Most Expensive Transfers: Football is a popular sport with many fans worldwide. Clubs spend a lot of money to sign the best players, resulting in high transfer fees and wages, making them the most expensive signings in football history. Clubs in Europe, particularly in the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, and Italian Serie A, have dominated the list of most expensive signings because of their financial strength, allowing them to break transfer records frequently.
Some players have been sold for incredibly high amounts of money in the past, and these are currently the most expensive signings in football history.
Ranking of the Most Expensive Transfers in Football History (Updated 2023/2024)
NOTE
When football players are transferred to new clubs, agents usually receive a commission or premium for their role in the deal. This commission is added to the final price of the transfer. Agents like Jorge Mendes or Mino Raiola are well-known for receiving high commissions for their involvement in these transfers.
Most Expensive Transfers in Football History:
In this article, we will discuss the biggest and most costly transfers in football history and the factors that led to these deals.
23. Matthijs de Ligt
Matthijs de Ligt is a very good football player from the Netherlands who plays as a central defender for Juventus in Italy. Many top European clubs are interested in him because he is very talented and has played well.
In July 2019, Juventus paid €85.50 million to sign de Ligt from Ajax Amsterdam. This was a lot of money and made him one of the most expensive defenders in football history.
22. Frenkie de Jong
Frenkie de Jong is a very talented Dutch football player who plays in midfield for FC Barcelona. He is known for his excellent skills and is considered one of the best young midfielders in the world.
In January 2019, FC Barcelona paid €86.00 million to sign de Jong from Ajax Amsterdam. They could pay an extra €11 million if certain conditions are met. This was a lot of money and made de Jong one of the most expensive Dutch players ever.
21. Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire is a very good English football player who plays as a central defender for Manchester United.
In August 2019, Manchester United paid €87.00 million to sign Maguire from Leicester City. This made him the most expensive defender in football history at that time, more than the previous record set by Virgil van Dijk’s transfer to Liverpool.
20. Neymar
In the summer of 2013, Neymar joined FC Barcelona from Santos FC for a transfer fee of €88.00 million. This made him the most expensive Brazilian player in history, more than the previous record set by Kaká’s transfer to Real Madrid in 2009.
Barcelona saw Neymar’s transfer as a big deal as they wanted to make him and Lionel Messi the center of their team. Neymar played an important part in helping the team win many trophies such as La Liga titles, Copa del Rey, and UEFA Champions League.
19. Gonzalo Higuaín
In the 2016/2017 season, Gonzalo Higuaín made a high-profile transfer from Napoli to Juventus, setting a new transfer record for an Italian club. The transfer fee was reported to be €90 million, making Higuaín the third most expensive football player in history at that time, after Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo.
During his first season with Juventus, Higuaín made an impressive start by scoring 24 goals in Serie A and playing a significant role in his team’s championship victory. Nevertheless, he faced some backlash due to his performance in the Champions League, which resulted in Juventus being knocked out in the quarter-finals.
18. Cristiano Ronaldo
In the summer of 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid for a transfer fee of €94.00, which was a world record at that time. This broke the previous record of £46 million, which Real Madrid had paid to Juventus for the services of Zinedine Zidane in 2001.
Ronaldo’s transfer to Real Madrid was a very big deal because he was considered one of the best players in the world at that time. He had shown his skills in the English Premier League, where he helped Manchester United win many titles.
17. Antony
Antony Matheus dos Santos, commonly known as Antony, is a skilled Brazilian professional football player famous for his abilities as a winger on the field.
Antony started his professional career with São Paulo in Brazil, where he became one of the most talented young players in the country. In 2022, Antony moved from Ajax Amsterdam to Manchester United for a transfer fee of €95.00, setting a new transfer record.
16. Neymar
Brazilian forward Neymar has moved from Paris St-Germain (PSG) to Al-Hilal, in the Saudi Pro League. The transfer for Neymar, who used to play for Barcelona, is worth around €80 million plus an extra €20 million based on certain conditions.
Neymar, who had joined PSG in 2017 for a record-breaking fee of £222 million, wasn’t included in their team for a recent match. The 31-year-old was not part of the coach Luis Enrique’s plans for the upcoming season.
This move aligns with PSG’s new strategy of moving away from signing big-name players for huge fees and salaries. This shift was also seen when Lionel Messi left the club earlier this summer. Neymar expressed his excitement about joining Al-Hilal in a video shared on the club’s social media.
Before, Neymar was earning about £21.6 million per year with PSG. In Saudi Arabia, he’s set to earn around £129.2 million annually, which is six times more than what he earned at PSG. He’s signed a two-year contract with Al-Hilal.
