FIFA reveals record-breaking $1.57billion spent on transfers in January 2023

Football clubs spent a record $1.57 billion (£1.27 billion) on new players during the January transfer window, according to FIFA.

The football governing body revealed on Thursday that an all-time high number of international deals were completed last month.

In the women’s game, the total number of international transfers reached an all-time high of 341 across borders, a 30.2% increase from January 2022. In the most recent window, a total of $774,300 (£637,914) was spent, setting a new high.

According to FIFA’s International Transfer Snapshot for January 2023, 4,387 international transfers were completed in men’s football in January — the most since the Transfer Matching System’s inception in 2010.

The $1.57bn spent on transfer fees was some $230 million (£189m) more than the previous January window record in 2018. Domestic transfers in England are not included in the total.

The number of transfers in men’s football increased by 14.4% compared to the same period in 2022, with the total value of transfer fees rising by 49.4% compared to the amount spent in January 2022.

English clubs topped the table for spending on international transfer fees in January 2023 with a total outlay of $898.6m (£740.3m) which is 57.3% of total spending in January globally — followed at a considerable distance by France with $131.9m (£108.7m).