Infantino Refloats Idea of Using Algorithm to Set Soccer Player Transfer Fees

President of FIFA Gianni Infantino looks on during the opening ceremony of the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 at the Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium in Ebimpe, Abidjan, on January 13, 2024. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)

FIFA wants to open debate on setting soccer transfer fees by algorithm instead of the historic way of two clubs negotiating a market value price for contracted players.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino used his address to its annual law conference that closed Friday in Tokyo to refloat an idea that has circulated for several years about reforms in the global transfer market that is now worth more than $10 billion annually, The Associated Press reported.
“Now more than ever it is fundamental for us to talk about these and other topics,” Infantino told soccer lawyers.
“For example, to discuss about the possibility to use an algorithm to estimate the fair value of transfer fees in order to increase transparency in the transfer system and help the football stakeholders,” the FIFA leader said.
FIFA spends millions of dollars each year helping fund a masters course and soccer research unit at the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland which says it has worked on a transfer value algorithm since 2010.
The International Center for Sports Studies (CIES) currently puts values of at least 250 million euros ($272 million) on Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham and Vinícius Júnior, plus Manchester City forward Erling Haaland. The ranking assumes valuations for players if they have at least three years left on their contract.
The CIES research method weighs factors including the player’s age, length of contract and international record, and the context of their clubs and global economy.
Lower values are placed on the top-ranked players judged by the soccer industry website Transfermarkt.