FIFA said on Thursday that clubs spent more than $9.89 billion (8.51 billion euros) on international transfer fees in men’s football this summer, the highest figure ever recorded for a mid-year window.
According to FIFA’s latest International Transfer Snapshot, more than 12,500 transfers were completed worldwide, also a record. It is up from 11,863 a year ago.
English clubs once again dominated spending, investing more than $3.02 billion in transfer fees to sign players from clubs abroad.
The amount is considerably less than the record Premier League outlay of £3.49 billion ($4.7 billion) reported by British media, which also includes deals for players moving between English sides.
Italian clubs ranked second with $1.1 billion, followed by Spain ($940 million), Germany ($904 million) and France ($641 million).
