Ligue 1 Transfers (2025–26) Hope, Heart Breaks and Donnarumma Tensions

Ligue 1 - Summer Transfers 2025-26

The Ligue 1 transfer market value in 2025, according to various resources, is approximately €3.65 billion for the league, and Paris Saint-Germain is worth over €1.1 billion. Ligue 1 expenditures in summer transfer 2025-26 are €645.01m, the Ligue is one of the least spending leagues in club football now. But the league has made the third biggest income his year, summer transfers, Ligue 1 has made €1.008 Billion in the 2025-26 Summer Transfer Window.
Ilya Zabarnyi was the biggest signing by Premier League Club Bournemouth for €63m. OGC Nice with the biggest sale of the summer transfer of Jean-Clair Todibo to West Ham for €40m. Club by club, RC Strasbourg made the €111 million expenditures, the most in this year's summer transfer window. Lille has the biggest income of €109.60 million in this year's Ligue 1 summer transfers.

Club by Club Expenditures and Incomes

Club	Expenditure (€m)	Income (€m)	Balance (€m)
Paris Saint-Germain	103.00	64.00	-39.00
Olympique Marseille	96.20	79.70	-16.50
RC Strasbourg Alsace	111.00	85.70	-25.30
Stade Rennais FC	67.75	99.40	+31.65
OGC Nice	33.68	108.00	+74.32
LOSC Lille	38.00	109.60	+71.60
Olympique Lyon	36.58	106.29	+69.71
RC Lens	54.70	88.50	+33.80
Stade Brestois 29	6.10	28.30	+22.20
FC Toulouse	11.05	40.00	+28.95
AJ Auxerre	4.30	6.50	+2.20
FC Nantes	4.00	39.50	+35.50
Angers SCO	0.00	13.50	+13.50
Le Havre AC	0.00	1.00	+1.00
FC Lorient	2.20	2.80	+0.60
Paris FC	57.30	0.00	-57.30
FC Metz	6.15	18.40	+12.25

Top Deals of the Summer

PSG made the biggest signing of the season, as expected, bringing in Ukrainian center-back Ilya Zabarnyi from Bournemouth for €63m. Igor Paixão 25-year-old Left Winger from Feyenoord Rotterdam, joined Olympique Marseille for €30.00 million. Nayef Aguerd 29-year-old Centre-Back, left West Ham United and joined Olympique Marseille for €23.00 million. Otávio 23-year-old Brazilian Centre-Back, left FC Porto to join Paris FC for €17.00 million.

Paul Pogba and AS Monaco

Paul Pogba 32-year-old French former Juventus player, joined AS Monaco. Pogba joined the club as a free agent without a club, as his contract was suspended by Juventus after a match against Udinese. Pogba tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone (DHEA). The Italian anti-doping body banned Pogba for 4 years, but it was later reduced to 18 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) because of later findings that the nutritional supplement was prescribed by a doctor. Pogba was abandoned by Juventus during his suspension, but after his suspension ended, AS Monaco came up to sign the French midfielder and also strongly backed his strongly.
Pogba got emotional and down in tears while signing a 2-year contract while sitting along the AS Monaco General Manager Thiago Scuro. The video went viral on social media. Here is the conversation between them:

Thiago said to Pogba, "Beautiful to see my friend to be here to live this with you".
Pogba down in tears replied, "I'm sorry". Thiago Siad, "It's not sorry. It's thank you from our side. Special moment for you. It's also from us."
Pogba replied,"Thank you, I appreciate."
Monaco General Manager said, "Well it's just the first step of the next one. Paul, Let's Look at the front and do the job. The conditions here. I told, you're on the right place with the right people".
Replied the with most powerful words, "Thanks for the trust".

Donnarumma and Paris Saint-Germain Tensions

Replacing the Italian Goal-Kepper and Captain Gianluigi Donnarumma with 23-year-old French Goalie Lucas Chevalier from Lille for €40m. This was one of the most surprising signings in this year's summer transfer window. Donnarumma was the key player for PSG and Luis Enrique's squad, who helped win the Treble and reach the FIFA Club World Cup Final. This leads PSG to Team of the Year, Luis Enrique Men's Coach of the Year, Ousmane Dembélé with the Ballon d'Or, and Yashin Trophy for himself. Donnarumma was like a wall for PSG in the 2024-25 season. He stayed at the top with 15 clean sheets in 47 appearances. But the new surprise for the Football world and PSG fans is that Donnarumma is no longer in Luis Enrique's plans. It was most expected that Donnarumma would sign his new contract after the most successful season of club history.

