The European Commission published a report that include recommendations such as to apply a limit on the number of players per club, a review of the issue of 'third-party ownership', where a player is effectively leased to a club by an agent, and an end to contractual practices which inflate transfer fees, such as where a club extends the protected period during which players cannot be transferred without its consent.

A report published by the European Commission shows that in the period 1995-2011, the number of transfers in European football more than tripled, while the amounts spent by clubs on transfer fees increased seven-fold. According to the Commission, most of the big spending is concentrated on a small number of clubs which have the largest revenues or are backed by very wealthy investors. Thus, the situation is only increasing the imbalances that exist between the haves and have-nots, as less than 2% of transfer fees filter down to smaller clubs and amateur sport which are essential for developing new talent. Recently, Europol also published that it is investigating a suspected extensive criminal network involved in widespread football match-fixing.

The report underlines that the level of redistribution of money in the game, which should compensate for the costs of training and educating young players, is insufficient to allow smaller clubs to develop and to break the strangle-hold that the biggest clubs continue to have on the sport's competitions.

The Commission's report also calls for full implementation of UEFA's Financial Fair Play rule and stronger 'solidarity mechanisms' to enhance youth development and the protection of minors. The authors of the study urge sports bodies to improve their cooperation with law enforcement authorities to combat money laundering and corruption.