The 10 most expensive Brazilian players of all time

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Martin Macdonald | Writer

Brazil are the most successful team in World Cup history, having won the competition a record five times in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002.

And so it should come as no surprise that many of their players, from Neymar to Ronaldo Nazario, have commanded huge transfer fees when changing clubs.

Here, FootballTransfers runs through the 10 most expensive Brazilian players of all time.

10. Alisson - €72.5m (Roma to Liverpool, 2018)

Keen to take the next step under then manager Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool knew they needed a quality goalkeeper if they were to win the Premier League and Champions League.

And that is exactly what they did in the summer of 2018 when the Reds signed Alisson, the Roma shot-stopper who impressed against them in the 2017-18 Champions League.

The world's most expensive keeper at the time, Alisson has comfortably repaid his transfer fee by leading Liverpool to two Premier League titles and one Champions League.

9. Matheus Cunha - €74.2m (Wolves to Man Utd, 2025)

Looking to bounce back from the disastrous 2024-25 season, Manchester United made Matheus Cunha their first signing in the summer of 2025.

With United finishing 15th in the Premier League and being one of the lowest scorers in the competition, then manager Ruben Amorim was desperate to sign proven firepower, leading to the activation of the release clause in Cunha's contract with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

While Amorim was sacked midway through the 2025-26 season, Cunha scored 10 goals to help United finish third in the league under then interim boss Michael Carrick.

8. Arthur Melo - €80.6m (Barcelona to Juventus, 2020)

Barcelona and Juventus eased their respective financial issues by agreeing a lucrative swap deal involving Arthur Melo and Miralem Panic in the summer of 2020.

However, while Arthur showed glimpses of promise at Camp Nou, he never lived up to his billing as the successor to Barcelona icon Andres Iniesta.

The midfielder then struggled for form and fitness at Juventus before a disastrous loan spell at Liverpool saw his stock fall even further.

7. Bruno Guimaraes - €87.5m (Newcastle to Arsenal, 2026)

Looking to build on their Premier League title success in 2025-26, Arsenal signed Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United in the summer of 2026.

Regarded as one of the best midfielders in England, Guimaraes was brought in to help ease the load on Declan Rice, who made 55 appearances in 2025-26.

6. Savio - €87.7m (Man City to Tottenham, 2026)

Desperate to secure regular first-team football elsewhere, Savio joined Tottenham Hotspur from Manchester City for €87.7m in the summer of 2026.

The winger followed in the footsteps of Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Jan Paul van Hecke, who also completed big-money moves to Spurs that summer.

5. Neymar - €88m (Santos to Barcelona, 2013)

Neymar became the most expensive Brazilian player of all time when he joined La Liga heavyweights Barcelona for €88m in the summer of 2013.

And with good reason, for the then 19-year-old recorded 136 goals in 225 games for Santos and became the first player to finish in the top 10 of the Ballon d'Or rankings without playing in Europe.

His ascent continued at Barcelona, helping form the greatest front three in football history alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, with the trio winning the treble in 2014-15.

4. Neymar - €90m (PSG to Al-Hilal, 2023)

Neymar appears on this list for a second time following his move from Paris Saint-Germain to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in the summer of 2023.

Keen to emerge from the shadow of Messi at Barcelona, Neymar hoped to win the Champions League and Ballon d'Or in Paris - but he missed out on both prizes.

He then followed a host of elite stars to Saudi Arabia but an unfortunate anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL) derailed his progress in the Middle East.

Neymar then returned to boyhood club Santos in January 2025.

3. Antony - €95m (Ajax to Man Utd, 2022)

Erik ten Hag was determined to bring Antony with him to Man Utd, and the Dutch head coach was granted his wish in the summer of 2022.

Antony had impressed under Ten Hag at Ajax, registering 24 goals and 22 assists in 82 appearances in Amsterdam, winning two Eredivisie titles.

However, Antony failed to live up to expectations at Old Trafford and after a loan spell at Real Betis, he joined the Spanish side permanently in September 2025.

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

Barcelona failed to sign Philippe Coutinho in the 2017 summer transfer window, but they finally agreed a deal with Liverpool six months later.

The midfielder became a star at Anfield, racking up over 200 appearances for the Reds, but he was eager to seal a Camp Nou move and the transfer was finalised in January 2018.

Coutinho played 106 times for Barca, winning two La Liga titles, but he failed to become a regular starter before spending periods on loan with Bayern Munich and Aston Villa.

In one of the most astonishing chapters in football history, Coutinho scored twice against Barcelona while on loan at Bayern, eliminating them from the 2020-21 Champions League.

1. Neymar - €222m (Barcelona to PSG, 2017)

Neymar is the most expensive player in football history and therefore tops this list.

He left Barcelona to join PSG for a world record fee of €222m in the summer of 2017, with the Parisians eager to end their Champions League hoodoo.

However, despite winning 13 trophies with PSG, Neymar watched on as the club won back-to-back Champions League titles in 2025 and 2026 following his departure in August 2023.

The 10 most expensive Brazilian players of all time

Written by

Martin Macdonald | Writer

Martin Macdonald. a Content Writer for FootballTransfers and FootballTransfers USA, as well as the Business Operations Manager for RealTimes Network, has worked in football reporting for over 15 years, starting at GOAL and Perform Media before moving to RealTimes. He was formerly the Chief Editor of MovieMeter.com and has also written for FightFans, GPFans and MSN.

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