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Spreading the cost of a transfer fee across the length of the player's contract for accounting purposes. A £100m signing on a 5-year deal costs £20m per year on the books, not £100m upfront. It matters for Financial Fair Play and profit/loss calculations. Clubs use it to make expensive signings look more affordable. Understanding amortization explains a lot of weird transfer behavior.
When Barcelona signed Neymar back from PSG being discussed, amortization explained why they couldn't afford it - his remaining contract value was still being paid off on their books, and adding another massive fee would destroy their accounting.
Robbie
Jan 19, 2026
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