Last updated on .From the section Football

Atletico Madrid signed Portugal forward Joao Felix for 126m euros (£113m) from Benfica in July 2019 in the fifth most expensive transfer in history

A record $7.35bn (£5.6bn) was spent on transfers in men's football during 2019, according to a report by world governing body Fifa.

The figure is an increase of more than 5.8% on 2018 when it comes to transfers across the globe.

English clubs spent £1.5bn, which was a 22.1% decrease from 2018 but still the most overall.

There was a 16.3% rise in spending in the women's games, to $652,032 (£497,000).

The United States had the most players - at almost 20% - of the 833 transfers made in the women's game.

The were 18,042 such moves - also a record - in the men's game, involving 15,463 players of 178 different nationalities.

"It is remarkable to see a new record number of transfers in the men's market," said Fifa chief legal and compliance officer Dr Emilio Garcia Silvero.

"We observe, as well, increasing all-round figures in the women's market, which is a sign of the positive overall development of women's football over the last year which we trust will continue in 2020."

Key points from the men's report

Permanent club-to-club transfers only represented 11.6% of all moves in 2019.

The most common type of transfer was that of players out of contract, which was 64.3%.

Brazil had the most clubs involved in international transfers with 306. Germany (144) was second, Spain third (130) and England (128) fourth.

Brazil also had the highest number of incoming transfers with 831, while England had the highest number from Uefa countries with 694.

English clubs spent £1.5bn, which was a 22.1% decrease from 2018 but still the most of any country.

In terms of net value, Portugal generated the most with £384m, with England the worst in that category with minus £549.9m.

Key points from the women's report: