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

Updated: 24 Apr 2024 09:18 CDT
10 min read

The 2024 summer transfer window is now just a couple of months away from opening.

Big things were expected in the January 2024 transfer market just months after a summer window in which there were a host of record-breaking moves, particularly when it came to done deals in the Premier League.

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However, the January window failed to live up to the hype and there were no deals that make our list of the most expensive transfers of all time. Barcelona's signing of Vitor Roque from Athletico Paranaense for an initial €40 million was the closest, but was still a way off being included in the top 50 fees ever.

The summer of 2024 will certainly see normal service resumed when it comes to heavy spending. The Premier League and Saudi Pro League will be going head to head to see who can spend more.

Victor Osimhen, Mohamed Salah, Bruno Guimaraes, Rafael Leao, Joshua Zirkzee and Viktor Gyokeres are just a group of stars that could move for massive transfer fees at the end of the season.

So what are the biggest transfer fees in football history?

Neymar to PSG

The most expensive footballer in history is Neymar following his transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.

The Brazilian left Camp Nou for PSG in a move worth €222m (£200m), ending an impressive four-year stay with Barca.

Neymar's move was the first time that a French club had claimed the world transfer record in football.

The biggest transfers to take place since then have not come close to the record.

In the same summer as Neymar's move, Kylian Mbappe switched from Monaco to PSG, though the deal did not become permanent until 2018.

It was worth €180m and is the second highest transfer fee of all time.

World record transfers

The move for Neymar saw him claim the title for biggest transfer of all time from Paul Pogba.

Pogba had previously set the all-time transfer record in 2016, with his move from Juventus to Manchester United costing €105m.

© ProShots - Paul Pogba, Manchester United

Prior to that, the most expensive transfer in history was Gareth Bale, who left Tottenham for Real Madrid in 2013 in a €101m deal.

That move ended a four-year stay in top spot for Cristiano Ronaldo, whose own move to Madrid from Man Utd cost €94m in 2009. Such has been the rapid increase in market values, that move no longer even sits in the top 10.

Other holders of the world record transfer since the turn of the century have included Kaka (2009), Zinedine Zidane (2001), Luis Figo (2000) and Hernan Crespo (2000).

The transfer record changed hands five times between 1996 and 1999, being held by Ronaldo and Alan Shearer before the Brazilian striker won it back by joining Inter in 1997. He is the only player since the late Diego Maradona to hold the record twice.

After Ronaldo, Denilson and Christian Vieri then took the honour.

Here is a detailed run through of the biggest transfers in football history.

The 50 most expensive transfers ever

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

Kylian Mbappe (Monaco to PSG, 2017) - €180m

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

Ousmane Dembele (Dortmund to Barcelona, 2017) - €135m

Joao Felix (Benfica to Atletico Madrid, 2019) - €127.2m

Enzo Fernandez (Benfica to Chelsea, 2023) - €121m

Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid to Barcelona, 2019) - €120m

Jack Grealish (Aston Villa to Man City, 2021) - €117.5m

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid to Juventus, 2018) - €117m

Declan Rice (West Ham to Arsenal, 2023) - €116.6m

Moises Caicedo (Brighton to Chelsea, 2023) - €116m

Eden Hazard (Chelsea to Real Madrid, 2019) - €115m

Romelu Lukaku (Inter to Chelsea, 2021) - €113m

Paul Pogba (Juventus to Man Utd, 2016) - €105m

Jude Bellingham (Dortmund to Real Madrid, 2023) - €103m

Gareth Bale (Tottenham to Real Madrid, 2013) - €101m

Harry Kane (Tottenham to Bayern Munich, 2023) - €95m

Antony (Ajax to Man Utd, 2022) - €95m

Randal Kolo Muani (E. Frankfurt to PSG, 2023) - €95m

Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd to Real Madrid, 2009) - €94m

Josko Gvardiol (Leipzig to Man City, 2023) - €90m

Neymar (PSG to Al-Hilal, 2023) - €90m

Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli to Juventus, 2016) - €90m

Harry Maguire (Leicester to Man Utd, 2019) - €87m

Frenkie de Jong (Ajax to Barcelona, 2019) - €86m

Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax to Juventus, 2019) - €85.5m

Jadon Sancho (Dortmund to Man Utd, 2021) - €85m

Darwin Nunez (Benfica to Liverpool, 2022) - €85m

Virgil van Dijk (Southampton to Liverpool, 2018) - €84.7m

Romelu Lukaku (Everton to Man Utd, 2017) - €84.7m

Dusan Vlahovic (Fiorentina to Juventus, 2023) - €83.5m

Luis Suarez (Liverpool to Barcelona, 2014) - €81.7m

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

Wesley Fofana (Leicester City to Chelsea, 2022) - €80.4m

Aurelien Tchouameni (Monaco to Real Madrid, 2022) - €80m

Kai Havertz (B. Leverkusen to Chelsea, 2020) - €80m

Nicolas Pepe (Lille to Arsenal, 2019) - €80m

Kepa Arrizabalaga (Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea, 2018) - €80m

Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid to Bayern, 2019) - €80m

Zinedine Zidane (Juventus to Real Madrid, 2001) - €77.5m

Kevin De Bruyne (Wolfsburg to Man City, 2015) - €76m

Kai Havertz (Chelsea to Arsenal, 2023) - €75m

Victor Osimhen (Lille to Napoli, 2020) - €75m

Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid to Man Utd, 2014) - €75m

James Rodriguez (Monaco to Real Madrid, 2014) - €75m

Romelu Lukaku (Man Utd to Inter, 2019) - €74m

Rasmus Hojlund (Atalanta to Man Utd, 2023) - €73.9m

Thomas Lemar (Monaco to Atletico Madrid, 2018) - €72m

Ruben Dias (Benfica to Man City, 2020) - €71.6m

Casemiro (Real Madrid to Man Utd, 2022) - €70.7m

Who is the most expensive goalkeeper of all time?

