What were the 10 most expensive transfers of 2023, which according to FIFA broke a historical record

The year 2023 set a new record in terms of the amounts of international transfers of footballers from 9.63 billion dollarsaccording to the report Global Transfer Report published this Tuesday by FIFA. In accordance with this work, last year there were 74,836 international transferswhich is the result of 23,689 operations with professional players (men and women) and 51,147 with amateur players.

After spending fell in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, The outlay of $9,630 million represents an increase of 48.1% compared to 2022 and exceeds the previous record recorded in 2019 by 2.3 billion.

The ten most expensive transfers generated more than 10% of the total amount. Of the 3,279 that involved a cost, the 100 most expensive represented over 45% of the sum paid, an aspect in which England once again tops the spending list with $2.96 billion. Saudi Arabia entered this list for the first time in history with 970 (against 50.4 million in 2022).

Jude Bellingham (from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid), Enzo Fernandez (from Benfica to Chelsea), Harry Kane (from Tottenham to Bayern Munich), Randal Kolo Muani (from Eintracht Frankfurt to Paris Saint-Germain), Mykhailo Mudryk (from Shakhtar Donetsk to Chelsea), Josko Gvardiol (from Leipzig to Manchester City), Rasmus Hojlund (from Atalanta to Manchester United), Neymar (from Paris Saint-Germain to Al Hilal), Dominik Szoboszlai (from Leipzig to Liverpool) e Sandro Tonali (from Milan to Newcastle) are the ten most expensive international transfers of 2023.

German clubs received the most money as transfer, with 1,209 million dollarsbehind those of France (1,195 million), those of England (1,041 million), those of Italy (1,021 million) and those of Spain (716 million. Portuguese clubs were the ones that concluded the most contracts with another federation (1,017 ) and Brazilians have transferred or loaned the highest number of players (1,217).

For the first time in history, according to the report, more than a thousand clubs invested in international signings: 1,024 paid bonuses to incorporate players from abroad. And the record of subjects who received money for a transfer was broken, with 1,241.

Furthermore, the growth of women’s football continued, with an increase in transfers of 20% compared to 2022. There were 623 clubs that participated in international transfers, compared to 507 in 2022, an increase of 7.4%. Last year there were 1,888 international transfers of professional players, with 131 federations involved (record), 7.4% more than in 2022.

The most expensive transfers were those of Jill Rood (from Wolfsburg to Manchester City), Kyra Cooney-Cross (from Hammarby to Arsenal), Lindsey Horan (from Portland Thorns to Olympique Lyon), Geyse Ferreira (from Barcelona to Manchester United) e Scarlett Camberos (from America to Angel City).

In the section dedicated to international transfers of fans, in 2023 more than 50,000 moved to clubs of other associations, of which 91.7% were men. Of the 211 FIFA member associations, 207 were involved in at least one of these purchases. Germany leads this list.