(Reuters) – The number of international transfers in men’s football hit an all-time high as $5 billion was spent in total fees during the latest transfer window, a report by world soccer’s governing body FIFA said on Thursday.
The report, labelled the “International Transfer Snapshot”, included an analysis of international player transfer activity from June 1-Sept. 1 during the transfer window.
The key findings of the report showed that 9,717 international transfers involving male players took place during the mid-year registration period, which was 16.2% more than in the same period in 2021 and a record high.
The $5 billion spent in total fees on those transfers was 29.7% more than the same period in 2021.
Darwin Nunez’s move from Benfica to Liverpool was reported to be worth 100 million euros ($99.98 million) by British media, while Aurelien Tchouameni joined Real Madrid from AS Monaco for the same amount.
In the women’s game, international transfers during the mid-year registration period reached an all-time high with 684 transfers, which was 14.4% more than the same period in 2021.
The report also showed that Portuguese clubs made a particularly strong recovery, more than tripling their receipts from transfer fees compared to the same period in 2021 after back-to-back years of significant decreases.
The total amount of service fees for club agents declared in transfers was $494.4 million.
Over the last 10 years, the ratio of agent service fees to transfer fees during the mid-year registration window has grown from 6.1% in 2012 to 9.9% in 2022, the report said.
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(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
