What are the most expensive transfers of all time? The 50 highest fees in history

Carlo Garganese

17 Dec 2024 06:08 CST
9 min read

Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, 2022/23 — © IMAGO

The 2024 summer transfer window did not have as many big-money transfers as recent markets, with only one deal making the list of the 50 most expensive transfers of all time.

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This was Julian Alvarez, who completed a €75 million move to Atletico Madrid from Manchester City.

No other deals made the top 50 list, though, despite some big fees including Dominic Solanke to Tottenham from Bournemouth, Leny Yoro to Man Utd from Lille, Pedro Neto to Chelsea from Wolves, Joao Neves to PSG from Benfica, Manuel Ugarte from PSG to Man Utd, Teun Koopmeiners from Atalanta to Juventus, Dani Olmo to Barcelona from Leipzig and Moussa Diaby from Aston Villa to Al-Ittihad.

So what are the biggest transfer fees in football history?

Neymar to PSG

The most expensive footballer in history is Neymar following his transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.

The Brazilian left Camp Nou for PSG in a move worth €222m (£200m), ending an impressive four-year stay with Barca.

Neymar's move was the first time that a French club had claimed the world transfer record in football. The biggest transfers to take place since then have not come close to the record.

In the same summer as Neymar's move, Kylian Mbappe switched from Monaco to PSG, though the deal did not become permanent until 2018. It was worth €180m and is the second highest transfer fee of all time.

World record transfers

The move for Neymar saw him claim the title for biggest transfer of all time from Paul Pogba.

Pogba had previously set the all-time transfer record in 2016, with his move from Juventus to Manchester United costing €105m.

© ProShots - Paul Pogba, Manchester United

Gareth Bale, who left Tottenham for Real Madrid in 2013 in a €101m deal, held the record prior to Pogba and Neymar.

That move ended a four-year stay in top spot for Cristiano Ronaldo, whose own move to Madrid from Man Utd cost €94m in 2009. Such has been the rapid increase in market values, that move no longer even sits in the top 10.

Other holders of the world record transfer since the turn of the century have included Kaka (2009), Zinedine Zidane (2001), Luis Figo (2000) and Hernan Crespo (2000).

The transfer record changed hands five times between 1996 and 1999, being held by Ronaldo and Alan Shearer before the Brazilian striker won it back by joining Inter in 1997. He is the only player since the late Diego Maradona to hold the record twice.

After Ronaldo, Denilson and Christian Vieri then took the honour.

Here is a detailed run through of the biggest transfers in football history.

The 50 most expensive transfers ever

Player	Clubs	Fee	Year
1. Neymar	Barcelona to PSG	€222m	2017
2. Kylian Mbappe	Monaco to PSG	€180m	2018
3. Philippe Coutinho	Liverpool to Barcelona	€135m	2018
= Ousmane Dembele	Dortmund to Barcelona	€135m	2017
5. Joao Felix	Benfica to Atletico Madrid	€127.2m	2019
6. Enzo Fernandez	Benfica to Chelsea	€121m	2023
7. Antoine Griezmann	Atletico Madrid to Barcelona	€120m	2019
8. Jack Grealish	Aston Villa to Man City	€117.5m	2021
9. Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid to Juventus	€117m	2018
10. Declan Rice	West Ham to Arsenal	€116.6m	2023
11. Moises Caicedo	Brighton to Chelsea	€116m	2023
12. Eden Hazard	Chelsea to Real Madrid	€115m	2019
13. Romelu Lukaku	Inter to Chelsea	€113m	2021
14. Paul Pogba	Juventus to Man Utd	€105m	2016
15. Jude Bellingham	Dortmund to Real Madrid	€103m	2023
16. Gareth Bale	Tottenham to Real Madrid	€101m	2013
17. Harry Kane	Tottenham to Bayern	€95m	2023
= Randal Kolo Muani	Eintracht Frankfurt to PSG	€95m	2023
= Antony	Ajax to Man Utd	€95m	2022
20. Cristiano Ronaldo	Man Utd to Real Madrid	€94m	2009
21. Josko Gvardiol	RB Leipzig to Man City	€90m	2023
= Neymar	PSG to Al-Hilal	€90m	2023
= Gonzalo Higuain	Napoli to Juventus	€90m	2016
24. Harry Maguire	Leicester to Man Utd	€87m	2019
25. Frenkie de Jong	Ajax to Barcelona	€86m	2019
26. Matthijs de Ligt	Ajax to Juventus	€85.5m	2019
27. Jadon Sancho	Dortmund to Man Utd	€85m	2021
= Darwin Nunez	Benfica to Liverpool	€85m	2022
29. Virgil van Dijk	Southampton to Liverpool	€84.7m	2018
= Romelu Lukaku	Everton to Man Utd	€84.7m	2017
31. Dusan Vlahovic	Fiorentina to Juventus	€84.5m	2023
32. Luis Suarez	Liverpool to Barcelona	€81.7m	2014
33. Arthur Melo	Barcelona to Juventus	€80.6m	2020
34. Wesley Fofana	Leicester to Chelsea	€80.4m	2022
35. Aurelien Tchouameni	Monaco to Real Madrid	€80m	2022
= Kai Havertz	Leverkusen to Chelsea	€80m	2020
= Nicolas Pepe	Lille to Arsenal	€80m	2019
= Lucas Hernandez	Atletico Madrid to Bayern	€80m	2019
= Kepa Arrizabalaga	Athletic Club to Chelsea	€80m	2018
40. Zinedine Zidane	Juventus to Real Madrid	€77.5m	2001
41. Kevin de Bruyne	Wolfsburg to Man City	€76m	2015
42. Kai Havertz	Chelsea to Arsenal	€75m	2023
= Victor Osimhen	Lille to Napoli	€75m	2020
= Angel Di Maria	Real Madrid to Man Utd	€75m	2014
= James Rodriguez	Monaco to Real Madrid	€75m	2014
=. Julian Alvarez	Man City to Atletico Madrid	€75m	2024
47. Romelu Lukaku	Man Utd to Inter	€74m	2019
48. Rasmus Hojlund	Atalanta to Man Utd	€73.9m	2023
49. Thomas Lemar	Monaco to Atletico Madrid	€72m	2018
50. Ruben Dias	Benfica to Man City	€71.6m	2020

