Premier League clubs account for a third of all transfer spending in 2022 with Manchester United splashing out the most and Liverpool’s move for Darwin Nunez the highest individual fee.
The English football club is spending a staggering £1.78 BILLION on transfers by 2022 – and that makes up a third of the world’s total spending in two windows.
FIFA have published their annual Global Transfer Report and, once again, it is English clubs – led by the Premier League’s big spenders – who dominate. Manchester United top the heap with Liverpool in third and Newcastle United fifth.
For the first time, combined UK spending surpassed the $2 billion mark, hitting a record high of just under $2.2 billion (£1.78 billion). With January currently set to be a record breaker, it is almost certain that the $2.2 billion mark will be easily passed in 2023.
The UK’s contribution to transfer acts helped global sales exceed £5.25 billion, a 33.5 per cent increase over 2021 but still below 2019’s all-time high.
In total, there have been over 20,000 international transfers in men’s professional football in 2022. French clubs are the biggest beneficiaries of the Premier League’s spending spree, raking in nearly £600 million in transfer fees.
For the first time, Portugal topped the list of most incoming transfers, with 901 players signed in 2022. Brazil released the highest number of players, with 998 being sold by their clubs.
Of the total amount spent by clubs around the world, 12.5 per cent are transfer fees for top ten players. Six of the top ten fees are commanded by players coming into the Premier League.
Not only in financial order, they are Darwin Nunez from Benfica to Liverpool, Antony from Ajax to Manchester United, Casemiro from Real Madrid to Manchester United, Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City, Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad to Newcastle United and Luis Diaz from Porto to Liverpool.
Of the 20 highest-spending clubs in the world in 2022, 11 are from the Premier League, although top-of-the-table Arsenal stand out in their absence from the list.
In the women’s game, there was a 19.3 per cent increase in transfers compared to 2021, with 1555 made and 500 clubs in business compared to 410 in the previous year.