Football clubs have paid $2.14 billion to intermediaries for player transfers since 2013, says Fifa

Intermediaries acting for clubs in players’ transfers have been paid $2.14 billion (Rs 15,310 crore) since 2013, Fifa said in a report published on Thursday.

The report revealed that over half of the total amount paid by clubs to intermediaries over the last six years came from just 6% of transfers involving middle men acting for clubs.

Commission paid by the clubs buying the player tended to be higher than the fee paid by the selling club, the report said.

Since 2013, 16,825 of the total 86,212 international transfers involved at least one intermediary.

The involvement of intermediaries in transfers in 2018 dropped dramatically to just 335 deals, most likely because most transfers this year have involved players who were out of contract, the report said.

This year, clubs from England, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Spain and France were responsible for 83.9% of the global spend on commissions paid to intermediaries.

The report did not detail the amounts paid by agents acting for players.