What is the Most Expensive Player Signing Ever?

Who is the most expensive player signing ever?
Over the past few years, the transfer market has seen what can best be described as market inflation.
It all started in 2017 when Paris Saint-Germain splashed €222m on the transfer of Brazil International Neymar Junior from Barcelona. They also paid a whooping €145m (+€35m) to secure French man Kylian Mbappe from Monaco.
The transfer of Neymar from Barcelona is the most expensive player signing in the history of football. PSG is seen as the market disrupter when it comes to player transfer in Europe.
most expensive player signing ever
Most of the transfers on this list are to clubs under UEFA’s jurisdiction and most of the purchasing clubs are from England, France, Italy and Spain.
Top 50 Most Expensive Player Signing Ever
The following is a list of most expensive association football transfers, which details the highest transfer fees ever paid for players, as well as transfers which set new world transfer records. The first recorded record transfer was of Willie Groves from West Bromwich Albion to Aston Villa for £100 in 1893 (equivalent to £12,000 in 2021).
This occurred just eight years after the introduction of professionalism by the Football Association in 1885. most expensive player signing ever
The current transfer record was set by the transfer of Neymar from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for €222 million (£190 million) in August 2017.
most expensive player signing ever
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 | Antony | Ajax – Manchester United | 2022 | €95m (+€5m) |
14 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United – Real Madrid | 2009 | €94m |
15 | Gonzalo Higuain | Napoli – Juventus | 2016 | €90m |
16 | Harry Maguire | Leicester City – Manchester United | 2019 | €87.1m |
17 | Neymar | Santos – Barcelona | 2013 | €86.2m |
18 | Jadon Sancho | Borussia Dortmund – Manchester United | 2021 | €85m |
19 | Romelu Lukaku | Everton – Manchester United | 2017 | €84.8m |
20 | Virgil van Dijk | Southampton – Liverpool | 2018 | €84.5m |
21 | Luis Suarez | Liverpool – Barcelona | 2014 | €82.3m |
22 | Wesley Fofana | Leicester City – Chelsea | 2022 | €80.6m |
=23 | Aurelien Tchouameni | Monaco – Real Madrid | 2022 | €80m (+€20m) |
=23 | James Rodriguez | Monaco – Real Madrid | 2014 | €80m |
=23 | Kepa Arrizabalaga | Athletic Club – Chelsea | 2018 | €80m |
=23 | Lucas Hernandez | Atletico Madrid – Bayern Munich | 2019 | €80m |
=23 | Romelu Lukaku | Manchester United – Inter | 2019 | €80m |
28 | Nicolas Pepe | Lille – Arsenal | 2019 | €79m |
29 | Alvaro Morata | Real Madrid – Chelsea | 2017 | €78.9m |
30 | Zinedine Zidane | Juventus – Real Madrid | 2001 | €77.5m |
=31 | Darwin Nunez | Benfica – Liverpool | 2022 | €75m (+€25m) |
=31 | Matthijs de Ligt | Ajax – Juventus | 2019 | €75m (+€10.5m) |
=31 | Kevin De Bruyne | Wolfsburg – Manchester City | 2015 | €75m |
=31 | Frenkie de Jong | Ajax – Barcelona | 2019 | €75m |
=31 | Dusan Vlahovic | Fiorentina – Juventus | 2022 | €75m |
36 | Angel Di Maria | Real Madrid – Manchester United | 2014 | €74.6m |
37 | Alisson Becker | Roma – Liverpool | 2018 | €73m |
38 | Arthur Melo | Barcelona – Juventus | 2020 | €72m (+€10m) |
39 | Casemiro | Real Madrid – Manchester United | 2022 | €71m (+€11.8m) |
=40 | Kai Havertz | Bayer Leverkusen – Chelsea | 2020 | €70m (+€9m) |
=40 | Luka Jovic | Eintracht Frankfurt – Real Madrid | 2019 | €70m |
=40 | Rodri | Atletico Madrid – Manchester City | 2019 | €70m |
43 | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | Inter – Barcelona | 2009 | €69.5m |
44 | Raheem Sterling | Liverpool – Manchester City | 2015 | €69.1m |
45 | Ruben Dias | Benfica – Manchester City | 2020 | €68m (+€3.6m) |
46 | Riyad Mahrez | Leicester City – Manchester City | 2019 | €67.8m |
47 | Matthijs de Ligt | Juventus – Bayern Munich | 2022 | €67m (+€10m) |
48 | Diego Costa | Chelsea – Atletico Madrid | 2018 | €66m |
49 | Marc Cucurella | Brighton – Chelsea | 2022 | €65.1m (+€8.2m) |
=50 | Alexander Isak | Real Sociedad – Newcastle United | 2022 | €65m (+€5m) |
=50 | Thomas Lemar | Monaco – Atletico Madrid | 2018 | €65m |
You Might Also Like

The Best Countries To Live In 2025
The best countries to live in the world rank high in terms of education, job security, economic prosperity, and healthcare. A busy street in Oslo, Norway. The Scandinavian country recently ranked as the world’s best place to live. According to a study conducted by the Legatum Institute in 2018, Norway is the best country to live in today. […]

Richest Countries In The World 2025
Qatar is the richest country in the world By looking at the GDP per capita, or gross domestic product per capita, of each country around the globe, it is possible to rank the richest countries in the world based on wealth and then compare them to each other. We bring to you the richest countries […]

Google’s Gemini is getting a lot smarter for iPhone users
Google’s Gemini AI just got a major buff for iPhone users with the addition of its Deep Research feature. Google first added this feature to Android devices, but it’s dropping in a phased rollout to the iPhone. If you don’t yet see this function, give it some time; at the time of writing, it hasn’t hit our […]

TikTok Applauds Donald Trump for Prompt Restoration of Services in United States
TikTok was banned in the United States following a court ruling Trump Announced that TikTok was back on 19th January, 2025 Video sharing platform TikTok has released a statement commending United States President Donald Trump for his swift role in ensuring the social media was restored after court ruled its ban in the United States. […]