50 highest transfer fees of all time

50 highest transfer fees: The 2023 summer transfer window is almost over, and we’ve seen many record-breaking moves in the market.

The January 2023 and summer 2022 transfer windows were some of the craziest ever, with really big deals happening.

This year’s summer transfer window is also seeing a lot of huge spending, especially in the Premier League.

During the summer of 2023, Jude Bellingham moved from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid, and Moises Caicedo transferred from Brighton to Chelsea. Both moves cost €134 million, making them among the most expensive transfers ever. Declan Rice’s move from West Ham to Arsenal for about €122 million was also very expensive. Bayern Munich paid around €100 million for Harry Kane, which could go up to €120 million.

Josko Gvardiol became the most expensive center-back ever with his €90 million transfer to Man City from Leipzig. Rasmus Hojlund moved to Man Utd from Atalanta for €85 million.

Kai Havertz transferred from Chelsea to Arsenal for €75 million, and Sandro Tonali moved from AC Milan to Newcastle for €70 million. Mason Mount, Dominik Szoboszlai, and others also made big-money moves.

There are more players who might also move for huge sums, like Victor Osimhen, Randal Kolo Muani, Harry Kane, and Kylian Mbappe.

So, what are the highest transfer fees ever paid in football history?

Neymar to PSG

The most expensive football player ever is Neymar. He became the most expensive when he moved from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.

Neymar, a Brazilian player, left Camp Nou and joined PSG for a massive amount of money – €222 million (around £200 million). This move ended his successful four-year period with Barcelona.

Neymar’s transfer set a new world record for football transfers, as it was the first time a French club had spent that much money on a player.

Since Neymar’s move, there have been other big transfers, but none have come close to breaking his record.

In the same summer that Neymar moved, Kylian Mbappe also switched clubs. He moved from Monaco to PSG, but the deal didn’t become permanent until the next year. This transfer was worth €180 million, making it the second-highest transfer fee ever.

World record transfers

Neymar’s transfer took the title of the biggest transfer ever from Paul Pogba.

Before Neymar, Paul Pogba held the record for the highest transfer fee. He set this record in 2016 when he moved from Juventus to Manchester United for €105 million.

Before Pogba, the most expensive transfer was Gareth Bale’s move from Tottenham to Real Madrid in 2013, which cost €101 million.

Cristiano Ronaldo had held the top spot for four years before that, with his move from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2009 for €94 million. However, due to the rapid rise in market values, his transfer is no longer in the top 10 most expensive transfers.

Other players who held the world record for the highest transfer fee since the year 2000 include Kaka (2009), Zinedine Zidane (2001), Luis Figo (2000), and Hernan Crespo (2000).

Between 1996 and 1999, the transfer record changed hands five times. Players like Ronaldo and Alan Shearer held the record before the Brazilian striker Ronaldo reclaimed it by joining Inter in 1997. He is the only player, apart from Diego Maradona, to hold the record twice.

After Ronaldo, players like Denilson and Christian Vieri also held the record for a while.

Here is a detailed run through of the biggest transfers in football history.

