The 20 biggest transfers in the world in the 2024 January transfer window

Expect this list to be completely transformed by the time the window closes, but January has already seen some substantial moves all across the globe.

1) Vitor Roque (Athletico Paranaense to Barcelona) – £25.6m plus £26.4m in add-ons

The 18-year-old – Roque Junior to his friends – was giddily snapped up by Barcelona in July on a seven-year contract containing a €500m release clause. Some economic levers have been pulled to get the Brazilian forward in earlier than initially planned amid a mild panic over their flagging season.

2) Eljif Elmas (Napoli to Leipzig) – £20.8m

With a Scudetto and Coppa Italia to show for four-and-a-half seasons of consistent excellence in Italy, Elmas has been drafted in to help replace Leipzig stalwart Emil Forsberg in a move the North Macedonia international has described as “the stuff of dreams”.

3) Lucas Beraldo (Sao Paulo to Paris Saint-Germain) – £17.4m

The shift in project focus from an obsession with global superstars to building around youthful brilliance has thus far been overseen successfully by Luis Enrique, with centre-half Beraldo the next piece in a puzzle they still desperately hope Kylian Mbappe will ultimately help solve.

4) Marcos Leonardo (Santos to Benfica) – £15.4m

Without quite producing Neymar numbers, Marcos Leonardo nevertheless underlined his prodigious excellence over four years in Santos to catch the eye of teams across Europe. And the expert sellers of Benfica will probably move him on for ten times their initial outlay soon enough.

5) Artur (Palmeiras to Zenit St Petersburg) – £12.8m

Zenit’s Brazilian contingent has been further reinforced since the summer sale of Malcom to Saudi, with Artur and his modest scoring record joining former Red Bull Bragantino teammate Claudinho in Russia.

6) Nicolas de la Cruz (River Plate to Flamengo) – £12.5m

One of Marcelo Bielsa’s favourites in the Uruguay camp, midfielder De la Cruz has moved from Argentina to Brazil. It turns out you can’t take the boy out of South America.

7) Mohamed-Ali Cho (Real Sociedad to Nice) – £10.3m

Once a target of Tottenham, Ali-Cho has returned to France after a mutually dissatisfying 18-month spell with Real Sociedad, the forward landing on his feet towards the top of Ligue Un.

8) Pedro (Corinthians to Zenit St Petersburg) – £7.7m

There go Zenit again, trying to find another Hulk or some such. Best of luck to Pedro in following those footsteps once his move is ratified as soon as his 18th birthday comes around in February.

9) Gabriel Fernandez (Pumas to Cruz Azul) – £7.6m

Only twice before have one of Mexico’s most famous clubs in Cruz Azul spent more money on a single player. After a poor season, they will need the 29-year-old Fernandez to hit the ground running.

10) Isak Hien (Verona to Atalanta) – £7.4m

From the depths of a relegation battle with Verona, defender Hien has been plucked and placed into the Atalanta machine; West Ham had been linked at one stage but onwards David Moyes must plough on with Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd.

11) Kevin Castano (Cruz Azul to Krasnodar) – £6.3m

Just six months after leaving Aguilas Doradas to join Cruz Azul, defensive midfielder Castano was chosen by Russian Premier League-topping Krasnodar to help lead their title charge in the second half of the season.

12) Tajon Buchanan (Club Brugge to Inter) – £6m

Serie A’s first ever Canadian had a weird old season in 2022/23, impressing at the World Cup and playing in the Champions League knockout stages before being used out of position by Scott Parker. Buchanan’s former MLS side, the New England Revolution, will receive a healthy cash injection through a wise sell-on clause, too.

13) Anibal Moreno (Racing Club to Palmeiras) – £5.5m

“I promise to give 100 percent on the field, because I am very intense,” was the message upon his Palmeiras unveiling from Argentina youth international Moreno, who sounds like a hoot.

14) Esequiel Barco (Atalanta United to River Plate) – £5.4m

After joining River Plate on loan in January 2022, Barco has played more than 60 games and earned himself a permanent switch back to Argentina after a productive sojourn in MLS.

15) Federico Pereira (Liverpool Montevideo to Toluca) – £5.4m

Leaving after winning the title with Liverpool, is it? Check out Adam Lallana/Dejan Lovren/Andy Lonergan over here. Pereira has cracked the top 10 biggest sales in Uruguayan Primera Division history.

16) Johnny Cardoso (Internacional to Real Betis) – £4.9m

United States international midfielder Cardoso will branch out of boyhood club Internacional for the first time in his career after La Liga European qualification hopefuls Real Betis came calling.

17) Joao Victor (Benfica to Vasco de Gama) – £5.2m

Signed in July 2022 and sold at a small loss in January 2024, with a Nantes loan and five actual Benfica appearances amounting to 170 minutes in between; the Portuguese giants do get the odd one wrong.

18) Juan Brunetta (Santos Laguna to Tigres)

One of the Mexican league’s best players traded the middle of the pack for a seat at the top table alongside the eternal Andre-Pierre Gignac with Tigres; Brunetta “didn’t hesitate for a second” and that is perfectly understandable.

19) Filippo Terracciano (Verona to Milan) – £4.7m

Having cobbled together 41 senior career appearances for hometown club Verona by the age of 20, versatile defender Terracciano caught the attention of Milan and will help bolster their Champions League aspirations.

20) Gustavo Scarpa (Nottingham Forest to Atletico Mineiro) – £4.3m

The 24th signing of Nottingham Forest’s first season back in the Premier League has joined the handful to have already jumped ship, returning permanently to Brazil via a brief loan spell at Evangelos Mavrinakis’ Olympiakos. The midfielder made 10 appearances for the Tricky Trees, each more memorable than the last.

READ MORE: Four Liverpool signings among the 20 biggest January transfer window deals ever