Sports
The strangely specific transfer obsessions of elite clubs, and what the summer window taught us about them
Everyone has a “type.” This concept of preference extends far and wide, to all walks of life, and can ring especially true in soccer, where managers and clubs cannot hide what they truly desire.
Sometimes, the wish is simple: the best players in the world, whatever the cost. But at times it’s weirdly specific, such as Real Madrid targeting free transfers, or Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta’s taste in defenders.
This transfer window once again laid bare the infatuations — and at times, borderline obsessions — that have developed within the sport. So, with tongue firmly lodged in cheek, let’s take a look at what this summer’s moves revealed about elite clubs’ obsessions.
Mikel Arteta and the hybrid center back/fullback
In Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard & Co., Arteta has some of the world’s most luxurious attacking talents to work with. He also has a brand new striker in Viktor Gyökeres to unleash and an incredible midfield pool to call upon. But you know what really excites him? Players who can play both center back and fullback.
– Tighe: How players use data to show worth in contract negotiations
– O’Hanlon: Top 50 most expensive summer transfers, ranked by true cost
– Marcotti: Making sense of Premier League clubs’ record spending
The Spaniard has stuffed his squad full of them over the years. It started with Ben White and continued with Jakub Kiwior, Jurriën Timber and Riccardo Calafiori. Then late in this summer’s window, Arsenal added Piero Hincapié from Bayer Leverkusen.
Arteta probably awards bonus points to a deal if the player can cover both fullback positions (like Timber), or if they’re left-footed (like Calafiori and Hincapié) as this makes them even more versatile or coveted. Even Arteta’s more “regular” fullbacks barely look traditional: Oleksandr Zinchenko and Myles Lewis-Skelly love to invert into midfield and arguably look more at home in central positions.
Chelsea and signing teenagers whenever they can
In 2022, their first summer transfer window in charge of Chelsea, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital splurged on a series of experienced talents. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (33), Kalidou Koulibaly (31) and Raheem Sterling (27) were the most notable names in a group that, quite frankly, failed.
Was it a scarring experience, or was the impending pivot simply always in the cards? Perhaps it was a bit of both, as the ownership group suddenly focused on signing exciting prospects, many of whom were still teenagers, to long-term deals.
From January 2023 to now, they have signed an astonishing 22 teenagers — a figure that includes the pending transfers of Geovany Quenda and Denner, due in 2026. On top of that, a lot of 20- and 21-year-olds have arrived, flooding the squad with high-potential players.
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There have been times when Chelsea have overindexed so heavily on prospects and ignored gaping holes in their squad makeup that, if plugged, could have allowed them to compete more closely with Liverpool and Arsenal in the past couple of seasons. The prime example of that is at goalkeeper, which has long been brushed aside.
An interesting quirk of the Blues’ relentless acquisition of top prospects is how many players they signed from Man City’s academy. There could easily be a game this season where you’d see five players developed by City — Roméo Lavia, Cole Palmer, Tosin Adarabioyo, Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap — play for Chelsea’s first team. That quintet cost a combined total of at least £171 million. Perhaps that’s the real obsession here.
Manchester United and buying specific players for specific managers
Manchester United operate in total contrast to Chelsea in the transfer market.
Chelsea’s scattershot approach yields so many players that any manager they employ would find it impossible not to craft a workable team out of the talent available. United sign incredibly specific players who suit their chosen manager. There’s nothing wrong with that in principle — why wouldn’t you sign players your manager can use effectively? — but the extent to which the Red Devils lean into this can be very damaging if things go awry, in part because they flit between managers whose styles differ so wildly.
A strong example of this disconnect is Cristiano Ronaldo, who was signed for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s counterattacking style in summer 2022, yet by November was being coached by gegenpressing magnate Ralf Rangnick. It’s a ridiculous situation to find yourself in.
Erik ten Hag was appointed in 2022 and by the time he was sacked, in 2024, the club had furnished him with six former Ajax players (Lisandro Martínez, Antony, Christian Eriksen, André Onana, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui), perhaps erroneously thinking he would recreate Dutch total football at Old Trafford.