50 highest transfer fees of all time

1. Neymar (Barcelona to PSG, 2017) – €222m
2. Kylian Mbappe (Monaco to PSG, 2017) – €180m
3. Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool to Barcelona, 2018) – €145m
4. Jude Bellingham (Dortmund to Real Madrid, 2023) – €134m
5. Moises Caicedo (Brighton to Chelsea, 2023) – €134m
6. Joao Felix (Benfica to Atletico Madrid, 2019) – €126m
7. Declan Rice (West Ham to Arsenal, 2023) – €122m
8. Enzo Fernandez (Benfica to Chelsea, 2023) – €121m
9. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid to Barcelona, 2019) – €120m
10. Jack Grealish (Aston Villa to Man City, 2021) – €118m
11. Romelu Lukaku (Inter to Chelsea, 2021) – €115m
12. Ousmane Dembele (Dortmund to Barcelona, 2017) – €105m
13. Paul Pogba (Juventus to Man Utd, 2016) – €105m
14. Gareth Bale (Tottenham to Real Madrid, 2013) – €101m
15. Harry Kane (Tottenham to Bayern Munich, 2023) – €101m
16. Eden Hazard (Chelsea to Real Madrid, 2019) – €100m
17. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid to Juventus, 2018) – €100m
18. Aurelien Tchouameni (Monaco to Real Madrid, 2022) – €100m
19. Darwin Nunez(Benfica to Liverpool, 2022) – €100m
20. Antony(Ajax to Man Utd, 2022) – €100m
21. Mykhailo Mudryk(Shakhtar Donetsk to Chelsea, 2023) – €100m
22. Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd to Real Madrid, 2009) – €94m
23. Wesley Fofana (Leicester City to Chelsea, 2022) – €93m
24. Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli to Juventus, 2016) – €90m
25. Josko Gvardiol (Leipzig to Man City, 2023) – €90m
26. Neymar (PSG to Al-Hilal, 2023) – €90m
27. Harry Maguire (Leicester to Man Utd, 2019) – €87m
28. Neymar (Santos to Barcelona, 2013) – €86m
29. Romelu Lukaku (Everton to Man Utd, 2017) – €85m
30. Jadon Sancho (Dortmund to Man Utd, 2021) – €85m
31. Rasmus Hojlund (Atalanta to Man Utd, 2023) – €85m
32. Virgil van Dijk (Southampton to Liverpool, 2018) – €84.5m
33. Luis Suarez (Liverpool to Barcelona, 2014) – €82.3m
34. Romelu Lukaku (Man Utd to Inter, 2019) – €80m
35. Nicolas Pepe (Lille to Arsenal, 2019) – €80m
36. Kepa Arrizabalaga (Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea, 2018) – €80m
37. Lucas Hernandez (Atletico Madrid to Bayern, 2019) – €80m
38. Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus to Bayern, 2022) – €80m
39. Kai Havertz (Leverkusen to Chelsea, 2020) – €77m
40. Zinedine Zidane (Juventus to Real Madrid, 2001) – €76m
41. Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid to Man Utd, 2014) – €75.6m
42. Kai Havertz (Chelsea to Arsenal, 2023) – €75m
43. Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax to Juventus, 2019) – €75m
44. Frenkie de Jong (Ajax to Barcelona, 2019) – €75m
45. James Rodriguez (Monaco to Real Madrid, 2014) – €75m
46. Kevin De Bruyne (Wolfsburg to Man City, 2015) – €75m
47. Arthur Melo (Barcelona to Juventus, 2020) – €72m
48. Ruben Dias (Benfica to Man City, 2020) – €71m
49. Casemiro (Real Madrid to Man Utd, 2022) – €71m
50. Victor Osimhen (Lille to Napoli, 2020) – €70m
51. Sandro Tonali (Milan to Newcastle, 2023) – €70m
52. Mason Mount (Chelsea to Man Utd, 2023) – €70m
53. Dominik Szoboszlai (Leipzig to Liverpool, 2023) – €70m

Who is the most expensive goalkeeper of all time?

Chelsea have regretted their decision to make Kepa Arrizabalaga the biggest transfer for a goalkeeper in football history when they splashed out €80m to sign the Spain keeper from Athletic Bilbao in 2018.

Kepa broke the record previously held by Alisson, a signing that proved much more successful for Liverpool.

They spent €62.5m to sign him from Roma a month before Kepa joined Chelsea and the Brazil international, along with defender Virgil van Dijk, helped to address major weaknesses that were holding Liverpool back.

Brazil international Alisson helped Liverpool win the Champions League and Premier League in successive seasons.

Who is the most expensive defender of all time?

The record transfer for a defender is held by Josko Gvardiol for his €90m move to Man City from Leipzig in 2023.

He took the record from Harry Maguire, who joined Manchester United from Leicester City for €87m in 2019.

