Global Transfer Market Report: 18,042 international transfers in 2019 for a total of $7.35bn

"The value of international transfers in 2019 reached (an unprecedented) $7.35bn (€6.54bn on 31/12/2019), 5.8% more than in 2018," states the Global Transfer Market Report 2019 on men's professional football, published by FIFA on 22/01/2020.

According to the study by FIFA TMS, the platform that registers international transfers, 80% of the money spent in 2019 was spent by a total of just 100 clubs. Portuguese clubs were the clubs with the best balance between purchases and sales, with a net profit of $384m (€342m). Conversely, English clubs accumulated a deficit of $549.9m (€489.5m).

A total of 18,042 international transfers were recorded by FIFA TMS in 2019, a figure never before reached. 15,463 players of 178 different nationalities were involved in these transactions. Only 14.9% of the transfers registered in 2019 involved financial compensation.

Women's football, which is the subject of an independent report (see document available to download), saw 833 international transfers in 2019 (+19.7%), involving 757 professional female players (+23.3%) belonging to 81 different…