Current manager Rúben Amorim has jettisoned Antony and Onana, while Eriksen has departed. He also willingly waved goodbye to Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho this summer, effectively uprooting the winger department to sign Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, who suit the “wide No. 10” roles in his 3-4-2-1 system.
What happens if Amorim departs the club and the next manager asks where all the wingers are? It sounds too silly a situation to happen, except it essentially has already in other guises.
Real Madrid and illustrious free transfers
After winning the UEFA Champions League an incredible 15th time in 2023-24, it appears Real Madrid began to think things had gotten too easy and decided to up the difficulty level.
They’ve seemingly chosen to spend as little on transfer fees as possible while still remaining a dominant force. In the past five years, they’ve signed four elite-level players on pre-contracts, coming close to adding a fifth. Antonio Rüdiger (Chelsea), David Alaba (Bayern Munich), Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) were all poached for free from close rivals at the top table of Europe. (OK, they did end up paying a fee for Alexander-Arnold, but only to register him early so he could feature at this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup.)
For much of the 2024-25 season, it looked as though they’d add Alphonso Davies from Bayern in this fashion too, but in the end, the Canadian international renewed with the German giants.
Los Blancos‘ prestige and pull means they are genuinely capable of convincing elite players to see out their contracts and patiently wait for a move to the Bernabéu. For a club long famous for its galácticos philosophy, it’s an intriguing and surprisingly responsible wrinkle.
Barcelona and signing players when they probably shouldn’t
The following two statements are unequivocally true:
1. Barcelona are over €1 billion in debt
2. Barcelona have one of — if not the — best and most prolific academies in the world
You would think that a combination of these points would result in an almost complete reduction in spending and a complete reliance on La Masia, which in the last five years alone has pumped out Alejandro Baldé, Pau Cubarsí, Nico González, Gavi, Fermín López and, of course, Lamine Yamal — and that’s not even the full list. But it hasn’t. Barça are a competitive animal, so rather than experience a withdrawn couple of seasons, they’ve pulled every possible lever (literally) to allow continuous spending, which has seen the Blaugrana sell off major future revenue streams and wage a constant war against LaLiga’s spending limits.
This summer’s signing of Joan García captured this internal strife. The opportunity to sign an incredible goalkeeper directly from crosstown rivals Espanyol was just too good to pass up, but in order to register him, they forced club captain Marc-André ter Stegen to sign an injury report that would allow them to take advantage of a long-term injury rule in LaLiga.
Last summer, they signed Dani Olmo for €55 million off the back of an impressive Euro 2024 campaign, despite not really needing a player in his position and the fact that they would struggle to register him — so much so that they had to go to court to keep him registered for the second half of the season.
To millions of onlookers, the solution at Barcelona seems relatively simple: Stop spending big, rely on the current crop and burgeoning academy, and let the reopening of the Camp Nou fill the coffers to repay those debts. But that’s just not how president Joan Laporta rolls.
More than 200 days will have passed between the Florida Gators winning the 2024-25 national championship and the start of the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season, but the action finally returns on Nov. 3.
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, Joe Lunardi and Myron Medcalf weigh in on storylines that could shape the new season — and they join Neil Paine in making their predictions for everything from the Final Four and conference winners to All-America teams and beyond.
Which teams could make the biggest jumps? Which Top 25 programs are primed for early NCAA tournament exits? They answer seven burning questions then make their picks below.
Jump to:
Championship picks, conference winner |
Awards, All-America predictions
Could Florida really repeat?
Borzello: Florida absolutely can run it back this season.
Todd Golden brings back his entire frontcourt, a dominant group led by potential first-round NBA draft picks Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh and starting center Rueben Chinyelu. Golden also added two bona fide playmakers from the transfer portal in Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee. Sure, there are some questions about depth — and whether Haugh can play full time at the 3 — but the talent of this starting five has few peers nationally, and Golden has proved he has the chops to win big games.
Medcalf: Florida can join the Gators team that achieved the same feat in 2006 and 2007.
