Tottenham's 10 biggest sales of all time

Analysis

FT Desk

Tottenham Hotspur hit the headlines in the summer of 2026 for their lavish transfer spending, but the Premier League giants also made some notable sales.

Traditionally, Spurs have fallen just below the absolute elite of the game in England, forcing them to sell their top players on.

The north London club have not won the English top flight since 1961 and their Europa League victory over Manchester United in 2025 was just the second trophy they have won this century.

Until recent years, they had been among the European places on a regular basis, with Mauricio Pochettino even guiding them to the Champions League final in 2018. However, Spurs have never been able to keep hold of their best players - a theme that continued with Harry Kane in 2023.

This approach has seen them generate some impressive profits but has ensured that trophies have been hard to come by.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through Tottenham’s 10 biggest sales of all time.

10. Michael Carrick - €27.2m (to Man Utd, 2006)

Spurs’ best player was nabbed by Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United side in 2006, with Michael Carrick saying goodbye to White Hart Lane and hello to Old Trafford.

Carrick had spent just two years at Spurs after joining from West Ham, but they managed to turn an impressive €23m profit on the English midfielder after a stellar spell in north London.

He won 18 trophies at Old Trafford, before retiring in 2018.

9. Steven Bergwijn - €31.3m (to Ajax, 2022)

Steven Bergwijn enjoyed a dream Tottenham debut when he scored a stunning volley against Manchester City to help Jose Mourinho to a 2-0 win over his arch-nemesis Pep Guardiola.

Having arrived from PSV for €30m, much was expected of the Dutchman, but he was unable to become a regular at Spurs and was ultimately utilised as a bench option thanks to the presence of Heung-min Son and Dejan Kulusevski.

Incredibly, Spurs sold him back to the Eredivisie for €31.3m, claiming a nice €1.3m profit on the Dutch forward.

8. Luka Modric - €35m (to Real Madrid, 2012)

Luka Modric had been linked with a Spurs exit for several years before he finally left the club to join Real Madrid in 2012.

The Croatian was heavily pursued by Chelsea under Carlo Ancelotti, while Man Utd also held significant interest in him, but Daniel Levy refused to sell.

His move to Real Madrid even looked in doubt, but Jose Mourinho persisted and managed to seal a deal to bring the midfielder to Spain.

Modric was voted as La Liga’s worst signing after his first year at Real Madrid, but he answered back emphatically and has won the Champions League on six occasions.

7. Dimitar Berbatov - €38m (to Man Utd, 2008)

Two years after losing Carrick to Sir Alex Ferguson’s Man Utd, the same thing happened with Dimitar Berbatov.

The Bulgarian had spent five years at Bayer Leverkusen before joining Spurs in 2006, but he lasted just two seasons in north London as the allure of Man Utd proved too great.

Berbatov left Spurs having scored 46 goals and assisted a further 29 in just 106 appearances for the club, and he became a fan favourite at Old Trafford.

6. Cristian Romero - €40m (to Atletico Madrid, 2026)

Romero cut a divisive figure in his final few months at Tottenham, despite being the club captain, and his battle with the board and his apparent indifference to the club’s fate will be a stain on his reputation in north London.

He missed the final matches of the season with a knee injury and seemed destined to miss Tottenham’s relegation showdown with Everton before media pressure forced him back.

His departure in the summer of 2026 was then inevitable, with Spurs raising €40m from his sale.

5. Brennan Johnson - €40m (to Crystal Palace, 2026)

Brennan Johnson never truly convinced Tottenham of his credentials after joining them in 2023 from Nottingham Forest.

The Welshman often popped up with an important goal but he otherwise frustrated supporters with his inconsistent displays and ultimately never lived up to his potential.

Johnson eventually was sold to Crystal Palace in January 2026 for €40m and, with the forward struggling initially at Selhurst Park, Tottenham will be satisfied with the fee they received.

4. Kyle Walker - €52.7m (to Man City, 2017)

One of the first key signings of the Pep Guardiola era at Manchester City was the addition of Kyle Walker.

He had amassed over 200 games for Spurs after joining from boyhood club Sheffield United in 2009, and his pace and ability on the ball immediately improved Guardiola’s side, helping them become the dominant force in the Premier League.

Walker helped the side win the treble in the 2022-23 season and has been a great servant for Man City. His transfer fee has proven to be a bargain, but it was still good money for Spurs.

3. Luka Vuskovic - €54m (to Brighton, 2026)

Vuskovic never played a first-team match for Spurs, so in many ways raising €54m from his sale was excellent business – but was it a smart move in the long term?

Sold at the age of 19 to their Premier League rivals, the Croat had spent a successful spell in the Bundesliga with Hamburg in what proved his only season with Tottenham.

Having been bought in 2025 for €11m, Spurs turned a rapid €43m profit in the youngster.

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

Harry Kane smashed the Bayern Munich club transfer record in the summer of 2023 as he left Tottenham for an initial €95m.

In the process, Kane became the second-most expensive sale in the history of Spurs.

Kane was signed as the belated replacement for Robert Lewandowski, one year after the Bayern legend had left to join Barcelona.

The England international is the highest goal-scorer in the history of Tottenham, scoring an incredible 280 goals in 435 games. However, he never managed to win a trophy and that was a big reason in his decision to leave.

1. Gareth Bale - €101m (Real Madrid, 2013)

For the second time in as many years, Real Madrid raided Tottenham, with Gareth Bale following Modric to the Santiago Bernabeu.

In the process, the Welshman became the world’s most expensive player, with Los Blancos breaking their own record, which had been set via Cristiano Ronaldo’s move from Man Utd in 2008.

Bale arrived in Madrid after scoring 21 goals and providing eight assists in his final Premier League season. That form saw him win both the PFA Young Player of the Year award and the PFA Player of the Year award in 2013.

The former Spurs man won 17 trophies at Real Madrid before retiring in 2023 after a six-month spell at LAFC.

The 10 biggest Tottenham sales of all time

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FT Desk

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