Barcelona's 10 most expensive transfers of all time

Cameron Smith

• 18 Sept 2025 11:04 BST
• 7 min read

TRANSFERS

Barcelona are arguably better known for developing youngsters at La Masia than spending big on transfers, but the Catalan giants have made a number of huge signings in the market over the years.

Some of these transfers have come against the backdrop of serious financial problems and a number of the club’s most expensive arrivals have fared extremely poorly at Camp Nou.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through the 10 most expensive Barcelona signings in history.

10. Ferran Torres - €55m (from Man City, 2022)

Ferran Torres became the first major signing of Xavi's reign as Barcelona head coach when he completed a €55m move from Manchester City in January 2022.

Xavi specifically requested the signing of Ferran in an attempt to rebuild the first-team squad at Camp Nou and the Spaniard jumped at the chance to return to his homeland, despite enjoying a successful 18-month spell under Pep Guardiola.

Ferran left Man City having scored 16 goals in 43 games for the club and he helped Barcelona win La Liga in 2023 and 2025.

Current ETV

Ferran Torres

F (CL)

Barcelona

Ferran Torres

F (CL)

Barcelona

€36.5M

ETV Range

€32.8M - €40.1M

View full profile

9. Raphinha - €58m (from Leeds, 2022)

Barcelona completed the signing of Leeds winger Raphinha for €58m during the 2022 summer transfer window, beating Chelsea to his signature in a major coup for the Blaugrana.

The Spanish giants had been struggling with financial issues in the weeks leading up to the transfer, but they splashed the cash to bring the Brazilian to Camp Nou ahead of the 2022-23 season.

Raphinha struggled during his first two seasons at Barcelona, but he exploded into one of the best players in world football during the 2024-25 campaign and he was nominated for the Ballon d’Or.

8. Miralem Pjanic - €60m (from Juventus, 2020)

The fact that Barcelona paid Juventus €60m for a 30-year-old who had badly declined over the previous two seasons raised serious eyebrows.

In reality, Barca’s decision to sign Pjanic and sell Arthur Melo to Juventus for an equally inflated price of €80.6m was an accounting trick designed to help both debt-fuelled teams balance the books.

Pjanic struggled horribly in his first season at Barcelona, making just six La Liga starts and failing to score across all competitions. He then spent the 2021-22 season on loan at Besiktas, before joining Sharjah in the UAE on a permanent deal.

7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - €69.5m (from Inter, 2009)

Financially, Barcelona’s signing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic was one of the worst deals of all time. They not only splashed out €69.5m for the Inter star, but they also handed over a world-class attacker in Samuel Eto’o too.

Although Zlatan’s goal record was good at Camp Nou - 21 goals in 45 games on the way to winning La Liga and five trophies in one year - his time in Catalunya soon turned sour.

He fell out with Pep Guardiola, lost his place in the starting XI as Lionel Messi was converted into a ‘false nine’, and suffered the ignominy of seeing Eto’o and Inter beat Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals. After just one year at Barcelona, Ibrahimovic returned to San Siro - with AC Milan - for a cut-price fee of €24m.

6. Luis Suarez - €81.7m (from Liverpool, 2014)

After dreaming of Barcelona for a number of years, Luis Suarez finally secured the move he wanted when he left Liverpool for Camp Nou in 2014.

Despite signing on a five-year deal for a then-club record fee of €81.7m, Suarez was immediately banned from playing or even training with his new club until October after biting Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup.

However, over the course of six seasons at the Catalan club, Suarez scored a remarkable 195 goals and bagged a further 113 assists in 283 games, picking up no less than four league titles, four Copa del Rey trophies and the 2015 Champions League.

5. Frenkie de Jong - €86m (from Ajax, 2019)

After helping Ajax win a domestic double and march to the semi-finals of the Champions League, Frenkie de Jong was one of the most sought-after talents in world football in the summer of 2019.

After rejecting offers from Manchester United, PSG and Manchester City, the Dutch midfielder made the move to Barcelona for a deal worth €86m, with high hopes of taking his world-class status to the next level.

While De Jong has been a reliable performer at Camp Nou, and boasts an impressive trophy haul, he hasn’t quite reached the levels many expected of him when he broke through at Ajax.

4. Neymar - €88m (from Santos, 2013)

Although the manner of Neymar’s move to Barcelona from Santos eventually led to the club and vice-president Josep Maria Bartomeu being charged with tax fraud, it’s safe to say the player’s transfer fee of €88m was repaid comfortably by the Brazilian's on-field performances.

Neymar needed time to adapt to European football in his first season, but he was at his very best by the 2014-15 campaign as he scored 39 goals in 51 games as Barca claimed a continental treble.

In total, Neymar netted 105 goals and provided 76 assists in just 186 games for the Spanish giants, winning eight major titles before earning his club a remarkable profit with a €222m move to PSG in August 2017. That fee remains a word record.

3. Antoine Griezmann - €120m (from Atletico Madrid, 2019)

With Neymar a distant memory, Barcelona went big in their bid to sign a new forward in 2019 and decided Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann was the man for the job, spending €120m on the Frenchman.

Atleti fans defaced Griezmann’s plaque outside their stadium after confirmation of the transfer, but the France legend soon returned to the club on an initial loan deal, which was made permanent in October 2022.

Griezmann ultimately never settled at Barcelona and he only scored 35 goals in 102 appearances for the club before moving back to Atletico.

2. Philippe Coutinho - €135m (from Liverpool, 2018)

After failing to sign Philippe Coutinho during the 2017 summer transfer window, Barcelona went big in January and paid a whopping €135m to lure him away from Liverpool in 2018.

He was seen as a possible long-term heir to both Neymar and Andres Iniesta, but the move was a disaster for all parties as Coutinho failed to have the desired impact at Camp Nou.

The Brazilian even helped knock Barcelona out of the Champions League in 2020 whilst on loan at Bayern Munich. In total, he scored 25 goals in 106 games for the Spanish giants, before making a loan move to Aston Villa permanent in 2022.

Current ETV

Philippe Coutinho 

AM, M (C)

Vasco da Gama

Philippe Coutinho 

AM, M (C)

Vasco da Gama

€1.9M

ETV Range

€1.5M - €2.3M

View full profile

1. Ousmane Dembele - €148m (from Borussia Dortmund, 2018)

Barcelona were held to ransom by Borussia Dortmund as they sought a replacement for Neymar and they were ultimately forced to pay an initial €135m for Ousmane Dembele - which rose to €148m when including add-ons.

Dembele arrived having registered 31 goals and assists during his one and only season at Dortmund, but his spell at Camp Nou was severely hindered by a multitude of injury issues.

He showed flashes of promise in Spain, most notably during his first few appearances, but he was ultimately a major flop and he was sold to PSG for €50m in 2023.

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