Soccer-Son leads way as MLS smashes transfer spending record

By Rory Carroll

LOS ANGELES, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Major League Soccer clubs smashed the league's transfer spending record in 2025, laying out about $336 million on player acquisitions led by LAFC's blockbuster acquisition of Son Heung-min from Tottenham, the league told Reuters this week.

The total outlay was nearly double the previous MLS record of $188 million set in 2024 and would have ranked eighth among global leagues last year, ahead of Mexico's Liga MX and Argentina's Primera Division. It represents a 75% year-on-year increase in spending.

MLS teams broke the league's individual transfer fee record three times in 2025, most recently by LAFC's reported $26.5 million deal for South Korea captain Son, followed by Atlanta United's acquisition of Emmanuel Latte Lath for $22 million and FC Cincinnati's move for Kevin Denkey at $16.3 million.

Eight clubs set new internal transfer records, with Austin FC doing so twice, while nearly half of MLS teams have completed a club-record signing in the past two years.

There were 169 international arrivals in 2025, spanning 50 countries and averaging 25.2 years of age.

Top-flight leagues most targeted by MLS sides included Brazil (11 signings), Argentina (10), England (8) and Portugal (8). Teams executed at least eight deals worth $10 million or more.

From January 1 to February 4 - typically MLS's busiest window - the United States ranked sixth worldwide in transfer expenditure at $145 million and seventh in revenue at $125 million, with outgoing fees up 126% versus the same period in 2024.

Seven players departed MLS for fees of at least $10 million in 2025, and nine clubs set new records for outgoing transfers.

The league said its new "cash-for-player" trade rule, introduced in January, has reshaped intra-league movement by allowing clubs to trade directly for players without using General Allocation Money or other assets such as draft picks.

In its first season, the mechanism accounted for more than $40 million across 11 players, a development MLS says has helped keep top performers in the league while allowing selling clubs to realize value.

Notable trades under the new system included moves for 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.