A Fifa study has revealed today that spending on transfer fees in international men’s player deals saw a downward trend during the summer transfer window. 

Fifa said clubs committed to spend US$6.46 billion on buying players in cross-border deals during the June-to-September transfer window, was down from US$7.43 billion, when compared to the same period a year ago.

The study found that the average transfer fees paid by clubs in europe, by far the richest market, was 3.13 million US dollars compared to 3.8 million US dollars one year ago.

The Fifa study is not a complete guide because it does not count the biggest transfer deal of the European off-season, nor does it include moves by players between two clubs in the same country.

The biggest transfer fees in cross-border deals were Julián Alvarez’s move from Manchester City to Atletico Madrid, reported to be about 75 million Euros or 83 million US dollar and Leny Yoro from Lille to Manchester United for a reported 62 million Euros or 69 million dollars.

However, the Fifa study does not include deals involving two clubs in the same country where the player’s registration is not transferred between member federations.