Photo credit: AFP.

Transfer spending around the world hit a record $4.18 billion in 2015 and has grown by nearly half in five years, FIFA said Thursday.

With television and sponsorship money rocketing, there were an all-time high 13,558 transfers in 2015, up 3.1% on the previous year, said FIFA’s Global Transfer Market report which monitored 6,500 clubs around the world.

Some $4.18 billion in transfers were registered by FIFA, up 2.6% on 2014 and more than 44% higher than 2011 spending.

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English Premier League clubs are still the main spenders but China’s Super League is showing the biggest growth, the report said.

According to the Deloitte consultancy, English clubs spent $1.2 billion (1.1 billion euros) in the summer transfer window last year.