Curtain down on the 2025 summer transfer window—and what a fireworks show! Liverpool landed Alexander Isak in a club-record deal, plus Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz to spice up the attack while Manchester City wrapped up Gianluigi Donnarumma. In Italy, youth takes center stage: Kevin De Bruyne (34) arrives in Naples and Luka Modrić (39) waltzes in for one last dance with Milan. In France, nostalgia hits the right note: Olivier Giroud, Florian Thauvin, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang return to Ligue 1, to the delight of the fans. Oh, and the Rabiot/Rowe saga? After heating up at OM, they’re already crossing paths in Serie A… even Netflix wouldn’t have dared! And Strasbourg spending more than PSG, shall we talk about that? Gilbert Brisbois dreaming of the Champions League? Time will tell.
📑 Table of contents
Ligue 1 (France)
PSG has “rebuilt” its goal and central pairing: Lucas Chevalier and Illia Zabarnyi arrive, triggering a domino effect that sends Donnarumma to City. In Marseille, the Rabiot/Rowe clash changed everything: one heads to Milan, the other signs with Bologna… while OM welcomes Benjamin Pavard on loan to shore up the defense. On the emotional front, Aubameyang returns to the Vélodrome, while Giroud joins Lille. Yes, Ligue 1’s got panache.
| Player | From | To | Fee | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illia Zabarnyi | Bournemouth | PSG | ≈ €66M | Transfer |
| Lucas Chevalier | Lille | PSG | €55M (40+15) | Transfer |
| Igor Paixão | Feyenoord | Marseille | ≈ €35M (30+5) | Transfer |
| Nayef Aguerd | West Ham | Marseille | ≈ €23M | Transfer |
| Joaquín Panichelli | Alavés | Strasbourg | €20M (16.5+3.5) | Transfer |
| Julio Enciso | Brighton | Strasbourg | ≈ €20M | Transfer |
| Breel Embolo | Monaco | Rennes | ≈ €15M | Transfer |
| Florian Thauvin | Udinese | Lens | €6M (+2) | Transfer |
| Valentin Rongier | Marseille | Rennes | €5.5M | Transfer |
| Odsonne Édouard | Crystal Palace | Lens | ≈ €4–5M | Transfer |
| Kevin Trapp | Eintracht Frankfurt | Paris FC | ≈ €1M | Transfer |
| Ben Chilwell | Chelsea | Strasbourg | UD | Transfer |
| Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Al-Qadsiah | Marseille | Free | Transfer |
| Olivier Giroud | LAFC | Lille | Free | Transfer |
Premier League (England)
Blockbuster vibes: Liverpool pull off the Isak + Wirtz combo, United stack up Šeško, Mbeumo and Cunha, City modernize the project with Donnarumma (and Reijnders/Aït-Nouri), Spurs bet on Xavi Simons and Kolo Muani. Even the exits make noise (loan of Rashford to Barça, Darwin Núñez off to Saudi). The season looks volcanic.
| Player | From | To | Fee | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Isak | Newcastle | Liverpool | ≈ £125M | Transfer |
| Florian Wirtz | Leverkusen | Liverpool | ≈ £116M | Transfer |
| Hugo Ekitike | Eintracht Frankfurt | Liverpool | ≈ £69–80M | Transfer |
| Bryan Mbeumo | Brentford | Man United | ≈ £71M | Transfer |
| Matheus Cunha | Wolves | Man United | ≈ £62.5M | Transfer |
| João Pedro | Brighton | Chelsea | ≈ £60M | Transfer |
| Xavi Simons | RB Leipzig | Tottenham | ≈ €60M | Transfer |
| Viktor Gyökeres | Sporting CP | Arsenal | ≈ £57M | Transfer |
| Jamie Bynoe-Gittens | Dortmund | Chelsea | ≈ £55M | Transfer |
| Tijjani Reijnders | AC Milan | Man City | ≈ €55M | Transfer |
| Alejandro Garnacho | Man United | Chelsea | ≈ £40M | Transfer |
| Jeremie Frimpong | Leverkusen | Liverpool | ≈ €35–40M | Transfer |
|
Rayan Cherki
|
Lyon | Man City |
≈ €35M | Transfer |
