia (200.1 million). Meanwhile, the French clubs received the highest amount for transfers (365 million), followed by the German clubs (217 million), English (177 million), Portuguese (171.4 million) and Italians (162 million).
Brazil was the country that registered the most signings (471), followed by Argentina (265), Portugal (207), Spain (200) and England (190). On the other hand, the one who transferred the most players was Argentina (255), ahead of Brazil (212), England (211), United States (179) and Portugal (162).
The English clubs were also the ones that most spent on women’s football (2 million euros) and those who registered the highest amount of hiring (39). In addition, January 2025 was the first registration period in which signings were made worth more than one million dollars in women’s professional football.