January football transfer spending reaches record levels

Clubs worldwide spent a record $2.35 billion on international transfers in men's soccer in the January window, nearly a 58 per cent increase from last year, world soccer's governing body FIFA said in a study published on Friday.

According to FIFA's International Transfer Snapshot, the amount is also 47.1 per cent higher than the previous record set in January 2023 when there was a total outlay of $1.57 billion.

With 5,863 international transfers taking place between January 1 and February 4, it also marks a 19.1 per cent increase from last year's record for the highest number of players making moves in the January window.

English clubs topped the table for spending on international transfer fees last month, spending $621.6 million in total.

Reigning Premier League champions Manchester City alone spent over $224 million to sign Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Juma Bah.

But the most expensive player signed in January was Colombian forward Jhon Duran, who moved from Aston Villa to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr for around 77 million euros ($79.97 million) plus add-ons.

FIFA said Germany ($295.7 million), Italy ($223.8 million), France ($209.7 million) and Saudi Arabia ($202.1 million) completed the list of the top five countries for their clubs' January spending.

On the other hand, clubs in France received the highest amount in transfer fees at $371 million, followed by clubs in Germany ($226.2 million), England ($185.2 million), Portugal ($176.4 million) and Italy ($162 million).

Brazil had the most incoming international transfers (471) while Argentina had the highest number of outgoing players (255).

Women's soccer also had a record $5.8 million spent on transfer fees in January, which represents a whopping 180.6 per cent increase on the previous record after 455 international transfers were made.

English clubs led the way in women's soccer too, with $2.3 million being spent on players, while they also made the most incoming international transfers with 39 signings.