The 10 most expensive teenagers of all time

Suraj Radia

• 7 Nov 2024 15:50 CST
• 4 min read

Kylian Mbappe is the most expensive teenager in football history, thanks to his €180 million transfer from AS Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain in 2018.

The France superstar originally joined the Parisians on a one-year loan deal before the deal was made permanent due to an obligation to buy clause.

He became PSG’s all time record goalscorer in March 2023, overtaking Edinson Cavani’s tally courtesy of a goal against FC Nantes.

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

Joao Felix is the second-most expensive teenager of all time. The Portuguese forward burst onto the scene at Benfica and his frightening talent convinced Atletico Madrid to pay €127.2m to sign him in 2019.

Jude Bellingham narrowly misses out on this list due to the fact he turned 20 just two days before his initial €103m move to Real Madrid went through. The England international was still only 19 years old when Los Blancos finalised a deal with Borussia Dortmund, but he technically joined the club on 1 July and he was 20 by that point.

With Bellingham out of the equation, third place belongs to Matthijs de Ligt. The Netherland defender left Ajax to join Juventus for a whopping €85.5m in 2019. He subsequently signed for Bayern Munich three years later before joining Manchester United in 2024.

READ MORE: The 10 most expensive players over 30 of all time

Man Utd's signing of Leny Yoro from Lille, which cost €63m rising to €70m, is the fourth-most expensive deal for a teenager, with the Red Devils beating Real Madrid to sign the young defender.

Romeo Lavia is the fifth-most expensive teenager of all time. The Belgium international spent just one season at Southampton before Chelsea paid €62.1m to sign him following their relegation from the Premier League.

In sixth place is Anthony Martial; he left Monaco to join Manchester United for €60m in 2015.

Seventh on the list is Joao Neves, who joined PSG from Benfica in 2024 for €59.95m

PSG signed another teenager in 2024 for €50m in Desire Doue from Rennes, which puts him at eighth place.

Brazilian trio Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Endrick are the joint-ninth most expensive teenagers in football history. They all left their homeland to join Real Madrid for €45m.

The 10 most expensive teenagers of all time