Major League Soccer teams set a new transfer spending record in 2025. Clubs spent about $336 million on new players, the league told Reuters this week. LAFC led the way with their high-profile move for Son Heung-min from Tottenham.
The figure was almost double the previous record of $188 million set in 2024. It also placed MLS eighth among world leagues in spending last year, above Mexico’s Liga MX and Argentina’s Primera Division. Overall, it marked a 75% rise from the year before.
MLS clubs broke the league’s single transfer fee record three times in 2025. LAFC spent a reported $26.5 million for South Korea captain Son. Atlanta United signed Emmanuel Latte Lath for $22 million. FC Cincinnati landed Kevin Denkey for $16.3 million.
Eight clubs set new internal records, with Austin FC doing so twice. Nearly half of all MLS sides have signed at least one record player in the past two years. In 2025, 169 players arrived from 50 different countries, with an average age of 25.2.
Brazil was the top source with 11 signings, followed by Argentina with 10. Clubs also brought in eight players each from England and Portugal. At least eight deals crossed the $10 million mark.
From January 1 to February 4, the league’s busiest period, MLS ranked sixth in the world for spending with $145 million. At the same time, outgoing transfers reached $125 million, a rise of 126% from 2024. Seven players left MLS for fees of at least $10 million. Nine clubs broke their outgoing records.
A new “cash-for-player” rule, introduced in January, also changed how clubs trade within the league. The rule allows teams to buy players directly without using allocation money, draft picks, or other assets.
In its first year, this rule made up more than $40 million across 11 players. MLS said it helped keep star players in the league while also giving selling clubs good value. Major transfers included Evander to FC Cincinnati, Djordje Mihailovic to Toronto FC, Jack McGlynn to Houston Dynamo, Daniel Gazdag to Columbus Crew, Luciano Acosta to FC Dallas, and Dejan Joveljic to Sporting Kansas City.