The 100 Most Expensive Transfers of All Time
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The 100 Most Expensive Transfers of All Time

The 100 Most Expensive Transfers of All Time

The summer transfer window has officially closed and with that, this very eventful period has come to an end! We saw a record-breaking amount of money spent by Premier League clubs, with them surpassing the £3bn mark, due to Alexander Isak’s move to Liverpool.

It has certainly been a summer of players desperate to get their move up the food chain, from Viktor Gyökeres’ switch to North London, to Yoane Wissa’s sour exit from Brentford which finalised Isak’s British record fee to head to Anfield.

Following this summer of blockbuster transfers, many of which have made it on our following list of the 100 most expensive transfers of all time. Here, we feature moves from all over the world, with many clubs on here known for spending big, while we also see some players feature more than once, and plaudits given to those who guess right!

Without further ado, let’s jump right into this list, and take a deep breath everyone because this is a long one.


100. Naby Keita – £53.07m (RB Leipzig to Liverpool – 18/19)


99. Miralem Pjanic – £53.33m (Juventus to Barcelona – 20/21)


98. Dean Huijsen – £53.88m (Bournemouth to Real Madrid – 25/26)


97. Matheus Nunes – £53.91m (Wolves to Man City – 23/24)


96. Romeo Lavia – £54m (Southampton to Chelsea – 23/24)


95. Ilya Zabarnyi – £54.31m (Bournemouth to Paris Saint-Germain – 25/26)


94. Tanguy Ndombele – £54.36m (Lyon to Tottenham Hotspur – 19/20)


93. Dominic Solanke – £54.42m (Bournemouth to Tottenham Hotspur – 24/25)


92. Edinson Cavani – £54.77m (Napoli to Paris Saint-Germain – 13/14)


91. João Pedro – £54.91 (Brighton to Chelsea – 25/26)


90. Mohammed Kudus – £55m (West Ham to Tottenham Hotspur – 25/26)


89. Anthony Elanga – £55m (Nottingham Forest to Newcastle – 25/26)


88. Yoane Wissa – £55m (Brentford to Newcastle – 25/26)


87. Kevin De Bruyne – £55.14m (VfL Wolfsburg to Man City – 15/16)



86. Luka Jovic – £55.24m (Frankfurt to Real Madrid – 20/21)


85. Marc Cucurella – £55.66m (Brighton to Chelsea – 22/23)


84. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – £55.86m (Dortmund to Arsenal – 17/18)


83. Gonçalo Ramos – £56.52m (Benfica to Paris Saint-Germain – 23/24)


82. Christian Pulisic – £56.61m (Dortmund to Chelsea – 18/19)


81. Viktor Gyökeres – £56.72m (Sporting CP to Arsenal – 25/26)


80. Aymeric Laporte – £56.95m (Athletic Club to Man City – 17/18)


79. Joao Cancelo – £56.99m (Juventus to Man City – 19/20)


78. Bruno Fernandes – £56.99m (Sporting CP to Man United – 19/20)


77. Matthijs de Ligt – £57.11m (Juventus to Bayern Munich – 22/23)


76. Alvaro Morata – £57.83m (Real Madrid to Chelsea – 17/18)


75. Achraf Hakimi – £58.46m (Inter Milan to Paris Saint-Germain – 21/22)


74. Mateo Retegui – £58.84m (Atalanta to Al-Qadsiah – 25/26)


73. Mason Mount – £58.87m (Chelsea to Man United – 23/24)


72. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – £59.25m (Napoli to Paris Saint-Germain – 24/25)


71. Kaka – £59.65 (AC Milan to Real Madrid – 09/10)



70. Mykhaylo Mudryk – £59.67m (Shakhtar to Chelsea – 22/23)


69. Alexander Isak – £59.67m (Real Sociedad to Newcastle – 22/23)


68. Riyadh Mahrez – £59.97m (Leicester City to Man City – 18/19)


67. Casemiro – £60.22m (Real Madrid to Man United – 22/23)


66. Martin Zubimendi – £60.34m (Real Sociedad to Arsenal – 25/26)


65. Luis Diaz – £60.34m (Liverpool to Bayern Munich – 25/26)


64. James Rodriguez – £60.43m (Monaco to Real Madrid – 14/15)



63. Angel Di Maria – £60.43m (Real Madrid to Man United – 14/15)


62. Dominik Szoboszlai – £60.87m (RB Leipzig to Liverpool – 23/24)


61. Rodri – £61.38m (Atletico to Man City – 19/20)


60. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – £61.87m (Inter to Barcelona – 09/10)


