Soccer is big business—and the Bundesliga is right up there with the best. This becomes clear once again when you look at the figures on international transfers recently published by FIFA.
The world governing body published its global transfer report, which summarizes all international transfers, i.e., transfers across national borders – and once again, records were broken. According to the report, 86,158 international transfers were made last year, more than ever before.
Of these, 24,558 were professional transfers, while the majority, 59,162, were amateur transfers. The fact that 209 of the 211 FIFA member associations were involved in at least one amateur transfer last year shows just how global the soccer business is. Germany is at the top of the list with 7,041 amateur transfers.
Record total expenditure
Last year, 1,214 clubs spent money on incoming transfers and 1,495 clubs received money for at least one outgoing transfer – both figures represent new records. In men’s soccer, total spending on international transfers rose to the equivalent of €10.94 billion; FIFA published all figures in US dollars. The largest chunk, €9.37 billion, was accounted for by European clubs, which remain by far the main drivers of the soccer business.
For the first time in history, the 10 billion mark was exceeded, with the previous record of 8.08 billion set in 2023 – an increase of 35.6 percent. Compared to the previous year (7.18 billion euros), world football even recorded growth of 50 percent.
England leads in spending and revenue
Unsurprisingly, the financially strong English Premier League paid the most. The English paid a whopping €3.19 billion for incoming transfers such as Florian Wirtz and Nick Woltemade, but on the revenue side, they also earned a considerable €1.48 billion. This makes the Premier League both the biggest payer and the biggest recipient. In absolute terms, Brazilian clubs are ahead in both incoming (1,190) and outgoing transfers (1,005). When it comes to money, however, the picture is different, as Brazil is not exactly at the forefront with rounded figures of €362.1 million in expenditure and €576 million in revenue. The situation is quite different in Germany, which, remarkably, leads the rest of the field behind England with expenditure of €1.07 billion.
Of the top five leagues, only Serie A broke the billion mark, with France (€769.9 million) and Spain (€619.6 million) even trailing behind Saudi Arabia, which still spent €758 million on international transfers.
On the revenue side, however, the Saudis play only a minor role with €136 million, in stark contrast to France, which generated a whopping €1.43 billion, just behind England (€1.48 billion) and well ahead of Germany, which also performed well on the revenue side with €1.25 billion and, like France, had an “export surplus.” Italy with €920 million and Spain with €776.8 million are behind them.
Cash flows from and to England
Looking at the figures for Germany, it is striking that 63, and thus the majority, of international transfers originated in Austria. This is followed by England (57), France (48), the Netherlands (39), and Switzerland (31). Most of the money flowed from Germany to England (328.6 million), France (234.1), and Spain (83 million).
In terms of departures, Germany’s southern neighbor Austria once again tops the list with 52 transfers, closely followed by England (51) and the Netherlands (50). Turkey (45) and Switzerland (34) follow. Unsurprisingly, most of the money came from England, from where €870 million found its way to Germany. Saudi Arabia (92.8 million), Italy (55.52 million), the Netherlands (43.6 million), and France (40.5 million) follow in the rankings.
Positive development in women’s soccer
Transfer records were also set in women’s soccer, albeit on a much smaller scale. Total expenditure on transfer fees in the professional sector amounted to €23.9 million, representing an increase of 80 percent compared to the previous year. A total of 756 clubs were involved in international transfers, an increase of 8.3 percent. Even though the figures are still a long way from those in men’s soccer, there has nevertheless been a positive development in women’s soccer. Last year, 2,440 international transfers of professional players were recorded. That is 6.3 percent more than in 2024.
All figures published by FIFA refer exclusively to international transfers, i.e., transfers across national borders—national transfers are not included in the report. This means that the figures only represent one segment of the total transfer volume. Comprehensive data on the total volume of all transfers in world football is not available in summary form. However, according to experts, the total volume of all transfers is estimated to be 2 to 2.5 times higher than that of international transfers.