Top 10 most expensive transfers in football history

Nowadays, talent in the world of football is overflowing. Although more and more clubs are trying to detect them at an early stage in order to sign them and train them at home, some of them make their breakthrough too late and have to go for the big bucks. Here is a list of the ten players who have been paid the most money in history.

The world of football has been evolving economically. The sport has become more and more a business, which is why the financial aspect has become more and more important. The television industry boom or the pandemic have marked very specific circumstances. For example, a more and more normalised trend is that of agreeing transfers for a fixed amount, later complemented by performance bonuses.

Players who cost 100 million, but who are now worth 140 million or similar cases. In this list we count how the operations were at the time of release, as the variables condition the classification.

These are the 10 most expensive transfers in football history:

Romelu Lukaku (115 million)

Romelo Lukaku's return to Chelsea last summer made him the biggest transfer fee in the history of the club. The 115 million that the London club paid for the player brings the total amount clubs have paid for the Belgian in his entire career to 327 million.

Eden Hazard (115 million)

In the summer of 2019, the Belgian cost Real Madrid 100 million euros plus a further 30 million euros in variable fees. As of today, in fact, the cost is already at 115 million euros. However, several Belgian media, following a scam in the country, published that the real amount that Chelsea had received was 160 million, something that th 'Merengues' denied.

Cristiano Ronaldo (117 million)

He has made history in many ways, including the cost of his transfers. In 2009, Real Madrid landed him from Manchester United for 96 million, an outlay that no club had ever made before. Then, in the summer of 2018, the 117 million that Juventus paid to the Santiago Bernabeu side made him the highest transfer in the Serie A history.

Jack Grealish (117.5 million)

Manchester City broke the bank in the summer of 2021 with the signing of the Aston Villa captain and one of the Premier League's most talked-about players for a whopping €117.5 million.

Antoine Griezmann (120 million)

Barcelona took advantage of the Frenchman's clause being lowered from 200 million to 120 million to sign him from Atletico Madrid, even though the red-and-whites fought to prove they were wrong. At that point, the striker matched the fixed 120 million that Barca had paid shortly before for Coutinho.

Enzo Fernandez (121 million)

Chelsea were impressed by his great performance in the World Cup and made a bid to sign him in January 2023. Although Benfica stood firm, in the end an offer of 121 million euros led to his transfer to the Blues.

Joao Felix (127.2 million)

Atletico Madrid surprised by breaking the bank to gamble on the Portuguese. To the 126 million of investment, the Madrid club had to add the 1.2 of the solidarity payment mechanism to Porto.

Ousmane Dembele (135 million)

Another example of Borussia Dortmund's economic and sporting management and a model of modern transfer, as he cost Barcelona 105 million initially, but they have already paid 135 million for the bonuses that have been fulfilled.

Phillipe Coutinho (135 million)

Months after Dembele was the most expensive signing in Barcelona's history, Coutinho was the next, raising the bar to the unprecedented €120m. Also included in his contract were easily enforceable variables that put the spending at around €135m.

Kylian Mbappe (145 million)

His case was the first and most famous case of a loan with an option to buy. Monaco sent him on loan to PSG with a huge mandatory purchase option of 145 million. Although at the time there was talk that it would be 180, for the remaining 35 to be fulfilled, the French striker would have to be transferred before the end of his contract (2022) or renew, which has not yet happened. This is what 'L'Equipe' maintains.

Neymar (222 million)

It seems very difficult for anyone to beat this record. Not only was it the biggest investment in history, it was also an unprecedented football marketing operation, given that it seemed impossible that a sheikh's chequebook could take him away from Leo Messi. Without bonus or negotiation, PSG paid a clause that at the time seemed unaffordable.