FIFA has published its Annual Global Transfer Report for 2022, with English clubs leading the way in transfers and spending. The sport’s world governing body claims there were a total of 71,002 total player moves during the year. This includes professional men and women, as well as young amateur players.
On the men’s side, international transfers totaled a whopping 20,209 during this time period. This is an increase of 11.6% compared to 2021. Furthermore, this is higher than what was calculated before the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, 4,770 different clubs from 182 leagues made international transfers.
“The negative two-year trend in club spending on transfer fees was reversed in 2022, with total outlay last year reaching $6.5bn, an increase of 33.5% compared to 2021, but still below the all-time high of 2019.” said FIFA compliance and legal director Emilio Garcia Silvero.
Premier League and English clubs dominate transfers
Unsurprisingly, England tops the spending charts. Led by the Premier League, English clubs spent around $2.2 billion on player transfers during 2022. This was more than triple that of any other country in the world. Italian clubs finished a distant second in spending with $671 million.
Premier League clubs accounted for six of the top 10 transfers during 2022. This includes Darwin Núñez, Antony, Casemiro, Erling Haaland, Alexander Isak and Luis Díaz. Transfers of the top ten players were responsible for approximately 12.5% of all expenses during this calendar year. And the top 100 transfers also accounted for half of the total spend.
The women’s game is clearly growing
Player transfers also increased significantly. The sheer number of transfers in the women’s game has more than doubled since 2018 and is up 19% from the previous year.
“All of this reflects the impressive strides that are taking place as more and more players continue to turn professional,” Silvero continued. “Some 1,555 international transfers were registered in 2022, an increase of 19.3% over the previous year, while a new high of 119 associations were involved in international transfers.”
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