Club Brugge wins international TransferRoom Award

In the bustling hall of the TransferRoom Awards event in London, where clubs from all over Europe gathered, Club Brugge was awarded the Recruitment Team of the Year prize, a recognition of their international transfer policy. The award, which marks the first edition, highlights the value growth of their player core and market efficiency.

Criteria and data-driven approach

When awarding the prize, the value growth of the player core, on‑field performance and market efficiency are considered. That is exactly what Club Brugge has focused on in recent years. The club aims to attract players who can still increase in value and later generate returns on the transfer market. Club Brugge often looks at players from lower leagues who are still young enough to improve.

When these players excel in the Belgian league or even in the Champions League, they become attractive to top clubs. Top clubs often pay a lot more money than Brugge paid at the time. The Blue‑Black side finds these players partly thanks to data models and algorithms. The club applies this analysis to other leagues to estimate potential and return on the transfer market.

Club Brugge wants to use artificial intelligence to gather the necessary information more quickly, so it can strike faster on the transfer market and stay ahead of big clubs. Therefore the club has developed several AI models that describe how the team wants to play. These models determine which skills a player must have for each position and which technical abilities are required. Through data analysis of even small Eastern European and youth leagues, players who meet the criteria are identified.

Subsequently, the scouts can start to evaluate these players in a targeted manner.

Successful transfers and value growth

In the summer of 2025 Club Brugge signed Aleksander Stankovic from Internazionale's youth academy. Brugge paid ten million euros and after one successful season Inter paid the buy‑back clause of 23 million euros.

In June 2025 Club Brugge bought the still relatively unknown Nicolo Tresoldi from Hannover 96 for less than eight million euros. Tresoldi became the club's top scorer in his first season and started this season strongly.

He has already scored eight league goals and five Champions League hits this season. His market value is now almost five times the original transfer fee.

Carlos Forbs did not shine at Ajax, but Club Brugge saw an opportunity because of his speed. Brugge paid 6.2 million euros for Forbs, who has already been involved in thirteen goals this season.

Award ceremony and other winners

The TransferRoom Awards were recently presented for the first time. TransferRoom is an international platform that connects football clubs, agents and other professionals on the transfer market.

With the awards the organisation wants to highlight the people behind the scenes of football clubs. In addition to Club Brugge, CAA Base won the Agency of the Year award.

Brighton & Hove Albion received the award for the best Loan Management Team. FC Midtjylland won the TransferRoom Intelligence & Innovation Award. Individually, Carlalberto Ludi, sporting director of Como 1907, was voted Leader of the Year.