The 10 most expensive teenagers of all time

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FT Desk

Kylian Mbappe is the most expensive teenager in football history, thanks to his €180 million transfer from AS Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain in 2018.

The France superstar originally joined the Parisians on a one-year loan deal before the deal was made permanent due to an obligation to buy clause.

He became PSG’s all-time record goalscorer in March 2023, overtaking Edinson Cavani’s tally courtesy of a goal against FC Nantes, before eventually leaving the club to complete a dream move to Real Madrid on a Bosman deal.

Joao Felix is the second-most expensive teenager of all time. The Portuguese forward burst onto the scene at Benfica and his frightening talent convinced Atletico Madrid to pay €127.2m to sign him in 2019.

Jude Bellingham narrowly misses out on this list due to the fact he turned 20 just two days before his high-profile move to Real Madrid went through. The England international was still only 19 years old when Los Blancos finalised a deal with Borussia Dortmund, but he technically joined the club on 1 July and he was 20 years old by that point.

With Bellingham out of the equation, third place belongs to Yan Diomande, who joined Real Madrid from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2026 following a protracted transfer saga that was complicated by a dispute over his agency.

Also moving for big money in 2026 was Ayyoub Bouaddi, who left Lille in a €95m switch to Manchester City that came about as part of the Premier League giants' expensive reconstruction of their midfield.

Luka Vuskovic has also broken into the top 10 this summer thanks to his switch from Tottenham to Brighton.

Among the players who have been edged out of the top 10 by this shakeup over the summer are Real Madrid's moves for Endrick and Vinicius Junior, and PSG's €50m switch for Desire Doue from 2024.

The 10 most expensive teenagers of all time