
The summer 2025 transfer window on The Athletic
While it sometimes might feel as though the football season never actually ends, we do, at least, have a temporary pause in men's club action in Europe.
The Champions League final has been and gone. The Club World Cup does not start for another 13 days. So, what better time to tell you about The Athletic's plans for the summer transfer window?
Advertisement
Yes, it might only be June 3, but the temporary Club World Cup window is already open — and you don't have to be in the competition to profit. Liverpool have already done significant business, and are trying to do more. Manchester City are actively pursuing new players. Real Madrid are spending €10million (£8.4m; $11.4m) in a single payment to bring Trent Alexander-Arnold in early ahead of the tournament. The moves have started in earnest.
That has been reflected in The Athletic's output over the last few days. We have already introduced our new format, TLDR. This is a quick guide to each of the key deals over the course of the transfer window, and a place where you can quickly find out everything you need to know about a transfer and the player involved. Want to know Jeremie Frimpong's backstory, how he plays, and the finances behind the deal? TLDR has you covered.
Today, we launch The Transfer DealSheet for another summer. Powered by our incredible team of reporters and published every Tuesday morning throughout the summer window, The Transfer DealSheet also features David Ornstein's One To Watch each week. Keen to know more about the plans for a single club this window? We've published individual team guides across the website and app this morning.
Those are our tentpole formats, but we also have a team behind our transfer content who are raring to go as and when other topics need to be tackled. They will bring you in-depth tactical and data-driven analysis, news takeaways on key transfer topics, financial explainers, features on issues that crop up over the course of the window and more information than you'd ever ask for on PSR.
Beyond the written word, our flagship podcast The Athletic FC will be covering The Transfer DealSheet every week and will run three times a week — Monday, Wednesday and Friday — during the summer.
Advertisement
Our video team will also be bringing you episodes of The DealSheet and Sensible Transfers throughout the summer.
And as always, The Athletic promises you that we will follow our rigorous sourcing guidelines before publishing any information. Unless otherwise stated, our reporters will have spoken to more than one person briefed on each deal before offering the clubs involved the opportunity to comment.
Thanks, as ever, for subscribing to The Athletic, and we hope you enjoy everything we have planned this summer.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Real Madrid Make Major Decision on Pursuing €45M-Rated Man Utd, PSG Target
PSG seem to be leading the race to sign Franco Mastantuono, one of South America's brightest young prospects, ahead of the summer transfer window. The French giants have been keeping a close eye on the 16-year-old River Plate midfielder, and according to TyC Sports journalist Germán García Grova, they've already begun talks and consider him a priority target. Advertisement Manchester United, though, are reportedly the most serious contender so far. Transfer insider César Luis Merlo claims the Premier League club has scouted Mastantuono in person and is well aware of his €45 million release clause—a key detail that could shape how the competition unfolds. Will Real Madrid edge PSG for Franco Mastantuono?On Wednesday, Sky Sport's Florian Plettenberg reported that Real Madrid are now in direct talks with Mastantuono. Juni Calafat is in Buenos Aires negotiating with both the player and River Plate, and Mastantuono is open to the move. José Ángel Sánchez is pushing to get the deal done in time for the Club World Cup. Advertisement PSG, with Luis Campos leading the effort, haven't given up yet. Journalist Graeme Bailey recently shared that Man Utd is in talks with the young talent, but the player prefers a move to Madrid. Still, any transfer won't take place before 2026. 'United have spoken to his people this week,' Bailey told United in Focus. 'However, the thing with Mastantuono is that although he turns 18 in August, I have had it confirmed to me that he won't be moving until 2026. 'United are in the running, but the plan wasn't for him to move this summer anyway. Real Madrid are in the driving seat, but United are not out of the equation. Advertisement 'I don't think anyone will pay his €45m (£38m) release clause, though. But he really does want to join Madrid, however, we will have to see because there isn't really room for him at Madrid. 'But over the last 10 days, United have definitely held talks with him. Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool are also interested.'
