(Reuters) – Football clubs spent an all-time high of $7.36 billion on player transfer fees in the 2023 mid-year window, the governing body FIFA said on Friday.
The figure reached between June 1 and Sept. 1 represents an increase of 47.2% compared to the 2022 mid-year period and a 26.8% rise compared to the previous mid-year record set in 2019, FIFA said in a statement.
“England topped the list… when it came to spending on transfer fees ($1.98 billion), the number of incoming transfers (449) and the number of outgoing transfers (514),” FIFA Chief Legal & Compliance Officer Emilio Garcia Silvero said.
“Germany, however, was the number one in terms of receipts from transfer fees ($1.11 billion) – this being the first time ever that clubs from a single association have received more than $1 billion in the mid-year transfer window alone.”
Saudi Arabia was the second highest spender with a total of $875.4 million, after players such as Brazil star Neymar, Senegal forward Sadio Mane and Brazil midfielder Fabinho signed for Saudi clubs.
As a result, clubs from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) region accounted for 14% of the global transfer spending, marking the first time that teams from a confederation other than UEFA have surpassed 10% of the total, FIFA said.
France ($859.7 million) completed the top three of the biggest spenders on player transfer activity, ahead of Germany ($762.4 million), Italy ($711.0 million) and Spain ($405.6 million).
In the women’s game, spending on transfer fees more than doubled compared to the 2022 mid-year window, reaching a new mid-year record of $3.0 million.
($1 = 0.8015 pounds)
(Reporting by Anita Kobylinska in Gdansk; Editing by Toby Davis)