Who is the most expensive goalkeeper of all time?

Chelsea have regretted their decision to make Kepa Arrizabalaga the biggest transfer for a goalkeeper in football history when they splashed out €80m to sign the Spain keeper from Athletic Bilbao in 2018.

Kepa broke the record previously held by Alisson, a signing that proved much more successful for Liverpool.

They spent €62.5m to sign him from Roma a month before Kepa joined Chelsea and the Brazil international, along with defender Virgil van Dijk, helped to address major weaknesses that were holding Liverpool back.

Brazil international Alisson helped Liverpool win the Champions League and Premier League in successive seasons.

Who is the most expensive defender of all time?

The record transfer for a defender is held by Josko Gvardiol for his €90m move to Man City from Leipzig in 2023.

He took the record from Harry Maguire, who joined Manchester United from Leicester City for €87m in 2019.

Maguire had taken the record from Virgil van Dijk, an €84.5m signing for Liverpool from Southampton a year earlier.

Philippe Coutinho goes down as the biggest transfer involving a midfielder (even if he can also play further forward) – a move that did not work out for Barcelona.

Coutinho became the most expensive January transfer signing ever in 2018, when he pushed to leave Liverpool for Barca.

The Catalans had not found a suitable replacement for Neymar and felt that by spending big on his compatriot, they would find an answer to their problems. He subsequently left for Aston Villa.

Who is the most expensive forward of all time?

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe fill the first two spots in this ranking, as well as the overall list.

Brazil star Neymar is also the most expensive South American signing ever, with Mbappe holding the record for Europe.

Who is the most expensive teenager of all time?

Kylian Mbappe became the most expensive teenage transfer ever when he joined PSG.

That move smashed the record previously held by Anthony Martial when he joined Man Utd from Monaco in 2015.

There have been some huge transfers for teenagers since Mbappe, though none which have threatened the record.

Joao Felix (€127.2m) joined Atletico Madrid in 2019, while Juventus splashed out €85.5m for Matthijs de Ligt in 2019.

The second of PSG’s mega-money signings of 2017 that completely changed the landscape of the transfer market, Mbappe actually arrived at the club on a loan deal that had a clause that would be made permanent if Les Parisiens avoided relegation. This was inevitable and purely installed to circumvent Financial Fair Play.

Mbappe has gone some way to realising his potential at Parc des Princes, becoming a World Cup winner in 2018 and continuing to score at the prodigious rate expected of him.

A hat-trick against Barcelona at Camp Nou in the 2020/21 Champions League last 16 seemed to confirm his rise to superstar status.

Who is the most expensive English player of all time?

Jack Grealish is the most expensive Englishman in history, courtesy of his €117.5m transfer from Aston Villa to Manchester City.

Who is the most expensive North American player of all time?

Christian Pulisic holds the record for the biggest transfer involving a North American player.

He joined Chelsea from Borussia Dortmund for €64m in 2019 and never made the grade before transferring to AC Milan in 2023.

The North American record may not be threatened in the coming years unless Canada international Alphonso Davies, one of the game’s best rising stars, ever leaves Bayern Munich.

Who is the most expensive African player of all time?

Nicolas Pepe is the biggest transfer involving an African player.

It cost Arsenal an astonishing €80m to sign the Ivory Coast forward from Lille in 2019.

Pepe proved to be a flop at the Emirates Stadium and left in 2023.

Lille are also responsible for the second biggest move involving an African player. They sold Nigeria forward Victor Osimhen to Napoli for €70m in 2020.

What is the most expensive Premier League transfer of all time?

Enzo Fernandez is the most expensive Premier League transfer of all time. He joined Chelsea for €121m from Benfica in January 2023.

Who has the highest combined transfer fees of all time?

Neymar is the overall most expensive player in football history following his transfer from Paris Saint-Germain to Al-Hilal in 2023, with the total outlay spent on him throughout his career at €400 million.

Not only did Neymar break the world record fee when he joined PSG for €222m in 2017, but he also moved to Barcelona for a huge €86.2m when he left Santos in 2013. Furthermore, his move to Al-Hilal cost roughly €90m, which means Neymar has never been purchased for cheap.

That means when added together, Neymar has cost around €400m.

Romelu Lukaku had previously overtaken Neymar in 2021 as the player with the highest combined transfer fees of all time. He still has a huge total though as his transfers involving Anderlecht, Chelsea (twice), Everton, Man Utd, Inter and Napoli total an incredible €358m. His last four permanent moves alone come to €310m.

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