Football Clubs Splash Cash in Record Transfer Window

FIFA announced on Thursday that clubs spent over $9.89 billion (8.51 billion euros) on international transfer fees in men’s football this summer. This amount is the highest ever recorded for a mid-year window.

FIFA’s latest International Transfer Snapshot shows that more than 12,500 transfers took place globally, which is also a record. This is an increase from 11,863 transfers last year.

English clubs led the spending, putting down over $3.02 billion to sign players from other countries.

This amount is less than the record Premier League spending of £3.49 billion ($4.7 billion) reported by British media. That figure also includes transfers of players between English clubs.

Italian clubs took second place with $1.1 billion spent, followed by Spain with $940 million, Germany at $904 million, and France with $641 million.

On the income side, French clubs made the most from transfers, raking in $1.7 billion. Clubs in England earned $1.43 billion, followed by Germany with $1.02 billion, Spain at $773 million, and Portugal with $642 million.

FIFA noted that the 2026 World Cup had a big impact on the transfer window. Players who participated in the tournament accounted for over $3.3 billion in transfer fees.

A total of 267 World Cup players from 47 different countries switched clubs between June and September.

In women’s football, new records were also set for both spending and transfer activity.

FIFA reported 1,406 international transfers in the women’s game, marking a 19.2% rise from the previous record. Spending on international transfer fees more than doubled compared to the 2025 window, reaching an all-time high of $28.6 million.

English clubs topped the women’s transfer spending with $8 million, followed by Spain at $6.6 million, Germany with $4.9 million, the United States at $2.9 million, and Italy with $2.1 million.

Swedish clubs received the highest transfer fees with $4.2 million, slightly ahead of England at $4 million. Clubs in France and Germany each made $3.6 million.