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The 10 most expensive left-backs of all time
Daniel Edwards
- Updated: 13 Sept 2024 16:22 BST
- 4 min read
Lucas Hernandez is the most expensive left back in the world following his move from Atletico Madrid to Bayern Munich for €80 million in 2019.
He failed to justify his transfer fee and he left Bayern for PSG in the summer of 2023 after a tough four years.
Marc Cucurella became the second most expensive player in his position after joining Chelsea in the summer of 2022.
Cucurella joined Chelsea in a move that will cost a total of €65m, four times the amouny they paid to bring him to the Amex Stadium on deadline day less than 12 months earlier.
However, Cucurella has proved to be a flop at Chelsea and within a year was already surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge.
Football's priciest left-backs
Benjamin Mendy cost Man City €57.5m in 2017 when he joined from Monaco, a move that in hindsight proved disastrous for the purchasers.
The player managed just 75 games for City in six seasons and was suspended for a chunk of that on rape allegations, which he was eventually cleared on. He left the club in 2023.
Chelsea currently occupy fourth place in the rankings for a player they signed in 2020.
Ben Chilwell cost the Blues €50.2m when he arrived from Leicester City and was a fixture in the side that under Thomas Tuchel won the Champions League during his maiden season at the club.
In 2021-22, however, the full-back ruptured his cruciate ligament and he has never quite been the same since.
Real Madrid paid dearly for Ferland Mendy in 2019 as the anointed successor to club great Marcelo and the Frenchman has proved a smart acquisition as he has gradually made the starting role his own and won the Champions League in 2022.
Lucas Hernandez appears for a second time in sixth place after he left Bayern to join PSG in the summer of 2023 for €45m.
Nuno Mendes arrived at Paris Saint-Germain in 2022 for €38.5m and has yet to push on at the club.
Meanwhile Luke Shaw, a previous holder of the title of most expensive left-back, is still at Manchester United a decade after the Reds paid Southampton €37.5m for his services.
Most recently, Ian Maatsen left Chelsea to join Aston Villa for a healthy €45m.
You can find the full top 10 in the table below, but it is just as interesting to see who is missing: Marcelo and fellow Madrid idol Roberto Carlos, for example, do not even break the top 100, having cost the Merengue a grand total of €10m combined - truly two of the biggest bargains in football history!
The most expensive left-backs in football history
| Player | Clubs | Fee | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucas Hernandez | Atletico Madrid to Bayern Munich | €80m | 2019-20 |
| Marc Cucurella | Brighton to Chelsea | €73.5m | 2022-23 |
| Benjamin Mendy | Monaco to Man City | €57.5m | 2017-18 |
| Ben Chillwell | Leicester to Chelsea | €50.2m | 2020-21 |
| Ferland Mendy | Lyon to Real Madrid | €48m | 2019-20 |
| Ian Maatsen | Chelsea to Aston Villa | €45m | 2024-25 |
| Lucas Hernandez | Bayern Munich to PSG | €45m | 2023-24 |
| Nuno Mendes | Sporting to PSG | €38m | 2022-23 |
| Luke Shaw | Southampton to Man Utd | €37.5m | 2014-15 |
| Oleksandr Zinchenko | Man City to Arsenal | €35m | 2022-23 |
