Twenty biggest transfers in the world in 2025 summer transfer window

The 2025 summer transfer window is now open again and there are a whole raft of deals done. This list will change roughly a trillion times over the coming months.

If you want a full list of just Premier League transfers then this is your link.

Players are ranked by size of the initial fee, with add-ons stated.

1) Matheus Cunha (Wolves to Manchester United) – £62.5m
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s cost-cutting scheme threatened Man Utd’s deal for Cunha as they had a ‘request’ rejected, but they eventually ‘met the terms’ to complete this window’s most expensive transfer *so far*.

2) Dean Huijsen (Bournemouth to Real Madrid) – £50m
Real Madrid matched Huijsen’s release clause just a year after he joined the Cherries for just £12.6m. The fee will be paid in three instalments by Real, with his former clubs Juventus due 10% and Malaga 5%.

3) Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan to Manchester City) – £46.6m rising to £59.2m with add-ons
The last of four signings rushed through in the first transfer window to prepare for the Club World Cup, as officially Serie A’s best midfielder in 2024/25 Reijnders might be the most intriguing.

4) Franco Mastantuono (River Plate to Real Madrid) – £38.5m
PSG looked certain to sign the Argentine wonderkid but Real Madrid’s knock is a different knock.

5) Jean-Clair Todibo (Nice to West Ham United) – £35.4m
West Ham avoiding relegation was the low bar they were obliged to clear to make their loan signing of Todibo permanent after an underwhelming loan spell.

6) Rayan Ait-Nouri (Wolves to Man City) – £31m rising to £36.3m with add-ons
This is one of the biggest transfers of the summer but it still feels like a coup for City.

7) Rayan Cherki (Lyon to Wolves) – £30.5m plus add-ons 
Promising French playmaker Cherki joins a team looking to bounce back after a disappointing season.

8) Liam Delap (Ipswich Town to Chelsea) – £30m
The lesson: Deals can be done quick and early if there is a release clause. And this particular release clause made the former Man City trainee a very popular boy.

9) Mathys Tel (Bayern Munich to Tottenham Hotspur) – £30m
Thomas Frank has his first signing since replacing Ange Postecoglou at Spurs, with Tel’s initial loan move made permanent for £30m. A couple of Brentford standouts could join the forward this summer.

10) Charalampos Kostoulas (Olympiacos to Brighton) – £29.8m rising to £31.5m with add-ons
A single season of professional first-team football proved persuasive enough for Brighton to part with a small fortune to sign 18-year-old forward Kostoulas, who scored seven goals in 35 games for Greek Double winners Olympiacos.

11) Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool) – £29.5m
Just hours after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s transfer to Real Madrid was ratified, the Reds announced that they had met the Dutch right-back’s release clause. Swift, impressive work.

12) Estevao (Palmeiras to Chelsea) – £29m rising to £52m with add-ons
Chelsea emerged at the head of a queue featuring Bayern Munich, Paris St-Germain and Manchester City for the 17-year-old winger who joins Chelsea after the Club World Cup.

13) Jobe Bellingham (Sunderland to Borussia Dortmund) – £25.8m rising to £30m with add-ons
Following in his brother’s path, Sunderland have sold the young Englishman just as they are preparing for a Premier League campaign.

14) Yan Couto (Manchester City to Borussia Dortmund) – £25m
The Brazil international has never played a game for Manchester City but that’s not unusual. The third club he joined on loan could afford to trigger an obligation to buy.

15) Joan Garcia (Espanyol to Barcelona) – £21.4m
The La Liga champions have brought in a new stopper from their cross-city rivals, which will probably see Marc-Andre ter Stegen leave the club, likely to Galatasaray.

16) Nico Gonzalez (Fiorentina to Juventus) – £21m rising to £25m with add-ons
The Argentine winger joined Juventus on loan last summer with an obligation to buy. So they have bought.

17) Kevin Danso (Lens to Tottenham) – £21m
There was a January panic amid injury issues, leading Spurs to agree a loan with an obligation to buy. And now he has a Europa League winner’s medal.

CHECK OUT: Premier League net spend table over the last five years

18) Luis Henrique (Marseille to Inter Milan) – £19.38m
The beaten Champions League finalists needed an injection of youth and the 23-year-old Brazilian fits the brief.

19) Enzo Le Fee (Roma to Sunderland) – £19.35m
The French midfielder has seen his loan spell from Roma made permanent for a club record transfer fee.

20) Dario Essugo (Sporting to Chelsea) – £18.5m
A seven-year contract has been signed by the 20-year-old Portuguese midfielder expected to act as a deputy to Moises Caicedo.