Mamelodi Sundowns overtake Al Ahly as Africa's biggest transfer spenders

Betway Premiership giants Mamelodi Sundowns were the biggest transfer fee spenders in Africa in 2024, according to FIFA's annual Global Transfer Report.

The richest club in South Africa, Sundowns, occupy the top spot in Africa for only the second time in their history. In 2022 they became the first team from outside the Maghreb region, as North African clubs dominated this space in previous years.

Al Ahly was the biggest spenders in Africa in 2023, but they have dropped down into the second place.

A record 78,742 international transfers were completed across men's and women's football in 2024, FIFA said in a report published on Thursday. Sundowns accounted for 10 of those transfers, with some of the biggest ones being Kobamelo Kodisang, Arthur Sales and Kegan Johannes.

Brazilian Sales was bought for a club record R62 million, eclipsing the R54 million they spent on Chilean Marcello Allende.

Clubs worldwide spent a total of $8.59 billion on international transfer fees in the men's professional game, an amount second only to the record $9.66 billion outlay in 2023.

Paris Saint-Germain were the top-spending club in Europe ahead of Manchester United, Lyon, Bayern Munich and Brighton. Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest were also among six Premier League clubs in the top 20.

English teams were the number one spenders in the transfer market, paying out $1.88 billion overall, and also received the most for outgoing transfers, pocketing $1.34 billion.

Total spending on transfers in the women's game set a new high at $15.6 million - more than 2.5 times as much as in the previous year.

That increase reflected a 23.9% rise in the number of clubs (109) spending money on at least one incoming transfer.

Some 2,284 international transfers of women's professional players were recorded last year, an increase of 20.8 percent compared to 2023.

It was the sixth year in a row the number of international transfers in the women's game has grown by more than 20 percent, climbing to more than three times the amount in 2018 when they were first recorded.

Additional reporting by AFP

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