Chelsea have regretted their decision to make Kepa Arrizabalaga the biggest transfer for a goalkeeper in football history when they splashed out €80m to sign the Spain keeper from Athletic Bilbao in 2018.

Kepa broke the record previously held by Alisson, a signing that proved much more successful for Liverpool.

They spent €62.5m to sign him from Roma a month before Kepa joined Chelsea and the Brazil international, along with defender Virgil van Dijk, helped to address major weaknesses that were holding Liverpool back.

Brazil international Alisson helped Liverpool win the Champions League and Premier League in successive seasons.

Who is the most expensive defender of all time?

The record transfer for a defender is held by Josko Gvardiol for his €90m move to Man City from Leipzig in 2023.

He took the record from Harry Maguire, who joined Manchester United from Leicester City for €87m in 2019.

Maguire had taken the record from Virgil van Dijk, an €84.5m signing for Liverpool from Southampton a year earlier.

Who is the most expensive midfielder of all time?

Philippe Coutinho goes down as the biggest transfer involving a midfielder (even if he can also play further forward) – a move that did not work out for Barcelona.

Coutinho became the most expensive January transfer signing ever in 2018, when he pushed to leave Liverpool for Barca.

The Catalans had not found a suitable replacement for Neymar and felt that by spending big on his compatriot, they would find an answer to their problems. He subsequently left for Aston Villa.

Who is the most expensive forward of all time?

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe fill the first two spots in this ranking, as well as the overall list.

Brazil star Neymar is also the most expensive South American signing ever, with Mbappe holding the record for Europe.

Who is the most expensive teenager of all time?

Kylian Mbappe became the most expensive teenage transfer ever when he joined PSG.

That move smashed the record previously held by Anthony Martial when he joined Man Utd from Monaco in 2015.

There have been some huge transfers for teenagers since Mbappe, though none which have threatened the record.

Jude Bellingham transferred to Real Madrid (€103m) in 2023, Joao Felix (€127.2m) joined Atletico Madrid in 2019, while Juventus splashed out €85.5m for Matthijs de Ligt in 2019 also.

The second of PSG’s mega-money signings of 2017 that completely changed the landscape of the transfer market, Mbappe actually arrived at the club on a loan deal that had a clause that would be made permanent if Les Parisiens avoided relegation. This was inevitable and purely installed to circumvent Financial Fair Play.

Mbappe has gone some way to realising his potential at Parc des Princes, becoming a World Cup winner in 2018 and continuing to score at the prodigious rate expected of him.

A hat-trick against Barcelona at Camp Nou in the 2020/21 Champions League last 16 seemed to confirm his rise to superstar status.

Who is the most expensive English player of all time?

Jack Grealish is the most expensive Englishman in history, courtesy of his €117.5m transfer from Aston Villa to Manchester City.

Who is the most expensive North American player of all time?

Christian Pulisic holds the record for the biggest transfer involving a North American player.

He joined Chelsea from Borussia Dortmund for €64m in 2019 and never made the grade before transferring to AC Milan in 2023.

The North American record may not be threatened in the coming years unless Canada international Alphonso Davies, one of the game’s best rising stars, ever leaves Bayern Munich.

Who is the most expensive African player of all time?

Nicolas Pepe is the biggest transfer involving an African player.

It cost Arsenal an astonishing €80m to sign the Ivory Coast forward from Lille in 2019.

Pepe proved to be a flop at the Emirates Stadium and left in 2023.

Lille are also responsible for the second biggest move involving an African player. They sold Nigeria forward Victor Osimhen to Napoli for €70m in 2020.

What is the most expensive Premier League transfer of all time?

Enzo Fernandez is the most expensive Premier League transfer of all time. He joined Chelsea for €121m from Benfica in January 2023.

Who has the highest combined transfer fees of all time?

Neymar is the overall most expensive player in football history following his transfer from Paris Saint-Germain to Al-Hilal in 2023, with the total outlay spent on him throughout his career at €400 million.

Not only did Neymar break the world record fee when he joined PSG for €222m in 2017, but he also moved to Barcelona for a huge €86.2m when he left Santos in 2013. Furthermore, his move to Al-Hilal cost roughly €90m, which means Neymar has never been purchased for cheap.

That means when added together, Neymar has cost around €400m.

Romelu Lukaku had previously overtaken Neymar in 2021 as the player with the highest combined transfer fees of all time as his transfers involving Anderlecht, Chelsea (twice), Everton, Man Utd and Inter total an incredible €328m.

His loan move back to Inter also cost a further €8m. His last three permanent moves alone came to €280m.