Carlo Ancelotti's 10 most expensive signings

Analysis

Matthew Judge | Editor

From AC Milan and Chelsea to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, Carlo Ancelotti has managed several superpowers in club football.

In a globetrotting career made legendary by his remarkable trophy haul, the man nicknamed ‘Don Carlo’ is the only coach to have won league titles in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, while no manager has won more Champions League crowns than his five.

One of the many benefits of working at elite clubs is having the ability to work with world-class players, be it inheriting them when you take up a new post or by having a budget available to go and buy a few more.

Speaking of which, out of the several generational talents Ancelotti has been fortunate enough to work with, which of them has he actually signed and how much did they cost?

With those questions in mind, FootballTransfers has decided to look into the Ancelotti archives to discover who are his top 10 most expensive acquisitions.

10. Lucas Moura (PSG, €40m/£34.6m)

Regarded as one of the most exciting young wingers in the world at the time, Paris Saint-Germain completed a deal to sign Lucas Moura from Sao Paulo in August 2012, with the Brazilian officially linking up with Ancelotti in January 2013.

The forward would go on to make 15 appearances in the second half of that season, though he was unable to find the back of the net as PSG lifted the Ligue 1 title ahead of Marseille.

However, Lucas and Ancelotti were only able to work together for those five months as the latter decided to end his one-and-a-half-season stay with PSG by joining La Liga giants Real in June 2013.

9. Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich, €41.5m/£36.1m)

Having owned a Bayern shirt as a child, Corentin Tolisso fulfilled a dream when joining the German heavyweights in June 2017.

However, the midfielder was another player who only briefly worked with Ancelotti, following the Italian’s dismissal just three months later.

Tolisso made a strong start to life at Bayern, scoring 10 goals in 2017-18, but he was plagued by injuries over the next four seasons, before re-joining Lyon in 2022.

8. Thiago Silva (PSG, €42m/£36.6m)

Looking to strengthen his options at centre-back, Ancelotti raided his former club Milan when luring Thiago Silva to PSG in July 2012.

Already one of the best defenders in the world at the time, Silva went on to become one of the Parisians’ greatest ever players, winning 23 trophies across 315 appearances for the club.

While Ancelotti and Silva only worked together for one season at club level, the pair reunited when the former took charge of the Brazil national team in May 2025.

7. Endrick (Real Madrid, €47.5m/£41.3m)

The most recent signing on this list, Ancelotti and Real splashed the cash when signing Endrick from Palmeiras, with the highly-rated forward officially joining the club in July 2024.

And in his first season in the Spanish capital, then aged just 18 years and 58 days old, he became the youngest Brazilian to score in the Champions League when netting against Stuttgart on his tournament debut.

Like Silva, Endrick only worked with Ancelotti for one season at club level, though the duo have now teamed up again with Brazil.

6. Hirving Lozano (Napoli, €50m/£43.5m)

Captured for a club-record fee at the time, Napoli broke the bank when deciding to sign Hirving Lozano from PSV in August 2019.

However, in what has become a running theme with many of Ancelotti’s signings, the two were only in each other’s company for four months before the latter was sacked by the Serie A side.

Despite changing their manager mid-season, Lozano and Napoli went on to win the 2020 Coppa Italia under Gennaro Gattuso, a man who famously worked with Ancelotti as a player at Milan.

5. Fernando Torres (Chelsea, €58.5m/£50.9m)

In one of the most memorable January signings of all time, Fernando Torres ended his three-and-a-half-season spell with Liverpool by joining Chelsea in a then-British record transfer in 2011.

While he was labelled one of the best strikers in the world during his first three seasons at Liverpool, there were signs the Spaniard was starting to decline in 2011-12, having scored just nine goals in 26 games prior to joining Chelsea.

And that sentiment only grew as Torres failed to hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge, bagging just one goal in 18 games as the club decided to part ways with Ancelotti at the end of the season.

4. James Rodriguez (Real Madrid, €75m/£65.3m)

On the back of winning the golden boot at the 2014 World Cup, Colombia superstar James Rodriguez joined Real in July 2014.

Quick to build up a strong rapport with Ancelotti, the attacking midfielder scored 17 goals in all competitions in 2014-15, though the latter was ultimately sacked after Los Blancos missed out La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.

Such was the bond between James and Ancelotti that the pair also worked together briefly at Bayern in 2017-18 and at Everton in 2021-22.

3. Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid, €80m/£69.7m)

Not content with only signing James from Monaco, Ancelotti returned to the principality side when convincing their star midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni to join him at Real in June 2022.

After winning the Copa del Rey in his first season at the club, Tchouameni tasted more silverware in 2023-24 as he and Ancelotti helped Real clinch a La Liga and Champions League double.

In addition to those trophies, Tchouameni also won his former manager’s admiration when operating as an emergency centre-back that season.

2. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid, €100m/£87.1m)

Keen to compete for the highest honours, Gareth Bale left Tottenham Hotspur to join Real for a then world-record fee in September 2013.

And Wales’ greatest ever player was able to achieve that ambition under Ancelotti, scoring in the Champions League final as Real clinched ‘La Decima’ - their 10th European crown.

In one of the best goals of his career, Bale also scored the winner in the Copa del Rey final in 2014, collecting the ball on the halfway line before finishing off a lung-busting run with toe poke past Barcelona goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto.

1. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid, €103m/£89.7m)

And in the most expensive signing of his career to date, Ancelotti shelled out on another British star when bringing Jude Bellingham to Real.

Picking up from where he left off at Borussia Dortmund, where he established himself as one of the best young players in the world, Bellingham enjoyed a remarkable debut season in Madrid.

Tasked with crashing the box under Ancelotti, the England star scored 23 goals in all competitions in 2023-24 as Real won the La Liga and Champions League double.

Written by

Matthew Judge | Editor

Matthew Judge is a freelance sports writer from Liverpool, United Kingdom. He has worked for/had words published by Everton Football Club, The Independent, Daily Mirror, Stats Perform, Goal, and Squawka, among others.

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