In world football, player salaries and transfer fees have exploded in recent years. New investors have appeared on the scene and newly concluded TV contracts are coming to fruition ever higher amounts into the club’s coffers.
Factors like these ensure that sums that were previously considered unimaginable are paid to convince the best of the best to change clubs. However, not all of these transfers ended in the hoped-for success story, as we will see in our list ten most expensive transfers in football will find out.
1st place: Neymar Junior – FC Barcelona ➡️ Paris Saint Germain (222 million euros)
The Brazilian Neymar attracted attention at a young age. So much so that the great FC Barcelona transferred an impressive 88 million euros to Brazil for the then 21-year-old. Must in Spain Exit clauses anchored in the contracts which are usually in an unaffordable range.
At least that’s what FC Barcelona thought when they set this clause at 222 million euros. In 2017, PSG actually put this sum on the table and made one Transfer record. However, Lionel Messi’s brilliant partner was never able to build on his successes in Barcelona.
2nd place: Kylian Mbappé – AS Monaco ➡️ Paris Saint Germain (180 million euros)
It became clear early in his career that Kylian Mbappé has what it takes to become the next superstar of French football. In the summer of 2017, numerous top clubs competed for the young professional.
PSG ultimately won the contract again, thanks to the extremely rich owners from Qatar Transfer fee of 180 million no problem at all for the capital club.
This was preceded by a one-year loan with a fee of 35 million euros.
3rd place: Ousmane Dembélé – Borussia Dortmund ➡️ FC Barcelona (140 million euros)
The Frenchman Ousmane Dembélé was considered one Talent of the centurywhich is why in 2017 numerous top clubs lined up for the services of Dembélé, who was then playing at Stade Rennes. In the end, Borussia Dortmund prevailed, thanks in part to its excellent reputation for promoting young talent like no other club.
When Neymar left FC Barcelona in the summer of 2017 thanks to his release clause, this move caused panic among the Catalans. Dembélé was supposed to be a replacement – it’s just unfortunate that he only moved to BVB a year ago. Dembele then successfully went on strike to Barcelonawhere he stood out more for his fitness problems than his performance on the pitch.
4th place: Philippe Coutinho – Liverpool FC ➡️ FC Barcelona (135 million euros)
Liverpool FC also fell into the maelstrom triggered by Neymar’s move to Paris. Because it’s not just Dembélé from BVB that should close the gap. Philippe Coutinho was also chosen to make Neymar fall into oblivion in Barcelona.
After a lot of bargaining The move ultimately went through for 135 million euros. However, Coutinho never really arrived in Barcelona. This was followed by two loan deals to FC Bayern and Aston Villa.
5. Platz: Joao Félix – Benfica Lissabon ➡️ Atlético Madrid (127.2 Million Euro)
Numerous experts predicted a golden future for the Portuguese Joao Félix. Some were already talking about it Cristiano Ronaldo’s successor. The young striker made a big impression in Lisbon, which is why competition for Félix quickly broke out.
In the end, Atlético Madrid won the race for an impressive 127.2 million euros. Although his market value in Madrid rose to 100 million euros shortly afterwards, a rapid decline began quite quickly after that.
6th place: Enzo Fernández – Benfica Lisbon ➡️ FC Chelsea (121 million euros)
With Enzo Fernández, another Benfica Lisbon player made it into the top 10 most expensive transfers in football. The Argentine’s star rose in 2022 when he made his final breakthrough at Benfica Lisbon. So it wasn’t a big surprise that he was in the National team squad for the Winter World Cup in Qatar was appointed.
Fernandez hatte played a significant role in Argentina winning the tournament. At the end of the winter transfer deadline, Chelsea FC finally struck and signed the newly crowned world champion for 121 million euros.
7th place: Eden Hazard – Chelsea FC ➡️ Real Madrid (120.8 million euros)
The story of Eden Hazard is like a football fairy tale. His professional career began at OSC Lille, where he was discovered by Chelsea FC scouts. Hazard wore the Blues jersey for seven years and became one real megastar and part of the golden generation of the Belgian national team.
In the summer of 2019, Real Madrid transferred 120.8 million euros to London, a sum that Hazard was never able to justify. Plagued by injuries and performances that were disproportionate to his princely salary, he never came close to his previous performances.
8th place: Antoine Griezmann – Atlético Madrid ➡️ FC Barcelona (120 million euros)
For Frenchman Antoine Griezmann, it all began exactly where he still plays today. He moved to Spain as a teenager and has spent his time so far entire career on the Iberian Peninsula. From Real Sociedad he went to Atético Madrid, where he became a top performer and national player.
FC Barcelona was repeatedly brought into play as a possible future club and in the summer of 2019 the move finally worked. Two years later, however, he returned to the Spanish capital because he also moved there a drop in performance that was hardly thought possible.
9th place: Jack Grealish – Aston Villa ➡️ Manchester City (117.5 million euros)
Manchester City also made a transfer worth over 100 million euros when they signed England international Jack Grealish in the summer of 2021. However, Grealish, who comes from his home club Aston Villa and comes from Birmingham, did not follow in the footsteps of his prominent predecessors.
He is still a regular member of Pep Guardiola’s team today and has progressed to one of the best left wingers in the Premier League.
10th place: Cristiano Ronaldo – Real Madrid ➡️ Juventus Turin (117 million euros)
Cristiano Ronaldo has broken numerous records throughout his career. So it probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise that the Portuguese also finds himself among the top 10 most expensive football transfers in the world.
This came when Real Madrid announced the sale of the superstar to Juventus in 2018 quite surprising for many.
Ronaldo was one of the best players in the Royals. However, Ronaldo only lasted three years in Piedmont before moving on to Manchester United.
Chris discovered online gambling through video games. He competed with players worldwide in classics like Counter Strike and Battlefield, which sparked his interest in online casinos. For him, slot machines are a fun way to pass the time, and he particularly appreciates the slots from Pragmatic Play. His favorite games are blackjack and poker, which he played intensively during his stays in the USA. When he’s not playing, Chris enjoys the ski slopes in winter and racing bikes in summer.
