Rise in global transfer spending reported by FIFA

Gareth Bale was bought by Real Madrid in this transfer window

After the transfer window came to a close, FIFA’s Transfer Matching System (TMS) has recorded a decrease in the number of international player transfers, but a hike in spending, Soccerex reports.

According to FIFA, the TMS processed 10,454 transfers between January 1 and September 2, in comparison to the 10,513 deals last year.

The total amount of declared transfer fees in 2013 was US$3.367 billion, a 29% increase on 2012′s figure of $2.619 billion. In total, 5,018 clubs from 164 countries across the world had a part to play in the transfers this year.

The declared commission paid to agents and other parties was up 20% to $169 million.

Over a two-year duration, FIFA stated that the commission paid to club intermediaries had risen 80%.

While the most active transfer streams saw 132 players move from Portugal to Brazil and 98 from Argentina to Chile, the streams with the highest total transfer compensation were from Spain to England ($227 million, 38 players), and from Italy to England ($148 million, 25 players).

The TMS became essential on October 1, 2010, and oversees cross-border moves in an attempt to reduce on money laundering and corrupt deals. Hence its findings do not include domestic transfers.