Still, it’s important to note that this is a completely different squad with more questions than last season’s championship roster. Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard had a rare chemistry that was the foundation of the Gators’ 2025 title run. Martin was the new face in that trio, but he also had previously helped a team reach the Final Four (Florida Atlantic). Haugh, Fland and Lee will have to build that bond on the fly as Golden guides a starting five that will feature two point guards.
Lunardi: Don’t bet on a repeat in Gainesville.
Not because the Gators aren’t good enough but because winning 12 straight NCAA tournament games over two years is really, really hard. The fact that UConn did it in 2023 and 2024 makes the probability of back-to-back repeats less likely — not more. I still like Florida. A lot. But this is a case where you shouldn’t blame the messenger.
Will the SEC be as dominant as it was in 2024-25?
Borzello: The depth will be just as good, but it won’t be as powerful at the top.
Last season, the league produced two 1-seeds, two 2-seeds, a 3-seed and a 4-seed among its 14 NCAA tournament teams. With the expected improvement of LSU, we could see up to 15 teams fighting for tournament bids this season — and I would have at least 13 projected as of today. But it’s difficult to foresee four teams in the top eight again. Florida is a title contender and Kentucky isn’t far behind, but none of the other teams is a surefire Final Four threat.
Lunardi: It’s important to consider the laws of probability.
Is a conference likely to get better or worse after breaking the NCAA single-season bid record by three spots? Both on the court and team sheets, the SEC was every bit as dominant as the selection committee concluded its teams would be in the NCAA tournament. But there has to be at least some regression this season, if only because the uncommon sense of handing NCAA bids to teams that win only one-third of their conference games has undergone an offseason of heavy scrutiny. (As it should. No league is that good.)
Medcalf: It depends on your definition of dominant.
The SEC could again have a double-digit pool of representatives in the field on Selection Sunday, but it doesn’t have as many teams that could actually cut down the nets as last season. Florida and Kentucky are real contenders. It seems as if Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn and Arkansas could all be second-weekend teams too. Last season’s SEC, however, had three players who made the Associated Press’ All-America first team and one who made the third team. Those were dominant squads with star power.
Which team will make the biggest leap from 2024-25?
Borzello: NC State Wolfpack
Last season, we saw Dusty May and Pat Kelsey take over new programs and produce incredible turnarounds in Year 1, as their respective Michigan and Louisville squads jumped from eight wins to 27. This season, the best bet might be Will Wade and NC State. The Wolfpack went 12-19 overall last season, including 5-15 in the ACC, but Wade stockpiled a talented roster after taking over for Kevin Keatts in the spring. Led by potential All-American Darrion Williams, NC State finds itself inside my preseason top 25.
Lunardi: Iowa Hawkeyes
A season ago, Iowa missed its second straight NCAA tournament. As a result, Fran McCaffery now finds himself coaching at his alma mater, Penn. The deeper issue involved the Hawkeyes going three straight campaigns with a sub-150 defensive rating, costing them games despite considerable offensive talent. It was an anomaly in terms of approach in the Big Ten, one that new coach Ben McCollum figures to immediately solve. McCollum’s ultra-patient style and ultra-experienced imports will surprise in their new league and sneak into the tournament.
Medcalf: Washington Huskies
Last season, Washington finished 13-18 in Danny Sprinkle’s first year in Seattle, but a strong transfer class led by former USC teammates Desmond Claude and Wesley Yates III could put the Huskies in the bubble conversation in Sprinkle’s second campaign. Early matchups against Baylor, USC and UCLA will be great barometers for Washington and its new roster.
First Top 25 team to exit the NCAA tournament
Borzello: Creighton Bluejays
The only preseason AP Top 25 team that wasn’t in my preseason top 25 is Michigan State, but I’m not naive enough to bet against Tom Izzo, regardless of the seed he gets on Selection Sunday. So, I’ll go with Creighton. The Bluejays should be elite offensively, especially if Jackson McAndrew makes the leap I’m expecting. But they could really struggle on the defensive end of the floor, and the primary creators in the half court could be a work in progress. If things get tight in a tournament environment, it could spell an early exit.
