Top 50 Most Expensive Football Transfers of All Time 2024

The modern football clubs spend huge amounts of money to sign players and recently we have seen some of the biggest football transfers involving a huge amount of money. The transfer of Brazilian footballer Neymar from Barcelona to PSG shocked the whole world as Paris Saint-Germain paid 222 million euro which was twice the previous record. Here’s the list of top 50 most expensive football transfers of all time.

Most Expensive Football Transfers of All Time

RankPlayerClubsYearFee
1NeymarBarcelona to PSG2017€222m
2Kylian MbappeMonaco to PSG2017€145m (+€35m)
3Joao FelixBenfica to Atletico Madrid2019€126m
4Philippe CoutinhoLiverpool to Barcelona2018€120m (+€40m)
4Antoine GriezmannAtletico Madrid to Barcelona2019€120m
6Ousmane DembeleBorussia Dortmund to Barcelona2017€105m (+€45m)
6Paul PogbaJuventus to Manchester United2016€105m
8Gareth BaleTottenham to Real Madrid2013€100.8m
9Cristiano RonaldoReal Madrid to Juventus2018€100m
9Eden HazardChelsea to Real Madrid2019€100m (+€40m)
11Cristiano RonaldoManchester United to Real Madrid2009€94m
12Gonzalo HiguainNapoli to Juventus2016€90m
13Harry MaguireLeicester City to Manchester United2019€87.1m
14NeymarSantos to Barcelona2013€86.2m
15Romelu LukakuEverton to Manchester United2017€84.8m
16Virgil van DijkSouthampton to Liverpool2018€84.5m
17Luis SuarezLiverpool to Barcelona2014€82.3m
18James RodriguezMonaco to Real Madrid2014€80m
18Kepa ArrizabalagaAthletic Club to Chelsea2018€80m
18Lucas HernandezAtletico Madrid to Bayern Munich2019€80m
18Romelu LukakuManchester United to Inter2019€80m
22Nicolas PepeLille to Arsenal2019€79m
23Alvaro MorataReal Madrid to Chelsea2017€78.9m
24Zinedine ZidaneJuventus to Real Madrid2001€77.5m
25Matthijs de LigtAjax to Juventus2019€75m (+€10.5m)
25Kevin De BruyneWolfsburg to Manchester City2015€75m
25Frenkie de JongAjax to Barcelona2019€75m
28Angel Di MariaReal Madrid to Manchester United2014€74.6m
29Alisson BeckerRoma to Liverpool2018€73m
30Arthur MeloBarcelona to Juventus2020€72m (+€10m)
31Kai HavertzBayer Leverkusen to Chelsea2020€70m (+€9m)
31Luka JovicFrankfurt to Real Madrid2019€70m
31RodriAtletico Madrid to Manchester City2019€70m
34Zlatan IbrahimovicInter to Barcelona2009€69.5m
35Raheem SterlingLiverpool to Manchester City2015€69.1m
36Ruben DiasBenfica to Manchester City2020€68m (+€3.6m)
37Riyad MahrezLeicester City to Manchester City2019€67.8m
38Diego CostaChelsea to Atletico Madrid2018€66m
39Thomas LemarMonaco to Atletico Madrid2018€65m
39KakaAC Milan to Real Madrid2009€65m
39Aymeric LaporteAthletic Club to Manchester City2018€65m
39Joao CanceloJuventus to Manchester City2019€65m (inc. Danilo)
43Edinson CavaniNapoli to PSG2013€64.5m
44PierretoEmerick AubameyangBorussia Dortmund to Arsenal2018€63.75m
45David LuizChelsea to PSG2014€62.5m
46Angel Di MariaManchester United to PSG2015€61.6m
47OscarChelsea to Shanghai SIPG2017€60.3m
48Miralem PjanicJuventus to Barcelona2020€60m (+€5m)
48Naby KeitaRB Leipzig to Liverpool2018€60m

Most Expensive Footballer in the World

Neymar made the highlights when he joined Paris Saint Germain for €222 million ($262 million). Only a handful of clubs can afford such a huge transfer fee. In 2017, PSG approached him and he couldn’t deny their offer.

The Brazilian left Barcelona and Joined PSG, becoming the world’s most expensive footballer and broke the record of most expensive football transfers. 

Paul Pogba broke Bale’s record and became the most expensive football player in the world in 2016. He moved from Juventus to Manchester United for €105 million ($116.6 million). Paul Pogba was a product of Manchester United academy. 

The Most Expensive British Player

The Welsh international broke all records and became the most expensive signing in 2013. He joined Real Madrid for the record transfer fee of €100 million (then $132 million) which also made Bale, the most expensive British player of all time. To date, he remains the costliest signing by Spanish clubs. 

Most Expensive Transfer by English Club

Liverpool did one hell of a business by selling Coutinho to Barcelona for  €120 million ($145.2 million). He joined Liverpool from Inter Milan for €13 million ($17.3 million). It is one of the best businesses done by English clubs. 

Most Expensive Transfer by German Club

Dembele is the most expensive sale by German clubs. After spending a season with Dortmund in Germany, the France international services were bagged by Barcelona for €105 million ($123.9 million) with up to €42 million in bonus payments. 

Most Expensive Transfer by Spanish Club

One of the world’s best players Cristiano Ronaldo after winning our Ballon d’Or, four Champions League and two La Liga titles with Real Madrid joined Juventus for €117 million ($136.9 million). It is the fourth most expensive transfer in the world. 

Most Expensive Teenager Transfer

The Frenchman is one of the promising young talents. At such a young age he is a FIFA World Cup winner. In the 2017-18 season, Mbappe joined PSG from Monaco on loan (€45 million). The deal was made permanent in the very next season. Paris Saint Germain paid a €135 million transfer fee. 

Most Expensive Defender Transfer

Harry Maguire is the most expensive defender of all time, he moved from Manchester United for a whopping price of €87.1 million to Leicester City in 2019.

The Dutch international, Virgil van Dijk is the second most expensive defender who joined Liverpool in the January transfer window of the 2017-18 season. Liverpool was in desperate need of a defender and they signed the former Celtic man for a reported 75 million pounds (€84.2 million, $101.3 million). Since joining Liverpool Van Dijk is one of the best footballers in the world.

Most Expensive South American Player

Italy’s giant Juventus were eager to sign Higuain after he had an impressive season of 36 goals in 35 appearances for Napoli in 2015-16. Juventus finally signed its target for €90 million ($99 million) and broke the record of the most expensive South American player transfer at the time. He spent two seasons with them before moving to AC Milan in 2019.