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Liverpool Transfer News: Star SLASHES wage demand by €10m
Alisson Becker and Turkey Alisson has been linked with a move to Galatasaray this year, with the Tuskish champions after someone to replace club legend Fernando Muslera. The Uruguayan departed this summer. Advertisement Liverpool's no.1 would obviously be a dream signing for them but previous reports suggested his wage demands were far too high. That might have changed, however. Journalist Ali Naci Kucuk has told Futbol Arena that Alisson has dramatically dropped his wage demands. They previously sat at around €25m per year but there's now a suggestion that he'd accept €15m.


New York Times
28 minutes ago
- New York Times
Germany 1 Portugal 2 – Ronaldo the hero as 137th international goal seals place in Nations League final
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 137th international goal to help Portugal beat Germany for the first time in 25 years and qualify for Sunday's Nations League final. The Portugal captain scored the winning goal in the 68th minute, staying onside and tapping home from close range after being set up the brilliant Nuno Mendes. Advertisement Germany had led shortly after the break through Liverpool target Florian Wirtz, the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder nodding home following a lovely dinked assist from Joshua Kimmich. But Martinez's team were level when Francisco Conceicao, son of Portugal great Sergio — who scored three the last time they beat Germany back in Euro 2000 — glided past a couple of challenges and whipped a shot past Marc Andre ter-Stegen. Portugal will face the winner of tomorrow night's semi-final in Stuttgart between Spain and France in the final in Munich on Sunday. Tim Spiers and Seb Stafford-Bloor analyse the key talking points… It looked like it wasn't going to be Cristiano Ronaldo's night. One half chance went begging, then another, then he sent a free header over the bar, then he couldn't divert Pedro Neto's cut-back goalwards. An accusation levelled at the 40-year-old in recent years (fairly, given his record) is that Ronaldo scores for fun in the qualifiers (10 goals in nine games qualifying for the Euros, five in five in the Nations League group), but comes up short in the big tournaments (no goals in five at the Euros, one in five at the World Cup) and the really important matches. Well, here he was, in a big international semi-final, scoring the winning goal. Sure it was a tap-in, but the movement which preceded it was excellent. He lurked in behind the Germany defence after a previous attack had broken down, then sprung into action as Nuno Mendes dovetailed beautifully with Fernandes, playing a one-two and then picking out the Al-Nassr striker, whose club future is unclear with his contract expiring this summer. He timed his run to perfection to stay onside and finish. It was his 137th goal in his 220th cap and Ronaldo, for the umpteenth occasion, was Portugal's hero. Tim Spiers Wirtz got his goal and given how much attention was on him — and how aware of that he probably was — the relief in his celebration was understandable. It was a nice goal, too; a bit fortunate, but still typical of how effective his pass-and-move game can be in tight spaces. This was not an easy night for Wirtz. Firstly, because he has not been in his best form since recovering from the injury he suffered against Bayern Munich in March and was only really playing himself back into form and fitness when the German season ended. Advertisement Also, this was an unfamiliar German attack that he was placed in the centre of. Nick Woltemade was making his debut and played well but has positional traits that often overlap with the role of a No 10 and need adapting too. At times, they got in each other's way and will need time to properly develop their understanding. In the past, Wirtz has played alongside Jamal Musiala for the national team, as one of two No 10s behind Kai Havertz. This was a very different situation; there are few similarities between Musiala and Leroy Sane, for instance. Still, for a player with a major transfer hanging over him, this was still an instructive showing. Wirtz was cavalier with possession at times and was occasionally too forceful in trying to create opportunities, but he moved the point of Germany's attack well, was bright and light-footed in possession, and skipped through a few tackles. Was it classic Wirtz? No, his wattage was down on what it usually is. But that player — with all his slashing ambition and dynamic ball-carrying — will probably re-emerge after a full pre-season. Seb Stafford-Bloor Bruno Fernandes endured a frustrating and fairly anonymous evening