59. Omar Marmoush – £63.48m (Frankfurt to Man City – 24/25)


58. Julian Alvarez – £63.48m (Man City to Atletico – 24/25)


57. Ruben Dias – £63.64m (Benfica to Man City – 20/21)


56. Thomas Lemar – £63.69m (Monaco to Atletico – 18/19)


55. Matheus Cunha – £63.97m (Wolves to Man United – 25/26)


54. Alisson Becker – £64.13m (Roma to Liverpool – 18/19)


53. Victor Osimhen – £64.66m (Napoli to Galatasaray – 25/26)


52. Bryan Mbeumo – £64.66m (Brentford to Man United – 25/26)


51. Romelu Lukaku – £64.88m (Man United to Inter – 19/20)


50. Jhon Duran – £65.17m (Aston Villa – Al-Nassr – 24/25)


49. Kai Havertz – £65.22m (Chelsea to Arsenal – 23/24)


48. Luis Suarez – £65.85m (Liverpool to Barcelona – 14/15)



47. Benjamin Sesko – £66m (RB Leipzig to Man United – 25/26)


46. Eberechi Eze - £67m (Crystal Palace to Arsenal – 25/26)


45. Rasmus Hojlund – £67.65m (Atalanta to Man United – 23/24)


44. Aurelien Tchouameni – £68.19m (Monaco to Real Madrid – 22/23)


43. Wesley Fofana – £68.53m (Leicester City to Chelsea – 22/23)


42. Nick Woltemade – £69m (VfB Stuttgart to Newcastle – 25/26)


41. Victor Osimhen – £70.13m (LOSC Lille to Napoli – 20/21)


40. Nicolas Pepe – £70.14m (LOSC Lille to Arsenal – 19/20)


39. Lucas Hernandez – £70.14m (Atletico to Bayern Munich – 19/20)


38. Kepa Arrizabalaga – £70.76m (Athletic Club to Chelsea – 18/19)



37. Arthur Melo – £71.64m (Barcelona to Juventus – 20/21)


36. Dusan Vlahovic – £71.78m (Fiorentina to Juventus – 21/22)


35. Darwin Nunez – £72.45m (Benfica to Liverpool – 22/23)


34. Jadon Sancho – £73.07m (Dortmund to Man United – 21/22)


33. Gonzalo Higuain – £73.57m (Napoli to Juventus – 16/17)


32. Virgil van Dijk – £74.17m (Southampton to Liverpool – 17/18)


31. Romelu Lukaku – £ 74.21m (Everton to Man United – 17/18)


30. Neymar – £74.73m (Santos to Barcelona – 13/14)


29. Matthijs de Ligt – £74.97m (Ajax to Juventus – 19/20)


28. Frenkie de Jong – £75.41m (Ajax to Barcelona – 19/20)


27. Harry Maguire – £76.28m (Leicester City to Man United – 19/20)


26. Neymar – £78.26m (Paris Saint-Germain to Al-Hilal – 23/24)


25. Josko Gvardiol – £78.26m (RB Leipzig to Man City – 23/24)



24. Antony – £80.98m (Ajax to Man United – 22/23)


23. Hugo Ekitike – £81.9m (Frankfurt to Liverpool – 25/26)


22. Randal Kolo Muani – £82.61m (Frankfurt to Paris Saint-Germain – 23/24)


21. Harry Kane – £82.61m (Tottenham Hotspur to Bayern Munich – 23/24)


20. Cristiano Ronaldo – £83.68m (Man United to Real Madrid – 09/10)


19. Gareth Bale – £85.77m (Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid – 13/14)


18. Paul Pogba – £85.83m (Juventus to Man United – 16/17)


17. Kai Havertz – £88.89m (Bayer Leverkusen to Chelsea – 20/21)


16. Romelu Lukaku – £97.14m (Inter to Chelsea – 21/22)


15. Moises Caicedo – £100.87m (Brighton to Chelsea – 23/24)


14. Jack Grealish – £101.01m (Aston Villa to Man City – 21/22)


13. Declan Rice – £101.39 (West Ham to Arsenal – 23/24)


12. Enzo Fernandez – £103.14m (Benfica to Chelsea – 22/23)


11. Cristiano Ronaldo – £103.49m (Real Madrid to Juventus – 18/19)


10. Antoine Griezmann – £105.22m (Atletico to Barcelona – 19/20)


This huge fee paid tribute to how good Griezmann was in his prime, however, the fee was never paid back to Barca. The Frenchman didn’t necessarily struggle in terms of performances but was almost a temporary piece of the puzzle in a Barcelona side that were in a complete transition following the departure of Lionel Messi. Griezmann returned to Atletico in 2021 on loan which was soon made permanent.


