The 10 biggest football transfers of 2023

From Ronaldo’s move to Al Nassr and Messi’s jump to MLS, Al Jazeera picks the year’s 10 biggest transfers.

The Premier League may have topped the charts for the biggest individual fees paid for footballers in 2023, but some of the biggest names in the game moved from Europe to unchartered territories in the Middle East and North America.

Saudi Arabia’s entry to the big-name transfers began with a move that brought Cristiano Ronaldo to the Middle East and opened the door for the year to come, while Lionel Messi made a shock hop across the Atlantic to the United States.

Here are Al Jazeera’s top 10 men’s football transfers of 2023.

The Portuguese forward was linked with many of Europe’s top clubs as his transfer away from Manchester United became apparent during last year’s Qatar World Cup 2022, but when Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr stepped in, the world held its breath.

From Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, Ronaldo lit up European football and the list of clubs lining up to sign him was a top-down who’s who of the world’s biggest leagues. The move by Al Nassr to take him to Saudi Arabia opened the door to a number of big names to follow as the year progressed.