Any footballer who fails to complete their Premier League transfer before this summer’s deadline should not despair.
There is always Turkey. Or Greece. Or Portugal. Or Poland. Or Belgium.
That’s because of the differences in the calendar when it comes to trading, with global football never having agreed dates for windows opening and closing.
So with transfers having already started, what are the key dates this summer, how are they impacted by the Club World Cup, and where can players go after the main European deadlines have passed? The Athletic explains all.
What are the rules for transfer windows?
FIFA, football’s world governing body, says each country should allow transfers for 16 weeks each year.
In Europe, a long-standing precedent means four of those weeks are reserved for the middle of the season, commonly referred to as the January window.
That leaves 12 weeks for summer trading, but the actual dates are a matter for the football associations of individual countries.
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And this summer, the calculations have been further complicated by FIFA allowing an additional, earlier short summer window to enable clubs competing in the upcoming Club World Cup to bolster their squads before the tournament.
Associations were not compelled to have that extra window, but they did as not doing so would have disadvantaged their clubs at the CWC, so it was open from June 1 to June 10 this year, then closed again.
The Club World Cup has impacted the transfer window (Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images)
The change does not, however, affect the timing of transfer deadlines, as countries taking advantage of the extra window have simply pushed back the opening of their main summer window to allow it to run until its normal end point.
In reality, clubs will have continued to negotiate transfers before the windows reopen — but they cannot officially register any new players while trading is closed. (The Premier League window reopens today, June 16, though international deals won’t go through until the other big European leagues reopen on July 1.)
What is happening in the ‘big five’ European leagues?
The governing bodies in England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France — the leagues commonly considered the five powerhouses of European football — have agreed to a common deadline day of September 1, ensuring none have an advantage over another.
Clubs in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 will be able to sign players until 7pm in the UK (8pm in central Europe).
Deals can still be finalised for a few hours after the deadline providing clubs submit a ‘dealsheet’, confirming an agreement is in place, before the deadline.
In England the EFL, which governs the three tiers immediately below the Premier League, has also fallen in line with the dates and times.
In most years, the summer window ends on the final day of August but that has been extended this year as August 31 falls on a Sunday.
Where could players move after the ‘big five’ deadline?
According to the calendar on FIFA’s website, which is updated by each member association, there are several European countries whose windows remain open after the continent’s top leagues cease trading.
Some of those countries have leagues strong enough that they could provide an alternative for players.
The window in Belgium runs from June 15 to September 5. In Greece it opens on July 1 but remains open until September 12. Portuguese clubs can sign players from the start of July until September 15. And in Turkey the window does not close until September 13.
Victor Osimhen moved to Turkish side Galatasaray in September 2024 after other windows closed (Ahmad Mora/Getty Images)
Another option open to players will be Saudi Arabia, one of the few countries to boast a league with the financial clout to compete with the Premier League and the biggest clubs in Europe.
The FIFA calendar has the Saudi window open until October 8, though a document on the Saudi Arabia Football Federation’s website says registrations in the Saudi Pro League will only be open until September 10.
How about the rest of the world?
The United States has a window from July 24 to August 21. That takes place during the Major League Soccer season, which runs from February to October.
It is a similar situation in Brazil, where the country’s Serie A competition runs from March to December and the transfer window is open from July 10 to September 2.
And in Argentina, where the season runs from January to December, there is a transfer window from July 7 to August 30.
Can clubs still sign free agents after the window?
Yes. Players who are not registered with a club can sign for a new team at any time, inside or outside of the window.
However, there is a major caveat that fans are often unaware of — players must become free agents within a transfer window in order to sign elsewhere outside of one.
Victor Lindelof is a free agent this summer (Darren Staples/AFP/Getty Images)
Any player whose contract is terminated once a window has closed must wait for another window to open before they are free to sign for another club.
When are the winter windows open?
In England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, trading will be possible again from January 1 to February 2, 2026.
Most of Europe will follow a similar pattern with mainly minor changes, such as the Netherlands opening its window a day later and Portugal opening and closing its window a day behind the ‘big five’ leagues.
Belgium’s mid-season window is currently on the calendar for January 7 to February 3 and Turkey’s from January 5 to February 10.
(Top photos: Cristiano Ronaldo, left, by Tobias Schwarz/AFP; Jack Grealish, right, by Carl Recine; both via Getty Images)
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