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Despite the fact that the summer of 2022 promises to be busy in terms of big money transfers, with Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunes leading the way, we still have not seen the biggest transfers in football yet.
Paris Saint-Germain rocked the football world in the summer of 2017 when they signed Neymar from Barcelona and then signed Kylian Mbappe from Monaco accordingly.
They remain two of the most expensive players of all time. Moreover, there’s no denying that PSG’s sensational double has boosted the transfer market significantly.
Indeed, some massive moves quickly followed, with Barcelona looking to fill the void left by Neymar in exchange for a nine-figure move of Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho, and Antoine Griezmann. All 3 of them then became one of the biggest transfers in football.
Also, Atletico Madrid spent €126 million in Spain on Benfica’s excellent attacking talent Joao Felix, while Real Madrid finally brought Eden Hazard to Santiago Bernabeu for €100 million. Both of them now being the biggest transfers in football.
The Covid-19 pandemic briefly affected the transfer market. Still, some clubs seem to have recovered, with Jack Grealish, Jadon Sancho, Darwin Nunes, Matthijs de Ligt, and Aurelien Tchouameni all making huge money moves. More massive deals are sure to follow now, but you can see the list of the world’s most expensive footballers in the table below 👇
Biggest Transfers in Football
Pos. | Player | Clubs | Year | Fee |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Neymar | Barcelona – PSG | 2017 | €222m |
2. | Kylian Mbappe | Monaco – PSG | 2017 | €145m (+€35m) |
3. | Joao Felix | Benfica – Atletico Madrid | 2019 | €126m |
=4. | Philippe Coutinho | Liverpool – Barcelona | 2018 | €120m (+€40m) |
=4. | Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid – Barcelona | 2019 | €120m |
6. | Jack Grealish | Aston Villa – Manchester City | 2021 | €117m |
7. | Romelu Lukaku | Inter – Chelsea | 2021 | €115m |
=8. | Ousmane Dembele | Borussia Dortmund – Barcelona | 2017 | €105m (+€45m) |
=8. | Paul Pogba | Juventus – Manchester United | 2016 | €105m |
10. | Gareth Bale | Tottenham – Real Madrid | 2013 | €100.8m |
=11. | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid – Juventus | 2018 | €100m |
=11. | Eden Hazard | Chelsea – Real Madrid | 2019 | €100m (+€40m) |
13. | Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United – Real Madrid | 2009 | €94m |
14. | Gonzalo Higuain | Napoli – Juventus | 2016 | €90m |
15. | Harry Maguire | Leicester City – Manchester United | 2019 | €87.1m |
16. | Neymar | Santos – Barcelona | 2013 | €86.2m |
17. | Jadon Sancho | Borussia Dortmund – Manchester United | 2021 | €85m |
18. | Romelu Lukaku | Everton – Manchester United | 2017 | €84.8m |
19. | Virgil van Dijk | Southampton – Liverpool | 2018 | €84.5m |
20. | Luis Suarez | Liverpool – Barcelona | 2014 | €82.3m |
=21. | Aurelien Tchouameni | Monaco – Real Madrid | 2022 | €80m (+€20m) |
=21. | James Rodriguez | Monaco – Real Madrid | 2014 | €80m |
=21. | Kepa Arrizabalaga | Athletic Club – Chelsea | 2018 | €80m |
=21. | Lucas Hernandez | Atletico Madrid – Bayern Munich | 2019 | €80m |
=21. | Romelu Lukaku | Manchester United – Inter | 2019 | €80m |
26. | Nicolas Pepe | Lille – Arsenal | 2019 | €79m |
27. | Alvaro Morata | Real Madrid – Chelsea | 2017 | €78.9m |
28. | Zinedine Zidane | Juventus – Real Madrid | 2001 | €77.5m |
=29. | Darwin Nunez | Benfica – Liverpool | 2022 | €75m (+€25m) |
=29. | Matthijs de Ligt | Ajax – Juventus | 2019 | €75m (+€10.5m) |
=29. | Kevin de Bruyne | Wolfsburg – Manchester City | 2015 | €75m |
=29. | Frenkie de Jong | Ajax – Barcelona | 2019 | €75m |
=29. | Dusan Vlahovic | Fiorentina – Juventus | 2022 | €75m |
34. | Angel Di Maria | Real Madrid – Manchester United | 2014 | €74.6m |
35. | Alisson Becker | Roma – Liverpool | 2018 | €73m |
36. | Arthur Melo | Barcelona – Juventus | 2020 | €72m (+€10m) |
=37. | Kai Havertz | Bayer Leverkusen – Chelsea | 2020 | €70m (+€9m) |
=37. | Luka Jovic | Eintracht Frankfurt – Real Madrid | 2019 | €70m |
