FIFA’s Global Transfer Market Report said that the market for global football player transfers reached $4.2B in '15, up 2.6% from the year before and "largely attributed to the wealthy clubs in the English Premier League," according to Tariq Panja of BLOOMBERG. In discussing the growth of the transfer market, FIFA Chief of Transfer Compliance Mark Goddard "also tipped his hat to Football Leaks, a controversial website that has published confidential financial details of player trades." Goddard: "Obviously, the Football Leaks guys have gone rogue. For us, all streams of information are very, very useful and that one has been as well. ... That adds to the picture that we try and paint when we do compliance activities." The report shows that of the 13,558 transfer of players between teams internationally, a small minority -- 13.7% -- "involved a fee being paid." England, home to the Premier League, was responsible for more than 30% of the total outlay. English teams spent $1.3B in transfer fees in '15, the report said, "a number that is likely to increase significantly next year" when the league’s new record TV deal begins. Goddard also said he is "pushing for teams around the world to provide greater clarity in how they operate in the transfer market." Spain’s three biggest clubs -- Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid -- have all been hit with transfer bans by FIFA after they breached regulations related to signing foreign players under 18 (BLOOMBERG, 1/21).
