The 100 most expensive football transfers of all time

Mark Doyle

The 100 most expensive football transfers of all time image

Neymar completed his move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for a staggering fee of €222 million  in the summer of 2017 and the big deals haven't stopped since, with Kylian Mbappe joining him in Paris  for €145m plus €35m in bonuses.

As a result of his move to the French capital, the Brazilian is now the most expensive player of all time, having smashed the previous record held by Manchester United's Paul Pogba, who arrived at Old Trafford last summer from Juventus for €105m. Mbappe, meanwhile, moves to second on the list.

MORE: Bolt to be given up to six month training period with the Mariners

Philippe Coutinho's move from Liverpool to Barcelona in January puts him third on the list, while Barca's capture of Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund for €105m plus add-ons sees him ahead of Pogba in the top five.

Cristiano Ronaldo occupies positions seven and eight on the list, with his move to Juventus in the summer of 2018 eclipsing the cost of his transfer to Real Madrid from Manchester United nine years earlier.

Pos.PlayerClubsYearFee
1NeymarBarcelona - PSG2017€222m
2Kylian MbappeMonaco - PSG2017€145m (+€35m)
3Philippe CoutinhoLiverpool - Barcelona2018€120m (+€40m)
4Ousmane DembeleBorussia Dortmund - Barcelona2017€105m (+€45)
5Paul PogbaJuventus - Manchester United2016€105m
6Gareth BaleTottenham - Real Madrid2013€100.8m
7Cristiano RonaldoReal Madrid - Juventus2018€100m
8Cristiano RonaldoManchester United - Real Madrid2009€94m
9Gonzalo HiguainNapoli - Juventus2016€90m
10NeymarSantos - Barcelona2013€86.2m
11Romelu LukakuEverton - Manchester United2017€84.8m
12Virgil van DijkSouthampton - Liverpol2018€84.5m
13Luis SuarezLiverpool - Barcelona2014€82.3m
=14James RodriguezMonaco - Real Madrid2014€80m
=14Kepa ArrizabalagaAthletic Bilbao - Chelsea2018€80m
16Alvaro MorataReal Madrid - Chelsea2017€78.9m
17Zinedine ZidaneJuventus - Real Madrid2001€77.5m
18Kevin De BruyneWolfsburg - Manchester City2015€75m
19Angel Di MariaReal Madrid - Manchester United2014€74.6m
20Alisson BeckerRoma - Liverpool2018€73m
21Zlatan IbrahimovicInter - Barcelona2009€69.5m
22Raheem SterlingLiverpool - Manchester City2015€69.1m
23Riyad MahrezLeicester City - Manchester City2019€67.8m
24Diego CostaChelsea - Atletico Madrid2018€66m
=25Thomas LemarMonaco - Atletico Madrid2018€65m
=25KakaAC Milan - Real Madrid2009€65m
=25Aymeric LaporteAthletic Bilbao - Manchester City2018€65m
28Edinson CavaniNapoli - PSG2013€64.5m
29Pierre-Emerick AubameyangBorussia Dortmund - Arsenal2018€63.75m
30David LuizChelsea - PSG2014€62.5m
31Angel Di MariaManchester United - PSG2015€61.6m
32OscarChelsea - Shanghai SIPG2017€60.3m
=33Naby KeitaRB Leipzig - Liverpool2018€60m
=33Luis FigoBarcelona - Real Madrid2000€60m
35Fernando TorresLiverpool - Chelsea2011€59m
=36FredShakhtar Donetsk - Manchester United2018€58.9m
=36JorginhoNapoli - Chelsea2018€58.9m
38HulkZenit - Shanghai SIPG2016€58.6m
39Benjamin MendyMonaco - Manchester City2017€58.2m
40John StonesEverton - Manchester City2016€58m
41Kyle WalkerTottenham - Manchester City2017€56.7m
42Hernan CrespoParma - Lazio2000€55m
43Alexandre LacazetteLyon - Arsenal2017€53m (+€7m)
44Gianluigi BuffonParma - Juventus2001€52m
45Eliaquim MangalaPorto - Manchester City2014€51.7m
=46Alex TeixeiraShakhtar Donetsk - Jiangsu Suning2016€50m
=46Bernardo SilvaMonaco - Manchester City2017€50m
=46FabinhoMonaco - Liverpool2018€50m
49Anthony MartialMonaco - Manchester United2015€49.3m
50Gylfi SigurdssonSwansea City - Everton2017€49.2m
51Christian VieriLazio - Inter1999€49m
52Gaizka MendietaValencia - Lazio2001€48m
53Mesut OzilReal Madrid - Arsenal2013€47m
=54Juan Sebastian VeronLazio - Manchester United2001€46m
=54Rio FerdinandLeeds United - Manchester United2002€46m
=54RonaldoInter - Real Madrid2002€46m
=54Juan MataChelsea - Manchester United2014€46m
=54Douglas CostaBayern Munich - Juventus2017€46m
59Christian BentekeAston Villa - Liverpool2015€45.8m
=60James RodriguezPorto - Monaco2013€45m
=60Joao MarioSporting Lisbon - Inter2016€45m
=60Granit XhakaBorussia Monchengladbach - Arsenal2016€45m
=60Tiemoue BakayokoMonaco - Chelsea2017€45m
=60RicharlisonWatford - Everton2018€45m
=60Vinicius JuniorFlamengo - Real Madrid2018€45m
66Nemanja MaticChelsea - Manchester United2017€44.7m
67Leroy SaneSchalke - Manchester City2016€44m
68Andriy SchevchenkoAC Milan - Chelsea2006€43.9m
=69RobinhoReal Madrid - Manchester City2008€43m
=69Radamel FalcaoAtletico Madrid - Monaco2013€43m
71Alexis SanchezBarcelona - Arsenal2014€42.5m
=72Rui CostaFiorentina2001€42m
=72Javier PastorePalermo - PSG2011€42m
=72Thiago SilvaAC Milan - PSG2012€42m
=72Jackson MartinezAtletico Madrid - Guangzhou Evergrande2016€42m
=72Henrikh MkhitaryanBorussia Dortmund - Manchester United2016€42m
=72Mohamed SalahRoma - Liverpool2017€42m
=72Leonardo BonucciJuventus - AC Milan2017€42m
=79Lilian ThuramParma - Juventus2001€41.5m
=79Corentin TolissoLyon - Bayern Munich2017€41.5m
81Andy CarrollNewcastle United - Liverpool2011€41.3m
=82Pavel NedvedLazio - Juventus2001€41.2m
=82Shkodran MustafiValencia - Arsenal2016€41.2m
=82Sadio ManeSouthampton - Liverpool2016€41.2m
=85Marc OvermarsArsenal - Barcelona2000€41m
=85Roberto FirminoHoffenheim - Liverpool2015€41m
=85MalcomBordeaux - Barcelona2018€41m
=88Joao CanceloValencia - Juventus2018€40m
=88David VillaValencia - Barcelona2010€40m
=88Sergio AgueroAtletico Madrid - Manchester City2011€40m
=88Radamel FalcaoPorto - Atletico Madrid2011€40m
=88HulkPorto - Zenit2012€40m
=88Eden HazardLille - Chelsea2012€40m
=88Javi MartinezAthletic Bilbao - Bayern Munich2012€40m
=88Axel WitselBenfica - Zenit2012€40m
=88FernandinhoShakhtar Donetsk - Manchester City2013€40m
=88Federico BernardeschiFiorentina - Juventus2017€40m
=88PaulinhoGuangzhou Evergrande - Barcelona2017€40m
=88EdersonBenfica - Manchester City2017€40m
100David LuizPSG - Chelsea2016€39.6m

