MLS smashes transfer spending record with $336 million splurge led by LAFC signing Son

Major League Soccer clubs have shattered the league’s transfer spending record in 2025, investing an estimated $336 million on new players, with LAFC’s blockbuster capture of Son Heung-min from Tottenham headlining the outlay, the league confirmed to sources this week.

The spending figure nearly doubled the previous record of $188 million set in 2024 and would have ranked eighth among global leagues last year, surpassing Mexico’s Liga MX and Argentina’s Primera Division. Overall, it represents a 75% year-on-year rise in transfer expenditure.

MLS broke its individual transfer fee record three times in 2025 alone. LAFC’s reported $26.5 million move for South Korea captain Son Heung-min set the benchmark, followed by Atlanta United’s $22 million signing of Emmanuel Latte Lath and FC Cincinnati’s $16.3 million purchase of Kevin Denkey.

Eight clubs set new internal transfer records, with Austin FC doing so twice, while nearly half of the league’s teams have signed a club-record player in the past two years. In total, MLS welcomed 169 international arrivals this year, representing 50 countries with an average age of 25.2.

Brazil (11 signings), Argentina (10), England (8) and Portugal (8) were the most targeted top-flight leagues, while MLS sides executed at least eight transfers worth $10 million or more. Between January 1 and February 4 — typically the busiest period for MLS transfers — the United States ranked sixth globally in transfer spending at $145 million and seventh in revenue at $125 million, with outgoing fees rising 126% compared to the same window in 2024.

Seven players left MLS for fees of at least $10 million this year, with nine clubs setting new records for outgoing transfers.

The league credited part of the activity to its new “cash-for-player” trade rule introduced in January, which allows teams to trade directly for players without using General Allocation Money or other assets like draft picks. MLS said the mechanism reshaped intra-league transfers, accounting for more than $40 million spent on 11 players in its debut season.

Among the notable trades under the new system were Evander joining FC Cincinnati, Djordje Mihailovic moving 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.

SportsLigue