West Ham's 10 biggest sales of all time

Jacque Talbot

• 23 Sept 2024 20:14 BST
• 5 min read

West Ham have been a consistent Premier League club for some time and the Hammers are regarded as one of the biggest teams in England.

Indeed, the Hammers have not been short of quality in the past and some big-names have turned out for the club.

Carlos Tevez, Javier Mascherano, Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, and Jermain Defoe, to name a few, have all played for the east London side before being moved on - with some significant money being brought in courtesy of their departures.

Below, FootballTransfers goes West Ham's 10 biggest-ever sales.

10. Flynn Downes - €17.85m (to Southampton, 2024)

Flynn Downes was signed from Swansea in 2022 for a sizeable €10.65m but struggled to nail down a regular place at West Ham. He was loaned to Southampton for the 2023/24 season and the Saints were desperate to make his stay permanent.

The midfielder was ultimately sold in the summer of 2024 for €17.85m, having made just 35 senior appearances for the Hammers.

9. Sebastien Haller - €22.5m (to Ajax, 2021)

West Ham had paid a club-record fee to sign Sebastien Haller from Eintracht Frankfurt, but the striker failed to make the grade in the Premier League.

After two seasons and just 14 goals in all competition, Haller was shipped off to the Eredivisie, with West Ham eager to fetch a transfer fee for the Ivorian.

Sebastien Haller joined Ajax for a club record fee of €22.5m and he spent two seasons with the club before Borussia Dortmund came calling.

8. Javier Mascherano - €22.5m (to Liverpool, 2007)

Javier Mascherano's decision to join West Ham came as a huge surprise, considering the numerous top European clubs that had been linked with him throughout the summer.

The transfer itself sparked a flurry of rumours, particularly surrounding Media Sports Investment's potential involvement in acquiring West Ham.

Liverpool requested clearance from FIFA to take Mascherano on loan, before eventually taking the player on a permanent basis in 2007.

7. Andre Ayew - €22.8m (to Swansea, 2022)

Journeyman attacker Andre Ayew joined West Ham for €24.1m in 2016 before eventually being sold back to the Swans for €22.8m just a year and a half later.

In 50 games for the Hammers, the Ghanaian netted 12 times and recorded five assists, being unable to match his Swansea or Marseille form. After his second stint in Wales, he would turn out for the likes of Fenerbahce, Al-Sadd, Nottingham Forest and Le Havre.

6. Marko Arnautovic - €25m (to Shanghai Port, 2019)

Marko Arnautovic didn't enjoy a great start to life at West Ham as David Moyes said that the attacker had to work harder or face being dropped. He took notice, however.

The Austrian scored 11 Premier League goals in his first season at the club and was named as Hammer of the Year for the 2017–18 season.

After a rejected bid for the Chinese Super League, eventually, he did depart to Asia for a decent fee in 2019.

5. Gianluca Scamacca - €25.6m (to Atalanta, 2023)

Gianluca Scamacca was signed as a potential replacement for Michail Antonio, but the Italian simply didn't suit David Moyes' style of play.

After arriving from Genoa for €28.5m, West Ham were happy to sell him back to Serie A for a small loss just one year later.

Scamacca left the Hammers having scored eight goals in 27 appearances for the club.

4. Rio Ferdinand - €26m (to Leeds, 2000)

Rio Ferdinand made his name at West Ham and he was among their collection of young English talent in the early noughties.

But, it was Leeds who took the plunge and spent a considerable amount to purchase the centre-back in 2000.

The Elland Road side spent a whopping €26m on Ferdinand, which was a British transfer record at the time and also made the England international the most expensive defender in the world.

Manchester United then broke that to bring him to Old Trafford in 2002, where he affirmed himself as a Premier League all-time great.

3. Carlos Tevez - €29m (to Man City, 2009)

Carlos Tevez joined from Argentina along with the aforementioned Mascherano. The transfer deal saw West Ham receive a huge £5m fine by the FA.

As a result Tevez’s time at West Ham was short-lived - but his seven goals during his sole campaign at the club made him something of a cult hero among West Ham fans.

The Argentine spent two years on loan at Man Utd before he joined Manchester City on a permanent deal in 2009.

2. Dimitri Payet - €29.3m (to Marseille, 2017)

Dimitri Payet won the Premier League Player of the Year at the 2016 London Football Awards in his inaugural season. His flamboyant style, stunning free-kicks and dribbling ability won West Ham hearts.

But. things took a turn when then-West Ham manager Slaven Bilic announced that Payet no longer wanted to play for the club, missing out on the matchday side on numerous occasions.

After two seasons with the Hammers, he re-joined Marseille who paid almost double the amount that West Ham did to sign him in 2015.

1. Declan Rice - €116.6m (to Arsenal, 2023)

Declan Rice absolutely shattered Dimitri Payet's record as West Ham's most expensive sale when he moved to Arsenal in July 2023 for a then-British record fee.

Rice broke into the West Ham team in 2017 and went on to play 245 matches for the club, earning England honours along the way.

He will be remembered as a Hammers great, in part thanks to the role he had as David Moyes' side won the UEFA Europa Conference League in 2023.

The 10 biggest West Ham sales of all time