Most expensive British player


Gareth Bale Perez Real Madrid

As illustrated above, while Neymar and Pogba's recent moves saw Gareth Bale slip to third in the all-time standings, the Wales international remains the most expensive British player of all time, thanks to his €100.8m move to Real Madrid in 2013.

The costliest English player in history, incidentally, is Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling, who joined from Liverpool in 2015 for €69.1m.


Most expensive teenager


Kylian Mbappe France 2017

After joining PSG, Mbappe not only became the second-most expensive player of all time, he also became the most expensive teenager ever.

The Monaco wonderkid joined PSG on a loan-to-buy deal that will be worth €180m after bonuses – not bad for a player who only turned 19 last December!


Most expensive defender


The referenced media source is missing and needs to be re-embedded.

Virgil van Dijk became the most expensive defender of all time when Liverpool forked out a fee worth £84.5m to Southampton for the Netherlands international's services in 2018.

His move from the Saints to Anfield completely blew the previous record - David Luiz's  €62.5m move to PSG from Chelsea - out of the water.


Most expensive goalkeeper


Kepa Arrizabalaga Athletic Bilbao

For a long time, former Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon held this mark having joined the Turin outfit from Parma for €52m, which is a colossal fee when inflation is taken into account.

Then with a matter of weeks, the record was shattered twice. First Liverpool brought in Roma's Alisson Becker for €73m, to temporarily take the mark as the world's most expensive keeper.

Not to be outdone, Chelsea matched Kepa Arrizabalaga's €80m release clause with Athletic Bilbao not even a month later, meaning the Spain international has quickly dethroned Alisson for the No.1 spot in transfer history. 


Biggest transfer outside of Europe


Oscar Shanghai SIPG

The most a non-European club has ever paid for a player is €60.3m, which Shanghai SIPG handed over to Chelsea for Brazil midfielder Oscar in 2016.

However, with the way the market is going, who knows which record will be shattered next?!

Mark Doyle