Transfer market, 1.46 billion in expenses in January. Ligue 1 in the lead

Ligue 1 spendthrift, Premier League with the brakes on. Italian clubs, however, continue to stand out for their limited budgets. FIFA has published a report on the latest transfer market session, one of the most intense ever. The operations concluded in the winter window are 5073, of which only 357 concern women’s football. The latter has, however, recorded dizzying growth: 2.1 million dollars spent on players’ cards, almost triple compared to what happened in January 2023.

UEFA protagonist

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Total transfer spending in the men’s transfer market reached $1.46 billion, the second highest in the history of the transfer market. Despite the exploits of MLS and the Saudi Pro League, European clubs continue to invest more than anyone else: the overall spending of the clubs subject to UEFA is equal to 1.14 billion, for a total of 2288 incoming deals concluded. In second place are the South Americans of Conmebol (1038 successful operations), followed by Asians, Africans and, in last place, North Americans.

league unleashed

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Looking at the main European championships, it emerges that Ligue 1 played the absolute protagonist in the last session. The French professional teams spent 291.9 million euros, leaving behind the English (184 million total), German (151.8), Spanish (148.7) and, finally, Italian (82.2). Even the Brazilians – who, however, completed 409 incoming operations, compared to the 102 of the Italian clubs – spent more money than our teams: 122.6 million in total, the highest figure among non-European federations. The interesting data concerns the Premier League, Championship and League One teams, whose winter spending decreased by almost 80% compared to the (record) figure recorded in January 2023.

low cost shots

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Despite the large sums of money invested, only 14.2% of the total transactions led to permanent transfers, while as many as 60.6% involved players whose contracts were expiring. Furthermore, over half of the operations (52.3%) involved players aged between 18 and 23, costing a total of 935.7 million. The players over thirty who were not taken on a free transfer, however, were just 40, for a total expense of 58.1 million.