MANCHESTER, Jan 26 —English soccer clubs spent over US$2 billion (RM8.5 billion) on new signings in 2022 for the first time, FIFA’s Global Transfer Report revealed today, with the number of international transfers of male and female players reaching record numbers.

There were 20,209 international transfers in men’s professional soccer in 2022, representing an increase of 11.6 per cent compared to 2021 and even exceeding the levels of 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic.