USD 9.63 billion spent on international transfer fees, an increase of 48.1% compared to 2022, according to Global Transfer Report; 2023 also saw a new all-time high number of transfers with a transfer fee (3,279), 14.7% more than in 2022; Women’s football continues to grow, with international transfers increasing by more than 20% compared to 2022.
FIFA has today published the 2023 edition of the Global Transfer Report, which revealed that an all-time record of 74,836 cross-border transfers were made in 2023. Out of these moves, 23,689 (31.7%) involved professionals (men and women), while the remaining 51,147 (68.3%) transfers were those of amateurs.
Following declines in spending in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, clubs spent a new record high amount on international transfer fees in 2023, totaling USD 9.63 billion – an increase of 48.1% compared to 2022 and surpassing the former record set in 2019 by more than USD 2 billion.
The top ten player transfers alone generated more than 10% of the entire amount spent on transfer fees in 2023. Similarly, of the 3,279 transfers that included fees, the top 100 were responsible for more than 45% of all money spent on transfer fees, with English clubs once again topping the list with USD 2.96 billion.
German clubs topped the list for transfer fees received from outgoing transfers with a total of more than USD 1.2 billion. Portuguese clubs completed more incoming transfers than clubs from any other association (1,017), and Brazilian clubs released the highest number of players (1,217). A total of 1,024 clubs spent money on international transfers in 2023, the first-ever time that more than 1,000 clubs invested in transfer fees for new players from abroad. The number of clubs that received transfer fees, 1,241, was another new high.
Impressive growth of women’s football continues
The impressive growth of women’s professional football also showed no sign of letting up in 2023, with more than 20% more transfers last year compared to 2022. The number of clubs involved in international transfers also rose from 507 in 2022 to 623 in 2023, a 22.9% increase.
All of these numbers reflect the huge strides being taken in the women’s game, with more and more female players turning professional. Some 1,888 international transfers of professional players were recorded in 2023, while a new high of 131 associations (+7.4% compared to 2022) were involved in these transfers.
International transfers of amateurs
In 2023, more than 50,000 amateur players moved across borders to join a club in a new association, with 91.7% of these players being male. The global reach of amateur football is striking as 207 of FIFA’s 211 member associations were involved in at least one amateur transfer last year. Germany led the incoming amateur transfers with a total of 7,825.
The Global Transfer Report 2023 also includes analyses on player nationalities, ages, and movement between confederations and associations, in addition to the list of top transfers in both the men’s and women’s game.
