As happens every European summer, the world’s most powerful clubs take advantage of the mid-year transfer window to secure blockbuster signings and build squads that fuel excitement for the upcoming season. Transfer fees are becoming increasingly staggering. Neymar set one of the biggest precedents when he left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain.
Kylian Mbappé’s move from Monaco to PSG was another historic deal. While no transfer has yet matched Neymar’s €222 million fee or Mbappé’s €180 million move, several signings this summer are noteworthy.
For the 2025/26 campaign, the man behind the most expensive transfer so far is German star Florian Wirtz, who moved from Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool for €125 million, making him the seventh most expensive player in history.
Trailing him are two more Bundesliga standouts: Hugo Ekitike, who left Eintracht Frankfurt for Liverpool in an €80 million deal, and Benjamin Sesko, RB Leipzig’s attacking reference, who joined Manchester United for around €76.5 million.
Other high-profile moves also turned heads. One of the most surprising was Victor Osimhen, one of Serie A’s most prolific forwards, joining Galatasaray. Equally unexpected was the sudden sale of Mateo Retegui, last season’s Capocannoniere, to Saudi side Al Qadisiya.
see also
Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Liverpool star Florian Wirtz names the greatest soccer player of all time
The 25 most expensive transfers of the current summer window
- Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen → Liverpool) | €125,000,000
- Hugo Ekitike (Eintracht Frankfurt → Liverpool) | €80,000,000
- Benjamin Sesko (RB Leipzig → Manchester United) | €76,500,000
- Victor Osimhen (Napoli → Galatasaray) | €75,000,000
- Bryan Mbeumo (Brentford → Manchester United) | €75,000,000
- Matheus Cunha (Wolverhampton → Manchester United) | €74,200,000
- Luis Díaz (Liverpool → Bayern Munich) | €70,000,000
- Martín Zubimendi (Real Sociedad → Arsenal) | €70,000,000
- Mateo Retegui (Atalanta → Al Qadisiya) | €68,250,000
- Victor Gyokeres (Sporting CP → Arsenal) | €65,800,000
- Mohammed Kudus (West Ham → Tottenham Hotspur) | €63,800,000
- Joao Pedro (Brighton → Chelsea) | €63,700,000
- Dean Huijsen (Bournemouth → Real Madrid) | €62,500,000
- Anthony Elanga (Nottingham Forest → Newcastle) | €61,400,000
- Jamie Gittens (Borussia Dortmund → Chelsea) | €56,000,000
- Noni Madueke (Chelsea → Arsenal) | €56,000,000
- Tijjani Reijnders (AC Milan → Manchester City) | €55,000,000
- Darwin Núñez (Liverpool → Al Hilal) | €53,000,000
- Álvaro Carreras (Benfica → Real Madrid) | €50,000,000
- Milos Kerkez (Bournemouth → Liverpool) | €46,500,000
- Franco Mastantuono (River Plate → Real Madrid) | €45,000,000
- Jorrel Hato (Ajax → Chelsea) | €44,180,000
- Álex Baena (Villarreal → Atlético Madrid) | €42,000,000
- Dan Ndoye (Bologna → Nottingham Forest) | €42,000,000
- Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen → Liverpool) | €40,000,000
