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EUROPEAN FOOTBALL

Transfers: Man Utd, Bruno Fernandes, Dortmund, Haaland

Although a record 170 countries had the window open last month, with a total of 4,108 international transfers being completed, the fees were dominated by Europe's giants.

Update:
Transfers: Man Utd, Bruno Fernandes, Dortmund, Haaland
Jason CairnduffAction Images via Reuters

Clubs in Europe's top five member associations - England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France - accounted for 71.8% of fees spent globally during the 2020 January transfer window, world football governing body FIFA said on Wednesday.

International transfers

A record 170 countries had the window open last month, with a total of 4,108 international transfers being completed. Although clubs from the 'Big Five' accounted for only 14.1% of the total number of transfers, the fees that exchanged hands were 71.8% of the global spend. Clubs in England spent $298.2 million in transfers - the highest in the world - followed by Germany ($206.1 million) and Italy ($126.7 million).

The top flight leagues were responsible for 93.1% of the spending on international transfers. Some of the high profile moves included Bruno Fernandes' move from Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United for an initial fee of 55 million euros ($60.01 million) while Borussia Dortmund signed young striker Erling Haaland from Red Bull Salzburg.

Transparency in the transfer system

In all, the Big Five spent $824.6 million in January - second only to the 2018 January window when they spent $1.01 billion in total. "Spending by clubs of the Big Five leagues seems to continue on the general growth path of the past years, playing a central role in the global transfer market," FIFA's chief legal officer Emilio Garcia said in a statement. "It is FIFA's duty to carefully monitor and report on those activities, providing greater transparency to the transfer system."