Football Transfers in 2021: What the Numbers Reveal
Global Football Transfer Report 2021
3-Mar-2023
Transfers Overview
Even though the pandemic disrupted football activities across the globe, transfers of professional players remained a vital part of the sport in nearly all countries worldwide.
In 2021, 185 of FIFA’s 211 member associations were involved in the transfers of professional players across all continents. FIFA’s carefully planned assistance for member associations, clubs and players – such as financial support packages and amendments to various sets of regulations–have helped the game to grow even stronger, even in such a difficult period.
In 2021, a total of 18,068 international transfers were recorded, representing 179 nationalities, with 2,115 of them moving more than once during the course of the year. This is an increase of 5.1% compared to 2020, and just slightly below the pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
Transfers Types
In 2021, permanent club-to-club transfers represented a relatively small proportion (11.4%) of all transfer activity, which is significantly below the peak of 13.0% in 2017. Transfers of out-of-contract players were by far the most common activity, with 66.8%, an increase of more than four percentage points compared to 2020. All other types of transfers were less frequent in 2021 compared to 2020.
Breaking Down Transfer Fees
In 2021, spending on transfer fees declined for the second year in a row, with a total spend of USD 4.86 billion, a fall of 13.6% compared to 2020 and 33.8% below the record levels of 2019. This means that while all clubs needed to freshen up their squads (with the overall number of transfers at a similar level to the 2019 peak), clubs were not as eager to pay transfer fees, and therefore the total transfer fees hit a five-year low in 2021.
Among the international transfers that involved a fee, the vast majority (59.0%) were for less than USD 500,000. Those with fees exceeding USD 5 million represented just less than 10% of transfers with fees or 1.2% of all international transfers.
Top Transfers
In 2021, the top ten international player transfers by total transfer fee generated almost 15% of the total spending on transfer fees. Similarly, of the 2,217 transfers with fees, the top 100 were responsible for more than 50% of all transfer fees in 2021.
Transfers by Nationality & Confederation
In 2021, the global football ecosystem remained strong and dynamic, as international transfers involved players from 179 different nationalities. The top ten nationalities contributed to more than 40% of all international transfers, with French players surpassing Brazilian players in terms of total spending on transfer fees for the first time ever, reaching USD 643.6 million.
European and South American clubs maintained a balance between incoming and outgoing transfers. However, only European clubs kept a balance between the transfer fees they paid and received, while CONMEBOL clubs received over seven times more than they spent. On the other hand, AFC clubs spent over 150% more than they received. CONCACAF and AFC clubs spent and received similar amounts, but CONCACAF had significantly fewer incoming and outgoing transfers. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, FIFA’s support for member associations, clubs, and players has been instrumental in keeping the game strong and promoting growth.
Source: FIFA
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