( CNN ) -- As football 's January transfer window prepares to shut on Friday , clubs , players and agents are involved in a complicated game of roulette -- just who will blink first ? For clubs , be they at the top or the bottom of the table , the window offers a final chance to either push them forward to title success or European Champions League qualification , or potentially rescue their top-flight status . There is an awful lot of money at stake as well as league position . In 2013 , world governing body FIFA 's Transfer Matching System handled 12,309 international player moves -- an increase of 4 % on 2012 -- which were worth $ 3.7 billion , up a whopping 41 % . Thanks to a bumper television deal worth $ 4.7 billion that is shared between the 20 Premier League clubs , England spent more than any other country on transfers in 2013 -- $ 913 million -- an increase of 51 % over the previous year . That $ 913 million represents 25 % of the global transfer spend . In the current 2013-2014 season English Premier League clubs have already spent over $ 1.3 billion on players , more than double the sum teams in Spain , Italy and France are investing in strengthening their squads , according to the authoritative Transfermarkt website . `` Intermediaries '' Traditionally January is viewed as a bad time to invest in players , given selling clubs always demand a premium . But that has n't stopped champions Manchester United , struggling to qualify for next season 's Champions League , signing Spain international Juan Mata for a club record $ 61 million from Chelsea . While English clubs spent lavishly , Brazil once again had the most number of transfers -- 1,402 -- for both incoming and outgoing players , testament to the 2014 World Cup host 's knack for developing players . Often key to any transfer deal is the role played by what FIFA terms `` intermediaries , '' be they agents , lawyers or even parents . Last week Spanish club Barcelona revealed the deal to sign Brazil international Neymar cost $ 118 million , including a $ 66 million `` compensation fee '' paid to a company owned by the player 's parents . According to FIFA , although there was an increase of 30 % in club intermediary commissions paid in 2013 , there was a decrease in the actual number of transfers involving such `` middle men '' -- only 14 % compared to 17 % in 2012 . Last year 's biggest transfer was Real Madrid 's purchase of Wales international Gareth Bale from English club Tottenham . The BBC reported it was a world-record move worth $ 132 million that was greater than the $ 124 million fee Real Madrid produced to lure Cristiano Ronaldo away from Manchester United in 2009 .
FIFA 's FIFA handled 12,309 international player moves in Last year 's . Those 12,309 moves worth $ 913 million . England spent more than any other country on transfers -- $ 3.7 billion . England once again had the most number of transfers -- 1,402 .