The top 10 players with highest combined transfer fees of all time as surprise Man Utd star included

FT Desk

• 14 Apr 2026 07:30 CDT
• 6 min read

Analysis

Neymar has the highest combined transfer fees in football history, following a series of high-profile career moves, including the €90 million switch from Paris Saint-Germain to Al-Hilal in 2023.

The Brazilian’s transfer to the Saudi Pro League saw him overtake Romelu Lukaku, who had previously held the record.

Neymar’s total is boosted significantly thanks to his world-record move to PSG in 2017. He joined the French giants for a whopping €222m after a four-year stay at Barcelona.

Lukaku is now the second-most expensive footballer of all-time, in regards to collective transfer fees paid, while Cristiano Ronaldo is third.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through the 10 players with the highest combined transfer fees in football history.

10. Matheus Cunha - €192.2m

Matheus Cunha's presence in this top 10 may come as a surprise, but the Brazilian has accumulated just over €192m worth of transfer fees throughout his career after bouncing around European football.

His first notable transfer was from FC Sion to RB Leipzig for €15m in 2018 and he followed that up with moves to Hertha Berlin (€18m) and Atletico Madrid (€35m) before joining Wolves on an initial loan deal.

The move became permanent for €50m in 2024 and two years later, he was sold to Manchester United for €74.2m after an excellent final season at Molineux.

9. Matthijs de Ligt - €197.5m

Matthijs de Ligt joined this list after his move from Bayern Munich to Manchester United was confirmed for an initial €45m in 2024.

The Dutchman had previously joined Juventus from Ajax for €85.5m in 2019, before completing a €67m switch to Bayern Munich three years later.

He is the most expensive defender in football history, in regards to cumulative transfer fees, and he has plenty of time to extend his record further.

8. Antoine Griezmann - €206m

After signing Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele, Barcelona had one more roll of the dice, and decided to spend even more money on Antoine Griezmann.

The Frenchman had established himself as a world star at Atletico Madrid, but upon moving to Barca for €120m, he didn't quite fit in. He played in similar zones to Lionel Messi, and although he scored 20 goals and assisted 12 in 2020/21, the move wasn’t a success.

Griezmann was loaned back to Atletico for €10m in 2021/22 and the move was made permanent in 2023. In total, he has cost €206m across his career.

7. Alvaro Morata - €202m

A slightly surprising name to feature so highly, Alvaro Morata has played for eight different clubs, which is why his fees add up to so much.

His move from Real Madrid to Juventus and back again came to €50m, while he then cost Chelsea a whopping €66m in 2018. Atletico Madrid paid €35m to bring him back to Spain, while Juventus paid €20m to sign him on a two-year loan deal in 2020 before he moved to Milan in 2024 for €17.2m. Loan moves to Galatasaray and Como then followed.

An often misfiring striker who evidently has quality, Morata has racked up some serious fees during his career so far.

6. Joao Felix - €223.1m

Joao Felix has made a number of high-profile transfers during his career to date, with the Portuguese wonderkid first bursting onto the scene at Benfica.

He was linked with every top European club before joining Atletico Madrid for €127m, but his spell with Diego Simeone's side didn't work out as planned and he was subsequently sent on loan to Chelsea and Barcelona, before joining the former for €52m in 2024.

However, Felix failed to usurp Cole Palmer in the preferred starting XI at Stamford Bridge and after a brief loan stint at AC Milan, he was sold to Al-Nassr for €30m in 2025.

5. Ousmane Dembele - €233m

Ousmane Dembele features fourth on this list following his €50m move to PSG from Barcelona in 2023.

The Frenchman became one of the most expensive players ever when the Blaugrana splashed a whopping €148m on him in 2017 after a spectacular season at Borussia Dortmund.

That move came following his €35m transfer to BVB from Stade Rennais just one year prior. His time at Barcelona was punctuated by injuries and PSG pushed to sign him after Lionel Messi's departure to Inter Miami.

4. Alexander Isak - €246.1m

Alexander Isak has the fourth-highest cumulative transfer fees in football history, largely thanks to his move to Liverpool for €145m in 2025.

The Sweden star agitated to leave Newcastle United following an excellent 2024-25 season at St James' Park and after weeks of negotiations, a deal was finally agreed and he moved to Anfield for a Premier League record fee.

Newcastle turned a tidy profit on Isak after paying €77.5m to sign him from Real Sociedad, with the striker having also used to play for AIK, Borussia Dortmund and Willem II (loan).

3. Cristiano Ronaldo - €247m

After winning the 2008 Ballon d'Or, and establishing himself as a world star at Man Utd, Cristiano Ronaldo broke the transfer record the following year when Real Madrid paid €94m for his services.

He then set the Bernabeu alight, winning four Champions Leagues, before departing for Juventus in 2018, as the Old Lady hoped to replicate Los Blancos' success.

After a spell in Turin, he re-joined Man Utd for €17m in 2021, before signing for Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr 18 months later on a free transfer.

2. Romelu Lukaku - €369.9m

Lukaku is the second-most expensive player in history in terms of combined transfer fees.

The striker has never been at a club for longer than three years, and hence he has already moved clubs on a permanent basis six times.

Having joined Chelsea in 2011, Lukaku went on loan to West Brom and Everton before being sold to the latter for €35.4m after the arrival of Diego Costa at Stamford Bridge. He then moved to Man Utd for an initial €74m.

Inter followed, and after excelling in Italy he returned to Chelsea for €113m, where he hit the ground running with a second debut goal versus Arsenal.

Things went sour for him quickly, however, and after flirting with an Inter return midway through the 2021-22 campaign, he then completed his return on loan. Lukaku joined Roma on loan for the 2023-24 season before moving to Napoli in 2024 for €30.7m to take the total spent on him across his career to just shy of €370m when including loan fees.

1. Neymar - €400m

As mentioned above, Neymar is the most expensive player ever, both in terms of an individual transfer fee and cumulative.

Not only did Neymar break the world record fee when he joined PSG, but he also moved to Barcelona for €88m from Santos. In addition, his move to Al-Hilal cost €90m but he only made a handful of appearances due to injury before having his contract terminated in 2025, resulting in his return to Santos.

When added together, Neymar has cost €400m during his career.

The 10 players with the highest combined transfer fees in history

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