The 10 most expensive Dutch players of all time

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 21 Mar 2024 13:32 GMT
• 3 min read

Frenkie de Jong is the most expensive Dutch footballer of all time for his transfer to Barcelona from Ajax for €86 million.

The central midfielder made the move to Camp Nou in the summer of 2019 after impressing Ajax’s run to the Champions League semi-finals earlier that year.

The second most expensive Dutch soccer player in history is Matthijs de Ligt, who moved to Juventus from Ajax in 2019 for just under €86m.

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

De Ligt one one Scudetto at Juventus but failed to become the big star he was expected to be in his three years in Turin.

The third most expensive Netherlands player ever is Virgil van Dijk for his move to Liverpool from Southampton for €85m in 2018.

He became the most expensive centre ever at the time before being surpassed by Harry Maguire.

The fourth most expensive Spanish player ever is De Ligt, who appears on the list for a second time for his €67m move to Bayern Munich from Juventus in 2022.

The fifth biggest Dutch transfer is a Man City signing in the form of Nathan Ake’s €45m move from Bournemouth in 2020.

The 10 most expensive Dutch soccer players of all time

In sixth place is Cody Gakpo for his €42m move to Liverpool from PSV in 2023.

In seventh is one of the biggest flops on the list in the form of Donny van de Beek’s disastrous switch from Ajax to Man Utd in 2020 for €39m.

A far more successful deal is in eighth place with Sven Botman’s €37m transfer to Newcastle from Lille. Newcastle beat AC Milan to the transfer of the Dutch centre back.

Completing the top 10 are Jasper Cillessen’s €35m move to Valencia from Barcelona in 2019 and Arjen Robben’s €35m transfer to Real Madrid from Chelsea in 2007.