Clubs spent record $9.63bn
Clubs worldwide spent a record $9.63bn on international transfers in 2023, nearly 50% more than in 2022, world football’s governing body Fifa said in its Global Transfer Report published on Tuesday.
After transfer spending fell in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid-19’s financial effects, outlays on players did nothing but rise, with 2023’s total spend 48.1% more than 2022’s.
The figure smashed the record set in 2019 by more than $2bn. English clubs spent the most with a new high of $2.96bn while four countries’ associations received more than $1bn in transfer fees in 2023.
England was followed by Saudi Arabian clubs who tried to draw some of the best players from European sides to the Saudi Pro League in 2023 after the marquee signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, after which several players moved to the Middle East. “Clubs from Saudi Arabia featured among the top five spenders for the first time with a total outlay of $970m in 2023, compared to $50.4m in 2022,” said Fifa.
“Clubs from Germany were the number one recipients of transfer fees with a total of almost $1.21bn, the first-ever time that clubs from any one association have received more than $1bn in transfer fees in a calendar year.
“That being said, three more associations also joined Germany in this exclusive group in 2023: France [$1.19bn], England [$1.04bn] and Italy [$1.02bn).”
The top men’s transfers include Jude Bellingham of Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid, Enzo Fernandez from Benfica to Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.
“The top 10 player transfers alone generated more than 10% of the entire amount spent on transfer fees in 2023,” said Fifa.
Women’s football had 20% more international transfers in 2023 compared to 2022, with the number of clubs involved rising from 507 in 2022 to 623 in 2023.
Fifa said a record 131 associations were involved in 1,888 women’s transfers, with the annual outlay hitting $6.1m also a record and an 84.2% increase from 2022.
The biggest international transfers in women’s football included Jill Roord from VfL Wolfsburg to Manchester City, Kyra Cooney-Cross from Hammarby to Arsenal and Lindsey Horan from Portland Thorns to Olympique Lyonnais.