According to FIFA, the women’s Bundesliga has more arrivals from other countries than any other competition; Pernille Harder and Magdalena Eriksson are just two of the top transfers.
Before the first matchday of the Bundesliga, many eyes are on the two star signings from FC Bayern Munich: Harder (30) and her partner Eriksson (30) come from FC Chelsea and bring a lot of international attention with them – in keeping with the widespread, international ones for the first time assigned TV rights.
In the club’s digital press conference before the start of the season with Harder and Eriksson as well as Georgia Stanway (24) and head coach Alexander Straus (47), almost as many international press representatives were represented as German ones.
International reinforcement for the German Bundesliga
But clubs other than the top clubs also reported international transfers over the summer. Colombia’s national goalkeeper Catalina Pérez (28) and Switzerland’s current number two, Livia Peng (21), are now fighting for the regular place between the posts at SV Werder Bremen.
Nevertheless, it is surprising that, according to a FIFA report, the women’s Bundesliga is the competition with the most incoming transfers from abroad in the world.
For this report, all transfers of professional players from one country to another completed between June 1st and September 1st were counted separately for men and women. Ex-national player and Bundesliga returnee Leonie Maier (30) also counts in the statistics, as she is moving from FC Everton to TSG Hoffenheim.
Total transfer fee higher than ever before
These numbers are then compared with the data from the summer transfer window of last year. This means that the number of international transfers among women increased by 19.1 percent to 829 compared to the previous year – growing for the sixth year in a row.
The transfer fees have also increased: at three million US dollars (around 2.8 million euros), clubs spent more than ever before – although most changes still take place without a transfer fee, only 66 of the 829 changes were made such paid.
Money is distributed more widely
That is around 7.96 percent of the transfers and therefore slightly more than in 2022 (around 5.17 percent of a total of 696 transfers). The sum of three million US dollars, however, corresponds to an increase of 140.8 percent. This shows that the individual amounts are not necessarily increasing, but rather that the money is being distributed more broadly.
The share of agency fees in the transfer sum is noteworthy, as at 0.9 million euros it is over 30 percent – in men’s football this share is just under ten percent. If you look at the agency industry, you will notice that it now works more comprehensively in women’s football.
National player Svenja Huth from VfL Wolfsburg in a duel against Kristin Kögel and Elisa Senß from Bayer Leverkusen.
More and more large consulting agencies that previously focused on men’s football are moving into women’s football. Given the much lower figures, the extent to which this is a sustainable development remains to be seen.
Most Transfer movements in Europe
Most transfers take place after a contract has expired: 84.4 percent of the players transferred were outside of a contractual relationship at the time of the transfer. For comparison: For men this year it was 56.6 percent.
This difference makes it even clearer than the pure transfer fees that the money in women’s football often has to be used elsewhere before it can flow into poaching players. The majority of international transfers took place with European participation in UEFA territory.
Within this, Germany is in first place when it comes to incoming changes: 55 players moved from abroad to the Bundesliga. What is particularly notable is the percentage increase compared to the previous year, which is very high at 34.1 percent.
In comparison, there was a 31.7 percent increase in arrivals in the financially strong English Women’s Super League (WSL). On the departure side, the number in Germany has only fallen slightly; 45 players left the league, which is only 2.2 percent less than in 2022.
Attractive league, competition for talent
The reasons for the overall increase in transfer numbers are the financial conditions that have been increasing for years due to more valuable TV contracts, which in turn increase visibility and value for potential sponsors. As a result, there is more money in circulation overall, which rarely flows into transfers, but into salaries, especially in the case of international transfers.
The TV rights have brought the WSL around 8 million pounds (around 9.3 million euros) per season since the 2019/20 season. For the Bundesliga from this season onwards it will be 5.175 million euros per season, of which each club will receive 388,000 euros per year.
At the clubs, the additions indicate an increased need, which, from the point of view of those responsible, may not always be met with players from their own league. The competition for the best talent has increased in recent years, especially behind the top of the Bundesliga. From a player’s perspective, Germany’s performance at the 2022 European Championship could also be a reason for a move to the Bundesliga because reaching the finals increased the attractiveness of the league.