The 100 most expensive football transfers of all time

Paris Saint-Germain shook up the football world in the summer of 2017 when they signed Neymar from Barcelona and then promptly prised Kylian Mbappe away from Monaco.

They remain the two most expensive players of all time but there is no denying that PSG's sensational double swoop greatly inflated the transfer market. Indeed, a number of massive moves quickly followed, with Barcelona looking to try to fill the void left behind by Neymar by signing the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann for nine-figure fees.

Also in Spain, Atletico Madrid splashed €126m on Benfica's prodigious attacking talent Joao Felix, while Real Madrid finally brought Eden Hazard to Santiago Bernabeu for €100m. The Covid-19 pandemic briefly had a massive impact on the transfer market, but within a couple of seasons a number of clubs had recovered, particularly in England. Numerous players have been signed by Premier League clubs for huge money since 2021, including Declan Rice, Enzo Fernandez, Jack Grealish, Jadon Sancho, Mykhailo Mudryk, Antony, Darwin Nunez, and Dominik Szoboszlai.

Meanwhile, European giants such as Real Madrid and PSG have flexed their muscles with the high-profile signings of players like Jude Bellingham, Matthijs de Ligt, and Aurelien Tchouameni. More massive deals are likely to follow, but you can see the current list of the world's most expensive footballers below...

Most expensive British player

Declan Rice became the most expensive British player in football history when he moved from West Ham to Arsenal in July 2023 in a whopping deal worth €116m. Previously, the record belonged to Manchester City forward Jack Grealish, whose buy-out clause of €117m was met by City in the summer of 2021 to bring in the England international from Aston Villa.

Before Grealish's big move, Wales winger Gareth Bale was football's most expensive Brit, with Real Madrid signing Bale from Tottenham in 2013 for €100.8m. Meanwhile, Harry Maguire was the costliest English player ever, on account of his €87.1m move from Leicester to Manchester United in 2019. With Jude Bellingham joining Real Madrid from Dortmund for €103m in the summer of 2023, he's become the second most-expensive British player ever.

Most expensive teenager

Kylian Mbappe is the most expensive teenager ever, as he joined PSG on a loan-to-buy deal in 2017 that will be worth €180m after bonuses. Joao Felix is the second-most expensive teenager, having been signed by Atletico from Benfica for €126m in 2019.

Most expensive defender

Harry Maguire became the most expensive defender of all time when Manchester United forked out €87.1m the England centre-half's services in 2019. Maguire overtook Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk in the process, but only marginally, as the Netherlands international set the Reds back €84.5m when he arrived from Southampton the year before. However, it is expected that Manchester City will break the transfer record for a defender in the coming days, with Croatian centre-back Josko Gvardiol rumoured to be heading to the Etihad for a reported fee of €99m.

Most expensive goalkeeper

Kepa Arrizabalaga is the most expensive goalkeeper in history. Chelsea spent €80m to meet his Athletic Club release clause in 2018. For a long time, former Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon held this mark, having joined the Turin outfit from Parma for €52m, which is a colossal fee when inflation is taken into account. Then, within a matter of weeks, Buffon's record was shattered twice. First, Liverpool brought in Roma's Alisson Becker for €73m, to temporarily take the mark as the world's most expensive keeper. Not to be outdone, Chelsea snapped up Kepa less than a month later, propelling the Spain international into top spot. 

Biggest transfer outside of Europe

The most a non-European club has ever paid for a player is €60.3m, which Shanghai SIPG handed over to Chelsea for Brazil midfielder Oscar in 2016. In 2023, the global transfer market has been impacted significantly by the activity of clubs in the Saudi Pro League, with the biggest fee paid by a Saudi club so far being Ruben Neves' €55m move to Al-Hilal. It wouldn't be a big surprise to see this record broken in the coming months. Given the current state of the market, who knows which record will be shattered next?!