The five best La Liga transfers of the season

Cameron Smith

3 May 2025 16:00 BST
4 min read

Julian Alvarez, Ayoze Perez, La Liga — © IMAGO

Barcelona and Real Madrid were once the biggest spenders in world football, and La Liga boasted the best individual players on the planet.

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The latter statement is arguably still true, although the former certainly isn’t, and Spanish clubs are no longer able to flex their financial muscle in the market like those in the Premier League. However, several signings made in 2024 have performed outstandingly during their debut campaigns at their new clubs.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through the five best La Liga transfers of the season.

Julian Alvarez - €75m (Man City to Atletico Madrid)

Julian Alvarez made the decision to leave Manchester City last summer in search of more regular game time following two years at Erling Haaland’s back-up at the Etihad Stadium.

He joined Atletico Madrid for €75 million and he has been an outstanding addition to Diego Simeone’s side, thanks to his work rate off the ball and his much-needed final third quality.

Alvarez netted seven goals in 10 Champions League games during Atleti’s run to the last-16 and he could be set to hit 30 goals across all competitions for the season.

© IMAGO - Julian Alvarez, Atletico Madrid

Ayoze Perez - €4m (Real Betis to Villarreal)

From a bit-part player at Leicester City to a Spain international, Ayoze Perez has enjoyed a remarkable career rise since leaving the Premier League in 2023.

After a solid stint at Real Betis, he joined Villarreal for a mere €4m last August and he has been an outstanding addition for Marcelino’s side.

Perez has excelled as a second striker this campaign and he scored his 17th goal of the season against Real Sociedad in late April, with the Spaniard potentially set to fire Villarreal into next year’s Champions League.

Kylian Mbappe - Free (PSG to Real Madrid)

Kylian Mbappe’s abysmal display across two legs versus Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals almost cost him a place in this list, but he has just squeezed in.

The Frenchman’s arrival has arguably made Real Madrid a less complete team and his lack of defensive presence certainly played a role in Los Blancos’ disappointing European exit.

However, Mbappe has scored over 30 goals during his debut season for Real Madrid - notching more than the great Cristiano Ronaldo managed in his first campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu - and he deserves some recognition for that.

Sergi Cardona - Free (Las Palmas to Villarreal)

After three years as Las Palmas’ first-choice left-back, Sergi Cardona left the club to join Villarreal on a free transfer last summer and he has enjoyed a stellar debut campaign with the Yellow Submarine.

Cardona has established himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet under Marcelino and he is set to end the campaign as the defender with the highest number of assists in La Liga.

Like the aforementioned Perez, Cardona has also played a key role in Villarreal’s push to secure Champions League football for the first time since 2022.

Current ETV

Sergi Cardona

D (L)

Villarreal

Sergi Cardona

D (L)

Villarreal

ETV Range

€8M - €10.8M

Fabio Silva - Loan (Wolves to Las Palmas)

Fabio Silva had played just 21 senior games for FC Porto when Wolverhampton Wanderers decided to pay a whopping €40m to sign him back in 2020.

The Portuguese forward was only 18 years old at the time and after struggling to impress at Molineux, he was sent on loan to Anderlecht, PSV Eindhoven and Rangers.

Last summer, he joined Las Palmas on yet another one-year loan deal and Silva has finally shown why he was so highly-rated at Porto. He has scored against both Barcelona and Real Madrid since moving to Spain, and he hit the 10-goal mark in La Liga with a brace versus Getafe in April.

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