Madrid : The number of soccer transfer deals in 2016 broke the record of international operations registered to date by world football governing body FIFA, with a total of 14,591 deals amounting to a staggering $4.79 billion.

According to FIFA on Friday, this represents an increase of 14.3 per cent compared to 2015 and the largest growth since 2013, reports Efe.

The FIFA Global Transfer Market 2017 report highlighted the increase in spending by Chinese clubs, which totaled $451.3 million, almost 17 times more than in 2013.-Agency