The club offered him a very low salary and one tied to performance. But this was a lame excuse club never wanted to renew the contract because the decision had already been made by Luis Enrique that he wanted a "Different Profile" Goal-Keeper for his team. Luis Enrique publicly said that the decision was 100% his and that only he is responsible for Donnarumma's exit. Donnarumma and his agent have publicly said the way the club handled things showed “lack of respect.” He expressed disappointment, bitterness, and said exclusion from the Super Cup squad was painful.

Ligue 1 Top Summer Signings

Name	Age	Position	Club Left	Club Joined	Fee
Ilya Zabarnyi	22	Centre-Back	AFC Bournemouth	Paris Saint-Germain	€63 million
Lucas Chevalier	23	Goalkeeper	Lille	Paris Saint-Germain	€40 million
Igor Paixão	25	Left Winger	Feyenoord Rotterdam	Olympique Marseille	€30.00 million
Nayef Aguerd	29	Centre-Back	West Ham United	Olympique Marseille	€23.00 million
Otávio	23	Centre-Back	FC Porto	Paris FC	€17.00 million
Joaquín Panichelli	22	Centre-Forward	Deportivo Alavés	RC Strasbourg	€16.50 million
Lucas Høgsberg	19	Centre-Back	FC Nordsjaelland	RC Strasbourg	€15.00 million
Mathis Amougou	19	Central Midfield	Chelsea FC	RC Strasbourg	€14.50 million
Jonathan Rowe	22	Left Winger	Norwich City	Olympique Marseille	€14.50 million
Estéban Lepaul	25	Centre-Forward	Angers SCO	Stade Rennais FC	€13.50 million
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg	29	Defensive Midfield	Tottenham Hotspur	Olympique Marseille	€13.50 million
Breel Embolo	28	Centre-Forward	AS Monaco	Stade Rennais FC	€13.00 million
Quentin Merlin	23	Left-Back	Olympique Marseille	Stade Rennais FC	€13.00 million
Lilian Brassier	25	Centre-Back	Stade Brestois 29	Stade Rennais FC	€12.00 million
Paul Pogba	32	Central Midfield	Without Club	AS Monaco	€5.00 million (market value)

High-Value Exits

The Ligue 1 summer transfer was full of surprises and allegations, as always. Ligue 1 has made the top 3 leagues in sales in the 2025-26 summer transfer window. The biggest sale this year was within the Ligue 1 team as PSG brought in Lucas Chevalier 23-year-old French Goal-Keeper from Lille for €40.00 million. Olympique Gymnaste Club de Nice, aka OGC Nice, has also matched the biggest sale of the summer window in Ligue 1 as they let go of Jean-Clair Todibo 25-year-old French center-back who was already on loan for a season at West Ham United for €40.00 million. Ryan Cherki 21-year-old, left Olympique Lyon to Manchester City for €36.50 million, another Frenchman who plays as a right-winger. Dilane Bakwa 23-year-old right-winger from RC Strasbourg, was sold to Nottingham Forest for €35.00 million.

Ligue 1 Top Summer Sales

Name	Age	Position	Club Joined	Club Left	Fee
Lucas Chevalier	23	Goalkeeper	Paris Saint-Germain	LOSC Lille	€40.00 million
Jean-Clair Todibo	25	Centre-Back	West Ham United	OGC Nice	€40.00 million
Rayan Cherki	21	Right Winger	Manchester City	Olympique Lyon	€36.50 million
Dilane Bakwa	23	Right Winger	Nottingham Forest	RC Strasbourg	€35.00 million
Bafodé Diakité	24	Centre-Back	AFC Bournemouth	LOSC Lille	€35.00 million
Eliesse Ben Seghir	20	Left Winger	Bayer 04 Leverkusen	AS Monaco	€32.00 million
Habib Diarra	21	Central Midfield	Sunderland AFC	RC Strasbourg	€31.50 million
Georges Mikautadze	24	Centre-Forward	Villarreal CF	Olympique Lyon	€31.00 million
Wilfried Singo	24	Right-Back	Galatasaray	AS Monaco	€30.77 million
Gianluigi Donnarumma	26	Goalkeeper	Manchester City	Paris Saint-Germain	€30.00 million
Evann Guessand	24	Centre-Forward	Aston Villa	OGC Nice	€30.00 million
Arnaud Kalimuendo	23	Centre-Forward	Nottingham Forest	Stade Rennais FC	€30.00 million
Kevin Danso	26	Centre-Back	Tottenham Hotspur	RC Lens	€25.00 million
Neil El Aynaoui	24	Central Midfield	AS Roma	RC Lens	€23.50 million
Luis Henrique	23	Right Midfield	Inter Milan	Olympique Marseille	€23.00 million
Jaydee Canvot	19	Centre-Back	Crystal Palace	FC Toulouse	€23.00 million
Andy Diouf	22	Central Midfield	Inter Milan	RC Lens	€20.00 million