The payment of commissions to player agents totaled US$1.37 billion (R$7.5 billion) in 2025, a record in the football market. According to a report from FIFA (International Football Federation), the value represents an increase of 90% in relation to agents’ revenues in the previous year.
In 2024, athlete representatives had received around US$890 million (R$4.9 billion). The advance recorded in 2025 was mainly driven by transfers made by clubs in the Premier League, the richest league in Europe.
Clubs affiliated to UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) account for the largest share of global spending on agents, driven mainly by England. Together, English clubs spent more than US$375 million (R$2.07 billion) in commissions, with a wide advantage over other European markets. Germany appears next, with expenditures of US$ 165 million (R$ 911 million).
Brazil is not among the countries that spent the most on agents. Brazilian businessmen, however, appear among the five who received the most commissions in men’s football, with around US$97.2 million (R$536 million), behind only the British, French, Italians and Spanish.
The report indicates that this scenario reflects the country’s role as an exporter of talent and influential agents, rather than as a market paying large commissions through its clubs.
Also according to FIFA, in 2025, club agents participated in 3,010 international transfers, a record number and 38.1% higher than in 2024.
Negotiations with businesspeople acting on behalf of players totaled 3,730 transfers, equivalent to 15.3% of all operations carried out throughout the year.
Although almost 90% of individual commissions were less than US$1 million (R$5.5 million) per transaction, just 348 operations, less than 11% of the total, accounted for 68.4% of the entire amount paid by clubs in service fees on international transfers.
“This year’s numbers confirm the growing relevance of football agents in professional football,” said Patricio Varela, head of FIFA’s agents department. “We expect this trend to continue next year, which reinforces the importance of having a comprehensive and enforceable FIFA Football Agents Regulation to support this evolution.”
The study also points to the advancement of commissions in women’s professional football. In 2025, clubs’ spending on agent services exceeded US$6.2 million (R$34.2 million). The value is more than 13 times greater than that recorded in 2020 and more than double the total for 2024, when it totaled US$3.1 million (R$17.1 million).
Despite the growth, agents’ earnings in women’s football remain well below those observed in men’s football. In 2025, clubs spent just over US$6.2 million on commissions for women, compared to US$1.37 billion for men — a difference that highlights the structural inequality between the two markets.