During his time with PSG, Neymar played 173 games and helped the team win 13 trophies, including five Ligue 1 titles. He was also part of the team that reached the Champions League final in 2020.
Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the president and CEO of PSG, expressed his appreciation for Neymar’s contributions to the club over the past six years.
Neymar’s move is part of a notable trend of Saudi clubs making big signings this summer, showing their ambition to become a prominent league on the global stage.
15. Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale is one of the top 15 most expensive players in football history. Real Madrid paid 101 million euros to sign him from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, breaking the record previously held by Cristiano Ronaldo. Bale had an impressive career at Tottenham and caught the attention of Real Madrid’s president Florentino Pérez.
Since joining Real Madrid, Bale has had a lot of success, including scoring a memorable goal in the 2018 Champions League final against Liverpool. Despite his initial success at Real Madrid, Bale struggled with injuries and a lack of consistent playing time in later years. He was eventually loaned out to Tottenham Hotspur in 2020, where he played a key role in the team’s run to the Carabao Cup Final. Bale returned to Real Madrid at the end of the season. Regardless, his talent and success on the field have made him one of the most recognizable and respected footballers in the world.
14. Jude Bellingham
Real Madrid did a good job by agreeing on a deal with Dortmund for Bellingham. The fee can go up to £110 million, which is a decent amount considering the current economic situation. Bellingham has shown great potential in the Champions League and at the World Cup. He has a good chance of becoming a key player for Real Madrid alongside other young talents.
Moving to Real Madrid is a big step up in terms of prestige and pressure. It’s a demanding club, and even top players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos have faced criticism from the fans. Bellingham will be closely watched and expected to prove himself while competing with experienced players like Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. It won’t be easy to replace them.
13. Paul Pogba
Paul Pogba became the most expensive footballer when he joined Manchester United in 2016. The club paid 105 million euros to Juventus to sign him. Some people thought Real Madrid would sign him, but he ended up going to Manchester United. Although Pogba hasn’t played as well as expected, Manchester United still considers him an important player. His contract with the club ended in the summer of 2022 and he has decided to join Juventus.
Pogba’s performances at Manchester United have been inconsistent at times, but he has still managed to establish himself as one of the team’s most important players. He has contributed with goals and assists from midfield, and his creativity and vision have helped unlock opposition defenses. In recent seasons, he has formed a strong partnership with fellow midfielder Bruno Fernandes, with the two players combining to great effect in the attacking.
12. Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku is a talented Belgian professional footballer, famous for his physicality, goal-scoring prowess, and technical abilities. He has been part of several high-profile transfers during his career.
In 2021, Lukaku set a new transfer record when he returned to Chelsea from Inter Milan for a reported fee of €113.00 million. This made him the most expensive signing in Chelsea’s history and the second most expensive signing by an English club at that time, with only Paul Pogba’s 2016 transfer to Manchester United costing more.
11. Eden Hazard
There has been some confusion regarding the exact transfer fee paid by Real Madrid for Eden Hazard. While the initial reports suggested a fee of €100 million, some sources have claimed that the fee could be higher, up to €165 million. However, the exact details of the transfer fee have not been confirmed by either club.
Unfortunately for Real Madrid, Hazard’s time at the club has been plagued by injuries and he has struggled to live up to his high expectations on the pitch. He retired from professional football in 2022 at the age of 31.
10. Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is the 9th most expensive player in the history of football. He was a legendary player for Real Madrid and is considered one of the best players in history. During the 2018/19 season, Cristiano Ronaldo moved from Real Madrid to Juventus for €117.00 million, which was one of the most expensive transfers in football history at that time. His transfer also marked the end of his nine-year stay at Real Madrid.
At Juventus, Ronaldo continued to display his exceptional talent and strong work ethic. He played a key role in helping the club win two consecutive Serie A titles in his first two seasons. In addition, he made history by becoming the first Juventus player since John Charles in 1958 to score more than 30 goals in a single season.
9. Jack Grealish
In August 2021, Jack Grealish made headlines when he moved from Aston Villa to Manchester City for a whopping fee of €117.50 million. This transfer made him the most expensive English player of all time and set a new record for the highest transfer fee in Premier League history at the time.
Grealish had made a name for himself as one of the most talented attacking players in the Premier League, having played for Aston Villa his entire professional career until the transfer. His impressive performances for Villa also earned him a regular spot in the England national team.
8. Harry Kane
England’s captain, Harry Kane, decided it was the right time to leave Tottenham Hotspur after being with the club for 19 years. He’s now joining a German team Bayern Munich. The cost of the deal is €100 million plus an additional €20 million that might be added later.
