After two consecutive years of decreasing spending on transfer fees due to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, clubs, in 2022, increased their total outlay on transfer fees, according to the Global Transfer Report 2022, published by FIFA.
There were 20,209 international transfers in men’s professional football in 2022 - an increase of 11.6 percent when compared to the previous year.
According to the report, market spendings dipped from USD 7.35 billion in 2019 to 5.63 billion during the first wave in 2020 and 4.86 billion amid 2021’s second wave.
Transfer fees in USD by type and number of clubs receiving and spending on transfer fees by year.
In 2022, that figure rose by 33.5 percent, with a total of USD 6.50 billion spent during the period. While this figure is still below the levels of 2018 and 2019, clubs are clearly recovering.
This trend also stood true for the number of clubs that completed transfers that included a fee.
The number of clubs that spent money on transfers (950) as well as those that received fees for outgoing transfers (1,155) reached new highs in 2022, surpassing even the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
Over 80 percent of the fees agreed in 2022 were fixed fees, whereas 19 percent were entered as conditional fees. Release (buy-out) fees did not play a significant role in 2022, with less than 0.1 percent of the total fees falling into this category.
In almost 70 percent of all transfers with a fee, the fee did not exceed USD 1 million. In fact, in half of these transfers, the transfer fee was USD 301,000, as shown by the median transfer fee in the graph below.
Transfer fee in USD and median transfer fee by year.
Less than 10 percent of all transfer fees exceeded USD 5 million, with just 276 transfers involving such a fee. However, these 276 transfers alone were responsible for 72 percent of the total spending on transfer fees in 2022 with a combined outlay of USD 4.68 billion
Free transfers enjoy the lion’s share
Of the 20,209 transfers made in the market in 2022, over 13,000 were out-of-contract signings.
The most common reason (41 percent) for the same remained expiry of contract while the second-most common reason (34.6 percent) was mutual termination.
It is to be noted that Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit from Manchester United falls under this category with the Portuguese leaving the Premier League side, following termination with mutual consent.
There were 2,679 permanent transfers in 2022; it only represents 13.3 percent of all transfers. There were almost the same number of loan transfers (2,601; 12.9 percent), followed by players returning to their parent club from a loan (1,742; 8.6)percent.
Distribution of transfer types and the reasons for out-of-contract transfers by year
Emphasis on long-term investment
The year 2022 has shown that clubs have placed their investment bets on young players even after they moved to a different club. This is done primarily through a sell-on fee.
A sell-on fee guarantees the releasing club a percentage of the transfer fee of a potential future transfer of the same player to a third club.
Last year, the number of transfers that included a sell-on fee reached a new high (2,224, an increase of 35.7 percent compared to 2021).
The inclusion of sell-on fees is becoming increasingly popular, especially in transfers that also include a regular transfer fee. In 2022, some 58.0 percent of all transfers with fees included such a clause. Sell-on fees are less common in transfers that do not include a transfer fee, but their number is also growing, reaching a share of 23.8 percent in 2022
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