The number of international transfers made in January plunged by a third over a year and the cumulative compensation has halved, according to a FIFA report released on Wednesday, confirming the impact of the pandemic on the football economy.
During the winter transfer window, the world body recorded 2,690 movements of players from one country to another, or 36.2% less than in January 2020 and 17.7% less than in January 2017 , marking a sudden stop to the progression of recent years.
A sign that the clubs must tighten their belts, the total compensation has fallen even more spectacularly, 49.1% over one year and even 56% compared to the record of January 2018, to reach 59 million dollars (49 million dollars). 'euros).
Milik in the Top 10
The 20 biggest transfers cost the buying clubs an average of $ 17.2 million (€ 14.3 million), compared to an average of $ 646,000 (€ 536,000) for the other 375 - while only 14% of players give rise to compensation.
Fifa, which never provides transfer amounts, placed in its January Top 10 the young Ivorian striker Amad Diallo (from Bergamo to Manchester United), the Brazilian Diego Rosa (from Grêmio to Manchester City) and the Franco-Ivorian Sébastien Haller (from West Ham to Ajax Amsterdam).
Olympique de Marseille closes this list with the recruitment of Polish striker from Naples, Arkadiusz Milik, concluded according to several media on the basis of an 18-month loan with a purchase option estimated at eight million euros, plus four millions of possible bonuses.
Over the whole of 2020, the number of international transfers had already fallen by 5.4% compared to 2019, the first drop observed in ten years, according to another report from the world body in early January.
With much more modest amounts, the rise of women's football is resisting the crisis better: while the number of international transfers declined by 4.3% over one year in January, with 177 movements, the transfer envelope swelled by 60% over the same period, to 310,100 dollars (257,728 euros).
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