In a video posted on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, as well as the platform formerly known as Twitter, Kane, who scored the most goals in Tottenham’s history, announced he’s leaving. He thanked his teammates, coaches, managers, and especially the Tottenham fans for their support over the years. He said he gave his best to make them proud.
Kane, who is 30 years old, signed a four-year contract with Bayern. He scored 280 goals in 435 games for Tottenham, breaking the previous record set by Jimmy Greaves. Kane also has 58 goals for the England national team in only 84 games.
Kane shared his excitement about joining FC Bayern, one of the world’s biggest clubs, on their website. He mentioned that he’s always wanted to compete at the highest level, and he’s happy to be part of a club with a strong winning mindset.
7. Antoine Griezmann
Antoine Griezmann has been a major player in recent years in the transfer market, with constant rumors linking him to both FC Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid. In the 2019/2020 season, Barça signed Griezmann for a historical sales record of 120 million euros, making it one of the most expensive signings in the club’s history at that time. After two seasons with mixed results, Griezmann returned to Atlético de Madrid on loan with a purchase option of 40 million euros for the 2021/2022 season.
When Griezmann joined Barcelona, he initially struggled to adapt to the team’s playing style, and people criticized him for not scoring enough goals or providing enough assists. However, he gradually improved over the course of the season and became an important player in the team’s attack. In his first season at Barcelona, Griezmann scored 15 goals and made 4 assists in all competitions.
6. Enzo Fernández
Enzo Fernandez is a football player who plays for Chelsea in the Premier League. He comes from a family that loves football, with his father being a former player and current manager of Real Madrid named Zinedine Zidane.
Enzo was playing for Benfica and has now been signed by Chelsea for a huge amount of money, €121.00, which is a new record in British football.
5. João Félix
Atlético de Madrid made a big investment in 2019/2020 season to sign one of the most promising young talents in Europe, Joao Félix. He is the most expensive signing in the history of Atleti, costing a total of 127.6 million euros from Benfica. The team hoped that he could replace Antoine Griezmann, who had been sold to Barcelona that same summer.
Félix had a great start to his career with Atletico Madrid, scoring 9 goals and providing 3 assists in La Liga. He also played a crucial role in the team’s success in the UEFA Champions League. He remained an important player for the club in the following seasons, demonstrating his talent as an attacking player who is creative and dynamic.
4. Philippe Coutinho
Philippe Coutinho was a very expensive football player that FC Barcelona bought from Liverpool. They paid a lot of money for him, 160 million euros in total, which made him the most expensive player in Barcelona’s history. However, Coutinho didn’t play very well at Barcelona and he had some injuries.
He was even loaned to Bayern Munich for a while. He didn’t play at all during the 2020/2021 season because of his injuries. Recently, Aston Villa, an English team, decided to buy Coutinho for 20 million euros. This means Coutinho will no longer play for Barcelona.
3. Ousmane Dembélé
Ousmane Dembélé was a young football player who was bought by FC Barcelona to replace Neymar Jr. He had played very well at Borussia Dortmund, where he showed his speed and skill on the field. Barcelona paid a lot of money for him, 135 million euros, which was a very high price for a young player. Some people thought the price was too high, but Barcelona was in a hurry to find a replacement for Neymar Jr.
Dembélé’s time at Barcelona was not very successful, and he will leave the team in the summer of 2022 as a free agent. Even though he had some good moments in the 2021/2022 season, he did not play very well overall. Dembélé is one of the most expensive signings in the history of football, and his performance has not lived up to the price that Barcelona paid for him. People hope that he will play better in his next team.
2. Kylian Mbappé
Kylian Mbappé is a very good football player, and PSG paid a lot of money to buy him from Monaco. They paid 145 million euros, and they might pay another 35 million euros if he stays with PSG for a long time. Mbappé is still young, but many people think he will become a great player. Some people thought he might go to Real Madrid in the future, but he recently signed a new contract with PSG, so he will stay with them for a while.
If Mbappé decides to leave PSG before his contract ends in 2025, he could become one of the most expensive signings in history. Mbappé was considered as one of the most talented young players in the world when he moved to Paris Saint-Germain. He has since become one of the top players in Europe, helping his team win many national titles and reaching the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2020.
1. Neymar
Neymar Junior became the most expensive player in history when PSG paid FC Barcelona a lot of money to buy him in the 2017/2018 season. PSG paid 222 million euros to get him, which was a lot of money.
Now, Neymar has signed a new contract with PSG that will last until 2025. This means he will stay with the team for a long time. There were some rumors that he might go back to FC Barcelona, but he is not going to leave PSG now. Neymar is very happy to play for PSG, especially since his friend Lionel Messi has joined the team too. They are both great players, and they will make PSG even stronger.
