Agent service fees reach record high in 2023 transfer window at $888 million

Emre Asikci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Football clubs from across the globe paid a record $888.1 million in agent service fees in 2023, a report by FIFA said Thursday.

"Total spending on club agent service fees reached unprecedented heights in 2023, with a total outlay of USD 888.1 million. This is an increase of 42.5% compared to the level of spending in 2022, and even surpasses the previous record from 2019 by more than one-third," FIFA said in the "Football Agents in International Transfers" report.

FIFA said the number of international transfers with an agent acting on behalf of a player reached a record in 2023 with 3,353 transfers.

"This corresponds to 15.4% of all transfers and represents an increase of 8.4% compared to 2022," it said.

English football clubs were the single biggest contributors to the record total, spending more than $280 million on agents’ service fees.

Saudi Arabian teams had the second-largest spending on club agents with $86 million.

For the first time, women’s football spent more than $1 million for the service, with total expenditures under $1.4 million.