The transfer market has moved ever closer to the academy gates. UEFA’s latest review places young players at the centre of an unprecedented spending surge, with clubs paying a record €1.2 billion for footballers aged under 20 and directing 56% of all transfer fees towards players aged 23 or younger.
The move
European clubs generated €10.8 billion in transfer activity during 2025, the first time the €10 billion mark has been passed. The figure represented a 46% increase on 2024 and more than twice the level seen eight years earlier, when the market first exceeded €5 billion in 2017.
The study, which examined more than 700 clubs involved in European competitions, underlines how sharply recruitment has shifted towards younger profiles. The €1.2 billion invested in teenagers was another all-time high, while players aged 23 or below accounted for a record share of total fees.
That demand also drove up the number of elite-level deals. Transfers worth more than €50 million rose from 14 in 2024 to 23 in 2025, before reaching 35 during the latest summer window.
Defenders and midfielders became especially expensive. There were eight defenders sold for fees above €50 million, compared with three in the previous year, while the number of midfielders in that bracket increased from 11 to 23. Forwards accounted for only four such transfers, down from nine in the summer of 2025.
The French season around it
France remains one of the countries helping European clubs turn player sales into major income. UEFA estimated that clubs across the continent made €6.8 billion in transfer profit, with sales involving England, France and Portugal among the principal drivers.
The English market, however, set the pace for the wider boom. At least one English club featured in 52% of the worldwide value of transfer agreements. Deals made solely between English clubs produced €2.2 billion in fees during the summer, nearly €700 million above the previous record summer.
England alone represented 60% of global transfer activity by fee value during that window, the first time its share has moved beyond half of the world market.
For French clubs, the figures reinforce a familiar reality of the season: developing and selling young talent is not merely a sporting pathway, but a central part of the European economy. As the biggest buyers pay more heavily for defenders and midfielders before their prime years, the competition for emerging Ligue 1 players is likely to remain intense.
