If there was any doubt how much football progressed over the past 10 years, and how much money is being invested, FIFA’s report on international transfers during the 2011-2020 period has put an end to it. An enormous amount of cash has been spent on footballers and their agents, and the world leaders are Manchester City. The major points from the report are that 5.3 trillion Ksh was spent on transfers during the ten year period, that 200 FIFA member associations were involved in international transfers and that top 30 clubs in terms of transfer fee spend are European. ⚽️✍️🔢Delve into the detail behind $48.5bn worth of player trading between 2011 and 2020 with FIFA’s ‘Ten Years of International Transfers Report’. ℹ️👉 https://t.co/0SkxS2rh6A pic.twitter.com/03mWg9ZyXD— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) August 30, 2021 From 11,890 transfers conducted in 2011 to a peak of 18,079 in 2019, a total of 133,225 international transfers and loans of professional players took place, while around 5.3 trillion Ksh was spent on transfer fees. The transfers involved 66,789 players and 8,264 clubs across 200 FIFA member associations. Brazilian nationals moving to foreign clubs topped the list with 15,128 transfers, followed by Argentinian (7,444), British (5,523), French (5,027) and Colombian footballers (4,287). Out of the top 30 nationalities by number of transfers, Nigerians lead Africa at the 7th spot overall (3793), followed by Ghanaian at the 10th place (2848). Also on the list are Ivorian, Cameroonian and Senegalese footballers. Man City Were Football’s Biggest Spenders In The Past Decade, FIFA Report Shows – Manchester City Have Spent More Money on Transfers Than Any Club In The World In The Past Decade, A FIFA Report Has Found As The Shifting Dynamics of Transfers In Modern Football Is Underscored pic.twitter.com/LNEJFDQTWf— Captain Fantastic8 (@nattyroons) August 30, 2021 As expected, the European clubs are leaders in transfer fees. During the last decade, the list of top 30 clubs in terms of transfer fee spend was made up solely of European clubs: England (12 clubs), Spain and Italy (five each), Germany (three), France and Portugal (two each), and Russia (one). Those 30 clubs alone spent a total of 2.5 trillion on transfer fees, representing 47% of the global total over the decade.And football agents turned into millionaires (and some of them into billionaires). The amount of commissions paid to agents increased from 14.3 billion in 2011 to 70 billion in 2019. A total of 384 billion was paid for agents’ commissions in international transfers over the course of the decade.They’ve spent, now it’s time to sell: Arsenal looking to offload biggest earnersAnd Manchester City leads the list of the world’s biggest spenders in the last 10 years. The Citizens are ahead of second-placed Chelsea, while Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid make up the remaining places in the top five. FIFA have not attributed exact figures to each club’s spending, but highlight that City have completed 130 incoming transfers, 59.2 per cent of which have been with fees – meaning they have not been free signings or loan deals. 12 of the top 30 clubs hail from England. They include City, Chelsea, Man United, Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, Leicester, Southampton, Wolves, Everton, West Ham and Newcastle.