Lunardi: Gonzaga Bulldogs
Gonzaga avoided a major hit when a judge in Washington’s Spokane County granted a preliminary injunction to Grand Canyon transfer Tyon Grant-Foster, allowing him to play this season. The hard-luck veteran is no longer in limbo to start the campaign, but the Bulldogs — who last season missed the Sweet 16 for the first time in a decade — still have legitimate backcourt concerns, ones that could lead to an even earlier tournament exit.
Medcalf: North Carolina Tar Heels
The Tar Heels have more depth and more overall talent, but they couldn’t avoid the bubble with AP All-American RJ Davis leading the way last season. Caleb Wilson is a five-star prospect who will have key transfers — including Henri Veesaar — around him, but North Carolina will have to prove things have changed before fans are ready to believe.
Most intriguing mid-major
Borzello: UNC Wilmington Seahawks
UNCW won 27 games last season and went to the NCAA tournament, but the Seahawks will be more talented this time around despite returning just one starter. I’m mostly fascinated by the way Takayo Siddle went about that reload: poaching good players from other teams around the Coastal Athletic Association. CJ Luster II transferred from Stony Brook, Christian May arrived from Towson, Jahnathan Lamothe from North Carolina A&T and Madison Durr from Monmouth. Siddle also upgraded the interior with Virginia Tech transfer Patrick Wessler, who scored 10 points in 18 minutes against Duke last season, as well as Binghamton transfer Gavin Walsh, one of the nation’s top rebounders. This team has a chance to go to a second straight NCAA tournament — and potentially win a game.
Lunardi: The Western Athletic Conference
I’m going with an entire mid-major conference in lieu of a single team — and it’s not necessarily for good reason. Only seven schools remain in the shrinking WAC, a conference with both a serious past and a negligible future. The early departure of Grand Canyon to the Mountain West leaves a gaping hole at the top — and only three teams that have ever made the NCAA tournament. Somebody has to qualify, at least in 2026, which should make for great short-term theater in the WAC.
Medcalf: St. Thomas-Minnesota Tommies
I’ll go with St. Thomas-Minnesota, a team that is eligible for the NCAA tournament for the first time after its transition from Division III to Division I athletics. The Tommies are the preseason pick to win the Summit League crown and potentially the conference tournament, which would make the team the first squad to go from Division III to Division I and secure an NCAA tournament berth. But it gets better. The supporters of this program are ready to spend (see: the new $175 million arena that opens next week) to make this private school in St. Paul the Gonzaga of the Upper Midwest. A run this season could put the Tommies on that path.
Athlete with outside shot to win Player of the Year
Borzello: Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s
If we take out two returning All-Americans (Braden Smith and JT Toppin) and the top three freshmen (AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer), the next guy on my list would be Ejiofor. You could have made the case last season that the St. John’s big man was the most impactful player in the Big East, given his offensive rebounding, ability to draw fouls and influence defensively. The Red Storm should be right around the top five nationally this season and a legitimate Final Four contender — and if that comes to fruition, Ejiofor taking another step forward after last season’s breakout will be a major reason.
Lunardi: Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
Lendeborg is the right man in the right place at exactly the right time to possibly collect some major hardware. Last season, only two Division I players led their respective teams in the five major statistical categories (points, rebounds, assists, blocked shots and steals). One was Cooper Flagg; the other was Lendeborg at UAB. Now in a great spot at Michigan, Lendeborg’s number will be impossible to miss. That he could be the missing player for a legitimate Final Four contender is just a bonus.
Medcalf: Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas
John Calipari has a strong history with high-level point guards at this level. John Wall, Derrick Rose and Tyler Ulis were All-Americans under his leadership. If Acuff can be a high-level playmaker for an Arkansas team that competes for a spot in the SEC’s top tier, Acuff could enter the Player of the Year conversation.
Coach with the most at stake
Borzello: Hubert Davis, North Carolina
Davis is the highest-profile coach entering the season in a tenuous situation, and he happens to coach one of the blue bloods of the sport with one of the best jobs in the country. Through four seasons at the helm, he has been to a national championship game, won an ACC championship, earned a 1-seed and been to multiple Sweet 16s. But the expectations in Chapel Hill don’t drop, and a missed NCAA tournament in 2023 combined with last season’s inconsistent 11-seed have increased the pressure on Davis. There’s enough talent on the roster to cool his seat, but that was the case last season too.