| Evann Guessand | Nice | Aston Villa | ≈ €35M | Transfer |
| Dilane Bakwa | Strasbourg | Nottingham | ≈ €35M | Transfer |
| Bafodé Diakité | Lille | Bournemouth | ≈ £34M | Transfer |
| Rayan Aït-Nouri | Wolves | Man City | ≈ £31–34M | Transfer |
| Nick Woltemade | Werder Bremen | Newcastle | ≈ £30M | Transfer |
| Gianluigi Donnarumma | PSG | Man City | ≈ €30M | Transfer |
| Arnaud Kalimuendo | Rennes | Nottingham | ≈ £26M | Transfer |
| Giovanni Leoni | Parma | Liverpool | ≈ £26M | Transfer |
| Jean-Clair Todibo | Nice | West Ham | ≈ £22M | Transfer |
| Jaydee Canvot | Toulouse | Crystal Palace | ≈ £21M | Transfer |
| Lucas Perri | Lyon | Leeds United | €18M (16+2) | Transfer |
| Kyle Walker | Man City | Burnley | ≈ £5M | Transfer |
| Randal Kolo Muani | PSG | Tottenham | — | Loan |
| Oleksandr Zinchenko | Arsenal | Nottingham | — | Loan |
| Jack Grealish | Man City | Everton | — | Loan |
| Jadon Sancho | Man United | Aston Villa | — | Loan |
LaLiga (Spain)
Measured but surgical market: Barça give themselves an attacking jolt with the loan of Marcus Rashford, while Real Madrid strengthen without breaking the bank—future bet on Álvaro Carreras and Dean Huijsen, plus the neat free signing of Trent Alexander-Arnold. Villarreal go for scorer Georges Mikautadze, and Sevilla stack experience with Alexis Sánchez and César Azpilicueta (free). Few splurges, lots of targeted moves: bring on the football.
| Player | From | To | Fee | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franco Mastantuono | River Plate | Real Madrid | ≈ €63M | Transfer |
| Álvaro Carreras | Benfica | Real Madrid | ≈ €50M | Transfer |
| Álex Baena | Villarreal | Atlético | ≈ €50M | Transfer |
| Georges Mikautadze | Lyon | Villarreal | ≈ €36M | Transfer |
| Dean Huijsen | Bournemouth | Real Madrid | ≈ €50M | Transfer |
| Marcus Rashford | Man United | FC Barcelona | — | Loan |
| Trent Alexander-Arnold | Liverpool | Real Madrid | Free | Transfer |
| Alexis Sánchez | Udinese | Sevilla FC | Free | Transfer |
| César Azpilicueta | Atlético | Sevilla FC | Free | Transfer |
Serie A (Italy)
Nostalgia and top-tier quality: De Bruyne chooses Naples for a new challenge, Modrić pulls on the Milan shirt, and in a neat twist, Rabiot also finds Milan while Rowe lands at Bologna after the Marseille bust-up. The Scudetto race just gained class and storytelling.
| Player | From | To | Fee | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loïs Openda | RB Leipzig | Juventus | ≈ €85M | Loan (PO) |
|
Rasmus Højlund
|
Man United | Naples | ≈ €44M | Loan (PO) |
| Christopher Nkunku | Chelsea | AC Milan | ≈ €42M | Transfer |
| N. (Neil) El Aynaoui | Metz | AS Roma | €25M (22+3) | Transfer |
| Adrien Rabiot | Marseille | AC Milan | ≈ €10M | Transfer |
| Pierre Kalulu | AC Milan | Juventus | UD | Transfer |
| Pervis Estupiñán | Brighton | AC Milan | UD | Transfer |
| Jonathan Rowe | Marseille | Bologna | ≈ €19.5M | Transfer |
| Álvaro Morata | AC Milan | Como | — | Loan |
| Kevin De Bruyne | Man City | Naples | Free | Transfer |
| Luka Modrić | Real Madrid | AC Milan | Free | Transfer |
| Nemanja Matić | Lyon | Sassuolo | Free | Transfer |
Bundesliga (Germany)
Staying true to their DNA, ruthlessly efficient: Bayern hit hard with Luis Díaz (≈ €75M), while Leverkusen anticipate the post-Wirtz era with a XXL window—Malik Tillman, Jarell Quansah, Eliesse Ben Seghir, Loïc Badé, and Ezequiel Fernández. Dortmund bet on Jobe Bellingham and Fábio Silva, while Stuttgart pick up Badredine Bouanani. A market built for intensity, verticality… and value creation.