Maguire had taken the record from Virgil van Dijk, an €84.5m signing for Liverpool from Southampton a year earlier.

Who is the most expensive midfielder of all time?

Philippe Coutinho goes down as the biggest transfer involving a midfielder (even if he can also play further forward) – a move that did not work out for Barcelona.

Coutinho became the most expensive January transfer signing ever in 2018, when he pushed to leave Liverpool for Barca.

The Catalans had not found a suitable replacement for Neymar and felt that by spending big on his compatriot, they would find an answer to their problems. He has since left for Aston Villa.

Jude Bellingham, Jack Grealish, Aurelien Tchouameni, Paul Pogba and Kai Havertz all moved for over €100m, with Zinedine Zidane still featuring prominently despite his move to Real Madrid from Juventus taking place 20 years ago.

Who is the most expensive forward of all time?

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe fill the first two spots in this ranking, as well as the overall list.

Brazil star Neymar is also the most expensive South American signing ever, with Mbappe holding the record for Europe.

Who is the most expensive teenager of all time?

Kylian Mbappe became the most expensive teenage transfer ever when he joined PSG.

That move smashed the record previously held by Anthony Martial when he joined Man Utd from Monaco in 2015.

There have been some huge transfers for teenagers since Mbappe, though none which have threatened the record.

Jude Bellingham transferred to Real Madrid (€134m) in 2023, Joao Felix (€126m) joined Atletico Madrid in 2019, while Juventus splashed out €75m for Matthijs de Ligt in 2019 also.

The second of PSG’s mega-money signings of 2017 that completely changed the landscape of the transfer market, Mbappe actually arrived at the club on a loan deal that had a clause that would be made permanent if Les Parisiens avoided relegation. This was inevitable and purely installed to circumvent Financial Fair Play.

Mbappe has gone some way to realising his potential at Parc des Princes, becoming a World Cup winner in 2018 and continuing to score at the prodigious rate expected of him.

A hat-trick against Barcelona at Camp Nou in the 2020/21 Champions League last 16 seemed to confirm his rise to superstar status.

Who is the most expensive English player of all time?

Jude Bellingham overtook Jack Grealish as the most expensive Englishman in history in 2023 at €134m when he joined Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund.

Who is the most expensive North American player of all time?

Christian Pulisic holds the record for the biggest transfer involving a North American player.

He joined Chelsea from Borussia Dortmund for €64m in 2019 and has yet to fully find his peak form after battling with injuries.

The North American record may not be threatened in the coming years unless Canada international Alphonso Davies, one of the game’s best rising stars, ever leaves Bayern Munich.

Who is the most expensive African player of all time?

Nicolas Pepe is the biggest transfer involving an African player.

It cost Arsenal an astonishing €80m to sign the Ivory Coast forward from Lille in 2019.

Pepe proved to be a flop at the Emirates Stadium.

Lille are also responsible for the second biggest move involving an African player. They sold Nigeria forward Victor Osimhen to Napoli for €70m in 2020.

What is the most expensive Premier League transfer of all time?

Moises Caicedo is the most expensive Premier League transfer in terms of those bought by an English club.

He overtook previous record holder Declan Rice.

Who has the highest combined transfer fees of all time?

Neymar is the overall most expensive player in football history following his transfer from Paris Saint-Germain to Al-Hilal in 2023, with the total outlay spent on him throughout his career at €400 million.

Not only did Neymar break the world record fee when he joined PSG for €222m in 2017, but he also moved to Barcelona for a huge €86.2m when he left Santos in 2013. Furthermore, his move to Al-Hilal cost roughly €90m, which means Neymar has never been purchased for cheap.

That means when added together, Neymar has cost around €400m.

Romelu Lukaku had previously overtaken Neymar in 2021 as the player with the highest combined transfer fees of all time as his transfers involving Anderlecht, Chelsea (twice), Everton, Man Utd, and Inter total an incredible €328m. His loan move back to Inter also cost a further €8m and it is likely this loan move will be extended for another fee. His last three permanent moves alone came to €280m.