The big winners of the transfer window? Football agents rake in $1bn this season

Money ball! Agents' fees for international transfers during the 2023 transfer window are near $1bn (€931m), according to FIFA. The football spending craze has grown year after year, and agents stand right in the middle of it all.

After the summer transfer window closed in all the major European leagues, FIFA compiled a series of reports highlighting the overall spending on deals.

In the men's game, there was a total of $7.36bn spent, increasing 47.2% from last year. In the women's game, a total of $3m was spent, a notable 140% increase in financial activity!

With the ever-growing spending in international football and the Saudi Pro-League's increased recruitment efforts, agents are capitalizing on the financial chaos.

Football agents are now being paid vast amounts of money and commissions for simply sealing the deal!

FIFA has shared documents stating the total amount paid to agents during the recent transfer window was around $7.36bn.

There has been a noticeable in agent commissions accounting for nearly 10% of the total spending on transfer fees. Back in 2013, transfer fees made up only 5.8%!

FIFA also shared that the total amount of service fees for club agents since the beginning of 2023 has already reached $865m!

This is the highest service fee ever recorded, 38% higher than the whole of 2022. FIFA's report encompasses international transfers only, excluding domestic deals, which means service fees were substantially higher.

Gianni Infantino publicly labeled this to be a growing problem in football ever changing world. FIFA's new regulations around agents are named to curb excessive fees.

In the 2023 summer transfer window,  there have been a total of 10,125 international transfers in the men's game!

When comparing to last year's transfer window, there has been a 2.2% rise in overall activity, however spending increased by more than 45%, according to FIFA's most recent report.

The report also stated that around 75% of all international transfers involved at least one European club. Players coming in and out is ultimately a positive sign for European leagues.

The Saudi Pro League presence is being felt all across the football world. Big names like Cristiano Ronaldo or Neymar have committed their futures to the ever-growing Saudi League.

The AFC (Asia Football Confederation) spent $1.03bn just this summer transfer window, 15% of the total international transfers!

"The first time ever that spending on transfer fees by clubs from any confederation other than UEFA surpassed 10% of the global total," shared FIFA's report.

With all this money being moved around, it is clear that agents have played a big role in this. As football grows more and more, it will be the agents that reap the benefits as they pull the strings behind the scenes.