Centrefield: the law firm at the forefront of the global football transfer market

Friday 13th September 2024

The summer transfer window of 2024 saw a record breaking level of activity with FIFA reporting that over 12,000 international transfers occurred across the men’s and women’s professional game. The value of these transfers reached over $6.45 billion on transfer fees in men’s football, the second highest figure ever recorded, whilst women’s football’s record outlay of $6.8 million worth of transfer fees worldwide was over double the value of the 2023 summer transfer window.

Centrefield continued to lead the way in this unprecedented level of transfer activity, advising clubs, leagues, agents and players on more than 200 transfers worth over £1 billion in what was a busy summer for the Centrefield team. This was despite a 16% decrease in spending by Premier League clubs compared to the 2023 summer window, prompted it seems largely by their desire to ensure compliance with Profitability and Sustainability Rules (‘PSR’). 

Centrefield has also been heavily involved in many of the manager and coach changes that took place prior to and following the end of the 2023-24 European season, including advising on matters across the Premier League, Women’s Super League, EFL, Scottish Premier League, German Bundesliga and national teams. Managerial dismissals and appointments are also relevant for PSR calculations purposes, and have increasingly begun to operate in a similar manner to player transfers, including in terms of the acquisition of incumbent coaches from other clubs in exchange for a release fee. Whilst 2023/24 saw a reduction in managerial changes among Premier League teams compared to 2022/23, average managerial tenures in the top European leagues remain stubbornly below 18 months, so this remains a significant area of consideration for most clubs. 

Centrefield acted on the Premier League’s most expensive transfer of the summer window, advised on deals spanning every tier of the English football league pyramid, as well as deals involving nearly every Premier League club. Other notable highlights include advising a EURO 2024 winner on his transfer to a Premier League club and, as was the case in the 2023 summer transfer window, acting on transfers across all five of FIFA’s confederations. 

Given our involvement in such a large proportion of transactions, Centrefield has been able to identify some noteworthy market trends that became prevalent as the summer transfer window progressed:

• The growing significance of an additional and unofficial “deadline day” of 30 June, as English clubs sought to complete deals in advance of submitting their accounts on 30 June to ensure compliance with PSR and avoid the possibility of points deductions and other sanctions for being in breach. This was highlighted by a reported £323 million of transfer fees being generated by six Premier League clubs from 15 player sales in the final 10 days of June, a period of the summer transfer window which is typically marked by inactivity, particularly during a summer in which international tournaments are taking place.

• Loans with options or obligations to buy are increasingly common among clubs, driven by financial and regulatory compliance considerations, including PSR calculations.

• A focus for certain clubs on selling players that came through a club’s academy, as the fee received for the player will be regarded as “pure profit” for the club’s PSR calculations given there were no costs incurred in previously acquiring the player.

• The sharp increase in the volume and value of transfers within women’s football domestically and internationally.

• The financial dominance of the Premier League which remains the league with the most spending power – demonstrated by 12 of the 20 biggest spending clubs worldwide in summer 2024 being Premier League clubs.

• The relative stagnation/consolidation of the Saudi Pro League as a market for elite footballers as, in the summer transfer window of 2024, Saudi clubs reportedly spent around 33% of their aggregate outlay from the summer transfer window of 2023; however, this is partially due to Saudi clubs’ quotas on foreign players largely having been full (or close to full) this summer after last year’s transfer activity and is indicative of the high retention Saudi clubs have had in relation to their overseas talent.

• The continued growth of the transfer fee factoring market as clubs seek access to cash more readily. From a Premier League perspective, this development has been accelerated by a slight widening of those financial institutions which are permitted to offer such assistance to clubs under the Premier League rules. In addition, we have also seen the growth of the transfer ‘payables’ market as a corollary to the factoring market where buying clubs are entering into arrangements with financial institutions and selling clubs to push transfer related liabilities into subsequent financial years, again largely driven by PSR concerns.

The summer of 2024 emphasised Centrefield’s position as legal advisors at the forefront of the football transfer market as the Centrefield team’s expertise continues to be relied upon by clubs, leagues, agents, coaches and players alike seeking to navigate the constantly evolving transfer market.

For any enquiries ahead of the January 2025 mid-season transfer window, please contact us for more information: info@centrefield.law