| Player | From | To | Fee | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luis Díaz | Liverpool | Bayern Munich | ≈ €75M | Transfer |
| Jarell Quansah | Liverpool | Bayer Leverkusen | ≈ €40M | Transfer |
| Eliesse Ben Seghir | AS Monaco | Bayer Leverkusen | ≈ €35M | Transfer |
| Malik Tillman | PSV | Bayer Leverkusen | ≈ €35M | Transfer |
| Jobe Bellingham | Sunderland | Borussia Dortmund | ≈ €33M | Transfer |
| Loïc Badé | Sevilla FC | Bayer Leverkusen | ≈ €23M | Transfer |
| Fábio Silva | Wolves | Borussia Dortmund | ≈ €22.5M | Transfer |
| Ezequiel Fernández | Boca Juniors | Bayer Leverkusen | ≈ €22M | Transfer |
| Badredine Bouanani | Nice | VfB Stuttgart | ≈ €18M | Transfer |
Other leagues (Saudi Arabia, MLS, Turkey, etc.)
Beyond the Big 5, there’s movement too: Son Heung-min crosses the Atlantic to LAFC, Darwin Núñez joins Al-Hilal, and Saudi clubs keep luring European mainstays. Career paths are diversifying, to the joy of football night owls.
| Player | From | To | Fee | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor Osimhen | Naples | Galatasaray (TUR) | ≈ €75M | Transfer |
| Mateo Retegui | Atalanta | Al-Qadsiah (KSA) | ≈ €68.5M | Transfer |
| Darwin Núñez | Liverpool | Al-Hilal (KSA) | ≈ €54–60M | Transfer |
| Enzo Millot | VfB Stuttgart | Al-Ahli (KSA) | ≈ €28–30M | Transfer |
| Nathan Zézé | Nantes | NEOM SC (KSA) | ≈ €23M | Transfer |
| Kingsley Coman | Bayern Munich | Al-Nassr (KSA) | UD | Transfer |
| João Félix | Chelsea | Al-Nassr (KSA) | UD | Transfer |
| Alexandre Lacazette | Lyon | NEOM SC (KSA) | UD | Transfer |
| Saïd Benrahma | Lyon | NEOM SC (KSA) | UD | Transfer |
Abbreviations: UD = undisclosed, PO = purchase option, “≈” = estimate. Loans and free transfers appear at the bottom of the tables as they are treated as zero-fee moves.
Free agents
At the close of the window, the “free” list looks like an XXL short-list of still bankable stalwarts—mostly in their thirties—able to bring experience with no transfer fee:
In goal: Steve Mandanda (40), Guillermo Ochoa (aiming for a 6th World Cup), Rui Patrício, Fraser Forster, Łukasz Fabiański, or Tim Krul, plus several ex-Ligue 1 stoppers (Arthur Desmas, Mathieu Gorgelin, Dimitry Bertaud, Alexandre Oukidja, ACL injury).
At the back: rock-solid names like Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kurt Zouma, Samuel Umtiti, Sergio Reguilón, Rick Karsdorp, or Daniel Amartey, plus a colony with Ligue 1 pasts (Jason Denayer, Léo Dubois, Juan Bernat, Jordan Amavi, Fodé Ballo-Touré, Ismaily, Marcus Coco, Benjamin Mendy, Layvin Kurzawa, Mattia De Sciglio, Jérôme Roussillon, Bouna Sarr).
In midfield: creativity and mileage with Christian Eriksen, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Dele Alli, Tiémoué Bakayoko, Miralem Pjanić, but also Dimitri Payet, Rafinha, Daler Kuzyaev, Florent Mollet, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Yohann Magnin, Jonas Martin, Denis Genreau, Jean-Michaël Seri, Flavien Tait, Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro, Ayman Kari.
Up front: still-appealing scorers/creators—Kelechi Iheanacho (offered to OL), Hakim Ziyech, Diego Costa, Paco Alcácer, Lorenzo Insigne, Vincent Aboubakar, Wissam Ben Yedder, Mario Balotelli, and also François Kamano, Adam Ounas, Karl Toko Ekambi, Billal Brahimi, Yann Karamoh, Andy Delort, Anwar El Ghazi, Wahbi Khazri, Clinton N’Jie, Renaud Ripart, André Ayew.
In short: a pool of low-cost gambles for clubs still seeking experience or an attacking spark.
Conclusion
Between big checks, clever loans, and the return of icons, Summer 2025 leaves a clear impression: clubs are learning to be ambitious and strategic at once. “Wow” moves (Isak, Wirtz), human stories (Rabiot/Rowe), and legends changing horizons (Modrić, De Bruyne, Giroud, Pavard). Everything’s in place for an XXL season.
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