9. Eden Hazard – £105.92m (Chelsea to Real Madrid – 19/20)


The Belgian made his move to Los Blancos at the peak of his powers, after an incredible seven years in West London leaving a two-time Europa League and Premier League winner. He never went on to replicate the same form in the Spanish capital, however, as frequent injuries proved his downfall before he retired prematurely at just 32 in 2023, but definitely left the football scene as a Premier League legend.



8. Florian Wirtz – £107.76m (Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool – 25/26)


Wirtz is the first of two recent additions to the top 10 during this past summer window. His large is very warranted considering his key role in recent seasons in Xabi Alonso’s “Neverlusen” side in 2023/24. After three games in the Premier League he hasn’t hit the ground running as much as he may have liked to, but the Kop are still firmly behind him and with his potential he still has a lot of time to repay the large sum.


7. Jude Bellingham – £110.43m (Dortmund to Real Madrid – 23/24)


The only Englishman in the top 10, and he was just 20 years old at the time! Bellingham’s rapid rise to the top is truly an incredible watch; from his £25m move to Dortmund at just 17 to this move just three years on. In his short time so far, he has played a crucial role in helping Los Blancos to a Champions League title, as well as one La Liga title. Currently out following his shoulder surgery, he will hope to inspire his country to a World Cup in the US later next year too after good performances in each of his major tournament appearances for England to date.



6. Joao Felix – £111.53m (Benfica to Atletico – 19/20)


Felix arguably bests Bellingham by age and sum on this list, earning this blockbuster move to Atletico at just 19! However, for Felix, the pressure of playing under this price tag for so long has seemed to impact his career. After a promising start to life in the Spanish capital, his career has seemed to have stifled ever since. Failed loan move after failed loan move has now seen the Portuguese international move to Saudi at just 25. He still shows glimpses of what could have been, but unfortunately that is where it stops for Joao Felix.


5. Philippe Coutinho – £118.29m (Liverpool to Barcelona – 17/18)


Onto the top 5, and we start with a very nostalgic midfielder, the Brazilian magician Philippe Coutinho. The man Liverpool fans adore; however, he seemed to fall right off the radar after his move to Catalunya. He did pop up from time to time, including his successful loan move to Munich in 2019/20, and when he rejoined the Premier League playing for Aston Villa for a couple seasons two years later. He currently plays back in Brazil for boyhood club Vasco da Gama.



4. Alexander Isak – £125m (Newcastle to Liverpool – 25/26)


Our other recent inclusion to the list, the Swedish forward finally got his move to Merseyside on deadline day. A new British record transfer fee was paid by Liverpool, as this transfer had their total summer spending surpass the £300m mark. This transfer is all Premier League fans have been talking about all summer, so eyes will certainly be on Isak as he looks to make his Reds debut after the upcoming international break.


3. Ousmane Dembele – £129.68m (Dortmund to Barcelona – 17/18)


Like others before him on this list, Dembele’s career halted following this move which saw him move to the number two spot on this list at the time. At Barcelona, injuries completely ruined the French winger. In Catalunya, Dembele suffered 15 separate injury issues, and his constant injuries meant he ended up being out for over 700 days, missing more matches through injury than he was actually fit for during his career there. He has since moved back to France, where he is in the form of his life, having just won his first Champions League, whilst being the front runner for this year’s Ballon d’Or.



2. Kylian Mbappe – £159.22m (Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain – 18/19)


A young Mbappe stormed onto everyone’s radar back in 2016/17, during Monaco’s phenomenal run to the semi finals of the Champions League, where the then 19-year-old scored six goals in just nine appearances. He then went on to join Paris Saint-Germain the following season on loan with an option to buy which was triggered and the rest is history.


1. Neymar – £194.52m (Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain – 17/18)


Neymar is of course the most expensive transfer of all time. During the same season that the Parisians signed Mbappe on an initial loan, they also brought in Neymar from Barcelona on a world record fee for just shy of £200m. Still the record to this day, it doesn’t surprise many that this still stands, but with the way the market is moving, there is no doubt that it could be broken in the next few seasons. The Brazilian has had a decorated career for club and country, and a very successful personal one, with the 33-year-old once featuring in the top 10 twice just seven years ago - this includes him featuring on this list three times, and throughout his career he holds a cumulative transfer value of over €400m.


Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist

Ben Growdon

Content Writer

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