=37. | Rodri | Atletico Madrid – Manchester City | 2019 | €70m |
40. | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | Inter – Barcelona | 2009 | €69.5m |
41. | Raheem Sterling | Liverpool – Manchester City | 2015 | €69.1m |
42. | Ruben Dias | Benfica – Manchester City | 2020 | €68m (+€3.6m) |
43. | Riyad Mahrez | Leicester City – Manchester City | 2019 | €67.8m |
44. | Matthijs de Ligt | Juventus – Bayern Munich | 2022 | €67m (+€10m) |
45. | Diego Costa | Chelsea – Atletico Madrid | 2018 | €66m |
=46. | Thomas Lemar | Monaco – Atletico Madrid | 2018 | €65m |
=46. | Kaka | AC Milan – Real Madrid | 2009 | €65m |
=46. | Aymeric Laporte | Athletic Club – Manchester City | 2018 | €65m |
=46. | Joao Cancelo | Juventus – Manchester City | 2019 | €65m (inc. Danilo) |
50. | Edinson Cavani | Napoli – PSG | 2013 | €64.5m |
51. | Christian Pulisic | Borussia Dortmund – Chelsea | 2019 | €64m |
52. | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Borussia Dortmund – Arsenal | 2018 | €63.75m |
53. | David Luiz | Chelsea – PSG | 2014 | €62.5m |
54. | Angel Di Maria | Manchester United – PSG | 2015 | €61.6m |
55. | Oscar | Chelsea – Shanghai SIPG | 2017 | €60.3m |
=56. | Achraf Hakimi | Inter – PSG | 2021 | €60m (+€11m) |
=56. | Miralem Pjanic | Juventus – Barcelona | 2020 | €60m (+€5m) |
=56. | Erling Haaland | Borussia Dortmund – Manchester City | 2022 | €60m |
=56. | Naby Keita | RB Leipzig – Liverpool | 2018 | €60m |
=56. | Luis Figo | Barcelona – Real Madrid | 2000 | €60m |
=56. | Tanguy Ndombele | Lyon – Tottenham | 2019 | €60m |
=62. | Raphinha | Leeds United – Barcelona | 2022 | €59m (+€6m) |
=62. | Fernando Torres | Liverpool – Chelsea | 2011 | €59m |
=64. | Fred | Shakhtar Donetsk – Manchester United | 2018 | €58.9m |
=64. | Jorginho | Napoli – Chelsea | 2018 | €58.9m |
=64. | Hulk | Zenit – Shanghai SIPG | 2016 | €58.6m |
=64. | Ben White | Brighton – Arsenal | 2021 | €58.6m |
68. | Benjamin Mendy | Monaco – Manchester City | 2017 | €58.2m |
=69. | Richarlison | Everton – Tottenham | 2022 | €58m (+€12m) |
=69. | John Stones | Everton – Manchester City | 2016 | €58m |
71. | Kyle Walker | Tottenham – Manchester City | 2017 | €56.7m |
72. | Raheem Sterling | Manchester City – Chelsea | 2022 | €56.2m |
73. | Ben Chilwell | Leicester City – Chelsea | 2020 | €55.8m |
74. | Lisandro Martinez | Ajax – Manchester United | 2022 | €55.3m (+€12.5m) |
=75. | Bruno Fernandes | Sporting C.P. – Manchester United | 2020 | €55m (+€25m) |
=75. | Hernan Crespo | Parma – Lazio | 2000 | €55m |
=75. | Ferran Torres | Manchester City – Barcelona | 2021 | €55m |
=78. | Alexandre Lacazette | Lyon – Arsenal | 2017 | €53m (+€7m) |
=78. | Timo Werner | RB Leipzig – Chelsea | 2020 | €53m |
80. | Gabriel Jesus | Manchester City – Arsenal | 2022 | €52.3m |
81. | Gianluigi Buffon | Parma – Juventus | 2001 | €52m |
82. | Eliaquim Mangala | Porto – Manchester City | 2014 | €51.7m |
=83. | Alex Teixeira | Shakhtar Donetsk – Jiangsu Suning | 2016 | €50m |
=83. | Bernando Silva | AS Monaco – Manchester City | 2017 | €50m |
=83. | Fabinho | AS Monaco – Liverpool | 2018 | €50m |
=83. | Eder Militao | Porto – Real Madrid | 2019 | €50m |
=83. | Aaron Wan-Bissaka | Crystal Palace – Manchester United | 2019 | €50m |
=83. | Thomas Partey | Atletico Madrid – Arsenal | 2020 | €50m |
=83. | Victor Osimhen | Lille – Napoli | 2020 | €50m |
90. | Anthony Martial | AS Monaco – Manchester United | 2015 | €49.3m |
91. | Gylfi Sigurdsson | Swansea City – Everton | 2017 | €49.2m |
=92. | Leroy Sane | Manchester City – Bayern Munich | 2020 | €49m (+€11m) |
=92. | Christian Vieri | Lazio – Inter | 1999 | €49m |
94. | Kalvin Phillips | Leeds United – Manchester City | 2022 | €48.8m (+€3.5m) |
=95. | Gaizka Mendieta | Valencia – Lazio | 2001 | €48m |
=95. | Ferland Mendy | Lyon – Real Madrid | 2019 | €48m |
97. | Mesut Ozil | Real Madrid – Arsenal | 2013 | €47m |
=98. | Juan Sebastian Veron | Lazio – Manchester United | 2001 | €46m |
=98. | Rio Ferdinand | Leeds United – Manchester United | 2002 | €46m |
=98. | Ronaldo | Inter – Real Madrid | 2002 | €46m |
=98. | Juan Mata | Chelsea – Manchester United | 2014 | €46m |
=98. | Douglas Costa | Bayern Munich – Juventus | 2017 | €46m |