» Read Borzello’s coaching hot seat guide
Lunardi: Rick Pitino, St. John’s
Pitino is 73 years old. He has won everything there is to win at virtually every level of basketball. One could argue his numbers since being selected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 — a 221-72 record, a .754 winning percentage and six NCAA tournament bids in nine tries — make up their own HOF trajectory. What he hasn’t done is finish the job in his hometown. Two years with the New York Knicks half a lifetime ago and the past two with St. John’s have scratched an inch, certainly. But the chance to go out by winning really big with the Red Storm is very much on the table for Pitino in 2025-26. It could be his last, best chance.
Medcalf: Kelvin Sampson, Houston
It’s not like Sampson needs this; he has won 30 or more games in four consecutive seasons. He was within seconds of capturing the first national title of his career against Florida last season. And with the additions of three top-25 recruits, he’ll have the talent to get back to the final game of the campaign. At 70 years old, Sampson says he will always adapt, despite the changes in this game. He has proved he can do that. Yet few teams have had the five-year window he has enjoyed as a national title contender. This could be the season. And if it’s not, it could be difficult to get back to this stage with all of the real-time turbulence impacting college basketball.
CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTIONS
National champion
Borzello: Purdue
Lunardi: Michigan
Medcalf: Houston
Paine: Houston
Final Four
Borzello: Purdue, Florida, Louisville, BYU
Lunardi: Duke, Purdue, Michigan, UConn
Medcalf: Kentucky, Houston, Purdue, BYU
Paine: Houston, Purdue, Michigan, Florida
Conference winners
AWARDS PREDICTIONS
Player of the Year
Borzello: Braden Smith, Purdue
Lunardi: Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
Medcalf: Braden Smith, Purdue
Paine: JT Toppin, Texas Tech
Freshman of the Year
Borzello: Darryn Peterson, Kansas
Lunardi: AJ Dybantsa, BYU
Medcalf: AJ Dybantsa, BYU
Paine: Darryn Peterson, Kansas
Newcomer of the Year
Borzello: Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
Lunardi: Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
Medcalf: Darrion Williams, NC State
Paine: Bennett Stirtz, Iowa
» Read ESPN’s top 50 newcomer rankings
All-America teams
Borzello:
Braden Smith, Purdue
Darryn Peterson, Kansas
AJ Dybantsa, BYU
Cameron Boozer, Duke
JT Toppin, Texas Tech
Lunardi:
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
JT Toppin, Texas Tech
Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue
AJ Dybantsa, BYU
Cameron Boozer, Duke
Medcalf:
Braden Smith, Purdue
JT Toppin, Texas Tech
AJ Dybantsa, BYU
Darryn Peterson, Kansas
Cameron Boozer, Duke
Paine:
Braden Smith, Purdue
Darryn Peterson, Kansas
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
JT Toppin, Texas Tech
Graham Ike, Gonzaga
» Read Jay Bilas’ All-America predictions
Coach of the Year
Borzello: Pat Kelsey, Louisville
Lunardi: Dusty May, Michigan
Medcalf: Mark Pope, Kentucky
Paine: Matt Painter, Purdue
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After Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones were arrested last week due to their own alleged involvement in illegal gambling, speculation went around that Gilbert Arenas cooperated with authorities to implicate the NBA figures.
The former NBA star, who found himself in trouble during his playing days, was accused earlier this year of operating an illegal gambling ring from a home he owned in Southern California.
Shortly after his July arrest, Arenas, who pleaded not guilty, admitted that he would be “snitching.” But in a livestream on Friday, he reiterated he would only do so in his own case.
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NBA player Gilbert Arenas arrives at District of Columbia Court, Jan. 15, 2010 in Washington, D.C. (Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)
Thus, Arenas denied any involvement in the most recent case.
“I don’t know what this gotta do with my case,” Arenas said. “I don’t think you just walk around telling them cases you don’t know. My case is different. I don’t know what my case has to do with n—-s that’s gambling and giving information on NBA games. How does that have to do with me?”
