Hazard, Griezmann and Joao Felix headline record transfer spend in 2019

FIFA has revealed a record amount was spent on transfers in 2019, with deals for Eden Hazard, Antoine Griezmann and Joao Felix topping the bill.

A report issued by world football’s governing body on Wednesday revealed $7.35billion (£5.6billion) was spent by clubs in the transfer market in 2019, an increase of 5.8 per cent on the previous year.

The study also confirmed that English clubs spent the most, though the total figure of $1.52billion (£1.14billion) was a 22.1 per cent decrease from 2018.

Joao Felix’s €126million transfer from Benfica to Atletico Madrid – who sold Antoine Griezmann to Barcelona for €120m – was the biggest deal of 2019, while Hazard left Chelsea for Real Madrid in a deal reportedly worth €100m.

22 – João Félix was the second youngest player to have 20+ goal involvements in the top five European leagues + Liga NOS in 2018/19 (15 goals, 7 assists), after Jadon Sancho (26 – 12 &14). Diamond. pic.twitter.com/Ub0WILSq5J

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) July 3, 2019

Harry Maguire became the world’s most expensive defender with a reported £80m switch from Leicester City to Manchester United, while Ajax sold young stars Matthijs de Ligt and Frenkie de Jong to Juventus and Barcelona respectively for an initial €75m each.

There was also a rise of 16.3 per cent in spending in the women’s game, with over 800 transfers made in total.