Spending on international transfer fees for men’s soccer players dropped during the mid-year trading period, according to research from FIFA released on Tuesday.
FIFA reported that clubs spent $6.46 billion on acquiring players through international deals during the June-to-September transfer window, which is less than the $7.43 billion spent during the same time last year.
In Europe, the richest market, the average transfer fee paid by clubs was $3.13 million, compared to $3.8 million the previous year.
The FIFA study does not cover every transfer, as it misses the largest transfer deal of the European offseason and does not include transfers between two clubs within the same country.
For example, Kylian Mbappé joined Real Madrid without a transfer fee because he was a free agent after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain ended. However, Real Madrid paid Mbappé a signing bonus, estimated to be between $110 million and $165 million.
The largest transfer fees for international deals were for Julián Alvarez’s move from Manchester City to Atletico Madrid, reported at around 75 million euros ($83 million), and Leny Yoro’s transfer from Lille to Manchester United, reported at 62 million euros ($69 million).
The FIFA study excludes transactions between two clubs in the same country where the player’s registration does not involve different member federations.
Other significant transfers not counted in the FIFA figures include Dominic Solanke’s move from Bournemouth to Tottenham, Pedro Neto’s transfer from Wolves to Chelsea, and Teun Koopmeiners’ deal from Atalanta to Juventus.