“Common sense is common sense. This is a whole different breed of – this s— has its own name. Mine didn’t have no operation name,” Arenas added, referencing that Rozier and Jones were arrested in “Operation Nothing But Bet,” and Billups and Jones were arrested in “Operation Royal Flush.”
A federal indictment obtained by Fox News Digital showed Arenas was charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, one count of operating an illegal gambling business, and another count of making false statements to federal investigators.
Arenas, nicknamed “Agent Zero,” is suspected of renting a property in Encino, California, for the purpose of hosting high-stakes poker games, according to the Justice Department.
Closeup of Washington Wizards Gilbert Arenas (0) on the court during a game vs the Phoenix Suns in Washington, D.C. (Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
The federal indictment was filed in Los Angeles. According to the document, Arenas is accused of instructing Arthur Kats to stage illegal games. Kats allegedly handled rental payments for other individuals who were also believed to have had a role in the operation. Officials said they obtained text messages believed to show conversations between Arenas and Kats about details of the games in question.
One of the defendants, Ievgen Krachun, was identified as the person who oversaw the gambling as it was allegedly being committed inside the home, according to the indictment. Another defendant, Yevgeni Gershman, was described by the DOJ as a “suspected organized crime figure from Israel.”
During his career, Arenas was charged after bringing guns into the team’s locker room during a dispute with former teammate Javaris Crittenton. Crittenton served 10 years in prison for his role in a 2011 shooting.
Billups, Rozier and Jones, the latter of whom is a defendant in both cases, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The NBA announced that Billups and Rozier were placed on immediate leave from their teams, “and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities.”
Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones were arrested on Thursday. (Jaime Valdez/Imagn Images, Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images, Greg Nelson/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
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“The integrity of our game remains our top priority,” the NBA said.
Fox News’ Chantz Martin contributed to this report.
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The Arthur M. Blank Foundation announced Wednesday morning that the Atlanta Falcons owner will donate “an initial grant” of $1.5 million to Hurricane Melissa relief efforts.
The foundation said the money will be donated to support the work of World Central Kitchen, Team Rubicon, and CARE USA.
“World Central Kitchen provides nourishing meals and fresh water in times of crisis, and Team Rubicon specializes in on the ground disaster response and recovery,” the foundation said in a release. “The Foundation’s pre-investment for CARE USA’s Humanitarian Surge Fund aids in providing rapid deployment of resources for disaster relief and will be activated immediately.”
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Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank reacts during the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
“Jamaica and the Caribbean hold a special place in my heart, filled with meaningful family memories,” Blank himself said in a statement.
“The impact of Hurricane Melissa is profound, but so is the resilience of people in this region. We’re humbled to support Team Rubicon and World Central Kitchen with an initial grant to help address immediate needs in the community with disaster relief and nourishing meals. While the road ahead will be long, our hearts are with those affected, and we hope our support brings comfort and strength along the way.”
Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank looks on prior to the game between the Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Dec. 24, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
DOCTOR OF PHYSICAL THERAPY EXPLAINS CAM SKATTEBO’S GRUESOME ANKLE INJURY AND RECOVERY OUTLOOK
The storm slammed Jamaica earlier this week as a Category 5 hurricane, making it the strongest storm ever to make a direct hit on the island.
With 185 mph winds and 220 mph gusts, it’s the strongest storm this year and the third Category 5 hurricane. This is also the second time in a calendar year there have been at least three Category 5 hurricanes recorded.
The last time Jamaica faced a hurricane of a similar magnitude was Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, a Category 4 storm remembered as the deadliest and most destructive in the nation’s history.
Storm surge is pictured before the arrival of Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean Terrace area of Kingston, Jamaica, on Oct. 25, 2025. (RICARDO MAKYN/AFP)
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The storm left hundreds homeless and forced thousands into overcrowded emergency shelters, according to a report from the National Library of Jamaica. Despite its ferocity, the official death toll remained relatively low, with 45 fatalities and few reported injuries, but the storm caused an estimated $800 million in damage across the island, the publication said.
Fox News’ Bonny Chu contributed to this report.
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