FIFA's Transfer Matching System's Big 5 Transfer Window Analysis shows a new record high in transfer fees of $466M. The 2015 winter edition examines official int'l transfer figures for the Big 5 countries (England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain). The Big 5 countries recorded a total of 452 incoming int'l transfers in this winter's transfer window, a decrease of 2% when compared to the same period last year. Transfer spending for the Big 5 countries reached $466M, an increase of 36% compared to last year's winter window. At country level, the trends differ significantly: England remains the top spender with $173M spent in int'l transfers, but, for the first time over the last five winter transfer windows, German clubs recorded the second-highest spending level ($116M). At the opposite end of the spectrum, French clubs' spending decreased by more than 50% when compared to last year's winter window. The average age of the players engaged by the Big 5 was 23 years old and 7 months -- three months older than last year. The top three nationalities of players engaged by the Big 5 were British (54 players), Spanish (44 players) and French (36 players). Conditional transfer fees continued to increase this winter, representing 23% of the Big 5's total transfer spending (FIFA).
