"A few extremely large transfers are actually skewing the market" (Mark Goddard, FIFA TMS)

"The biggest increase is in the amount of the transfer fees, which gained 41% to a total of $3.7 b (€2.68 b). It is a bit misleading essentially. There are a few extremely large transfers that are actually skewing the market. The rest of the market remained quite stable," said Mark Goddard, general manager of FIFA TMS to News Tank, on 03/03/2014.

FIFA TMS is FIFA's (Federation Internationale de Football Association) affiliate company which runs the matching system for international transfers (from one national association to another). Since 2012, the company has been conducting an annual study of the international transfers market, the "Global Transfer Market Report," whose 2014 edition was released on 29/01/2014.

Among the new trends identified by FIFA TMS in the 2014 study are "a substantial increase in the use of conditional transfer fees," said Mark Goddard. "Clubs are getting more careful about how they engage their money, and the players and their representatives are understanding the condition-based clauses approach," added the general manager of the company based in Zurich…