For the first time, the Global Transfer Market report is available in two versions: one covering men’s football and one covering women’s football.
Key statistics from the men’s report:
- Spending reached a new high of USD 7.03 billion, 10.3% more than in 2017
- A new record was set with 16,533 international transfers, 5.6% more than in 2017, involving 14,186 players of 175 different nationalities
- Only 31 clubs spent more than USD 50 million each, but together they accounted for more than half of the USD 7.03 billion spent globally
- 78.2% of the entire spending worldwide occurred between clubs in the UEFA region
- France had the largest positive net balance with USD 467.2 million. England had the largest negative net balance with USD -1.05 billion
- Saudi Arabia climbed to 7th place in the ranking of the world’s biggest spenders, with its clubs spending USD 173.9 million in 2018
Key statistics from the women’s report:
- 2018 was the first year in which all transfers of professional female players had to be processed via FIFA’s International Transfer Matching System
- A total of 696 international transfers were completed, involving clubs from 74 member associations and 614 players of 72 different nationalities
- Spending on transfer fees amounted to USD 0.6 million, showing that the market for female professional players is still in the early stages
- One in every five transfers involved a player from the USA, by far the most represented nationality in the transfer market
The reports also include summary tables with the volume and value of transfers for each of the 211 FIFA member associations, and other information such as transfer types, reasons for contract termination, nationality and age of the players involved, and historical comparisons.
The data published in the FIFA Global Transfer Market Report is extracted from ITMS, which is used by all 211 FIFA member associations around the globe and over 7,000 professional football clubs for the international transfer of professional football players.
The FIFA Global Transfer Market Report is now available for free download at: https://www.fifatms.com/data-reports/reports/