in Munich. That was little surprise, seen as after a gruelling season of 64 appearances for club and country he was playing his fifth match in his fifth different country in the space of just 15 days. His recent run of matches, including on Manchester United's post-season tour to Asia, reads… He played 90 minutes in the first two games, then 45 minutes in each of the friendlies, plus 90 minutes here. Plus 15,000 miles of travel, not to mention making one of the biggest decisions of his career in spurning the advances of Al-Hilal. Anyway, he looked absolutely cooked in Munich in a dreadful first half; no shots, no key passes, no accurate crosses from three attempted and he lost possession eight times. Advertisement Fernandes' opening 45 minutes also included picking up a painful knock just before half-time when being unintentionally caught on the ankle by Florian Wirtz's boot, which required treatment and led to lots of limping and head shaking. He rallied in the second half and produced a moment of brilliance with a shot that deflected inches wide, then turned on the charm with some sublime touches including in the lead-up to the winner. Where he found the energy reserves from is unclear. But the guy undoubtedly needs a few weeks off. Tim Spiers Germany had a strong cast of missing players. No Musiala, no Havertz, no Nico Schlotterbeck and no Antonio Rudiger. Evaluating where they are without those key components, on the performance of an experimental side, feels quite mean spirited. And yet there are still concerns with the World Cup now a year away. Both Portuguese goals were the result of the kind of systemic breakdowns that have plagued Julian Nagelsmann's team at bad moments in the past. The one conceded to Ronaldo was especially sloppy and had no place in international football. Yes, the Nations League is nobody's priority and these are tired players, at the end of a season in which many of them have been competing domestically and in Europe. But Germany consider themselves among the favourites next summer and there is great deal of optimism already. But what is the confidence based on? The body of work that suggests that they are a contender is quite slender, consisting really just of the wins over France and Netherlands in early 2024, and a relatively strong tournament performance in last summer's European Championship. The harder truth, as this game showed, is that there are still too many fringe players who cannot be depended upon and Nagelsmann will need all of his first-choice players available next summer if he and his team are to live up to expectation. Advertisement Beneath this team's top soil, things are not that healthy. Seb Stafford-Bloor Portugal's trio of Champions League-winning Paris Saint-Germain players could have been forgiven for having an off-night here, just four days after they enjoyed the best night of their careers in the same stadium in Munich. On the contrary, Nuno Mendes, Joao Neves and Vitinha all played a key role in Portugal's comeback victory. Mendes in particular was exceptional, taking up his typically advanced position in the opposition half, combining nicely with Pedro Neto who enjoyed a fruitful first 20 minutes, and then later setting up Ronaldo's winner with a give-and-go, a surge into the box and a perfect pass. Joao Neves played at right-back, a position he has occasionally frequented for PSG under Luis Enrique. He was tidy enough defensively without the ball, then when Portugal were in possession he sauntered into midfield and was at the heart of Portugal's best moments in the first half, with Germany not knowing how and where to pick him up. Vitinha came off the bench in place of Ruben Neves and it was his introduction, along with goalscorer Conceicao and full-back Nelson Semedo on 57 minutes, which turned the game back in Portugal's favour. The midfield maestro upped Portugal's tempo and positivity, getting them on the front foot and asking questions of the Germany defence. Roberto Martinez deserves credit for an intriguing team selection which foxed Germany, and then making the bold early substitutions to turn the tide after the break. Martinez has an embarrassment of riches (Rafael Leao, Goncalo Ramos and Joao Felix didn't even get off the bench here) and often struggles to fit Portugal's ridiculous list of talents into a coherent team, but he managed it here on arguably his finest night since taking charge in 2023. Tim Spiers Sunday, June 8: Spain or France; Nations League third-place play-off (Stuttgart), 2pm UK, 9am ET or final (Munich), 8pm UK, 3pm ET Sunday, June 8: Spain or France; Nations League third-place play-off (Stuttgart), 2pm UK, 9am ET or final (Munich), 8pm UK, 3pm ET (Lars Baron/2025 Getty Images)