A large transfer fee can be a blessing or a curse.
It is a sign of great faith to spend such a huge amount of money on one player, but it carries with it the expectation that the player will reward that faith with performances – and if they do not, fans will not be forgiving.
Many great players have risen to the pressure of their transfer fee, but others have been crushed under the burden of expectations placed upon them.
Let’s take a look at the 50 most expensive transfers of all time.
50) Bernardo Silva – Monaco to Manchester City (€50m, 2017)
After Bernardo Silva’s wonderful 2016/17 season at Monaco, in which he played a major part in the principality’s Ligue 1 triumph, Manchester City came a-knocking and brought the Portuguese international to the Etihad.
Silva has gone on to become a key member of Pep Guardiola’s squad, scoring 22 goals in 100 appearances over the course of two seasons, and winning back-to-back Premier League titles as well as the FA Cup, Community Shield and the Carabao Cup.
49) Eliaquim Mangala – Porto to Manchester City (€51.7m, 2014)
After three successful years with Portuguese giants Porto, Eliaquim Mangala became Manchester City’s then-record signing, joining the club for a reported fee of €51.7m.
The centre back had a difficult start to his Premier League career, with his transfer delayed and then arriving at the club injured. Despite an impressive debut against Chelsea, his next match against Hull City was one he would be happy to forget, heading in an own-goal and conceding a penalty.
Despite an upturn in form that earned him a spot in France’s Euro 2016 squad, Manuel Pellegrini decided to spend £32m on Nicolas Otamendi and Mangala was sent off on loan to Valencia and then Everton.
48) Gianluigi Buffon – Parma to Juventus (€52m, 2001)
The legendary goalkeeper made history when he joined Juventus from Parma in what was then a world record fee for a keeper, a record that remained firmly in place for 17 years.
Gianluigi Buffon went on to achieve legendary status at Turin, making over 650 appearances for I Bianconeri over the course of 17 years, winning nine Serie A titles, four Coppa Italia’s, five Supercoppa Italiana’s, and one Serie B title.
Notoriously known for winning every possible title except the Champions League, Buffon decided to leave Juventus and move on to Paris Saint-Germain in 2018.
47) Alexandre Lacazette – Lyon to Arsenal (€53m + €7m in Add-Ons, 2017)
After failing to secure a move to Atletico Madrid when their two-window transfer ban was upheld by CAS, Alexandre Lacazette left Lyon to join Arsenal, setting the record for the highest figure ever paid to the French club in a transfer and becoming the Gunners’ most expensive player.
Lacazette scored 17 goals in his debut season at the Emirates, and after the arrival of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, formed a deadly striking partnership with the Gabonese international.
In the 2018/19 season he scored 19 goals as Arsenal reached the final of the Europa League, and was named the Gunners’ player of the season by the fans.
46) Hernan Crespo – Parma to Lazio (€55m, 2000)
After scoring 80 goals over the course of four seasons at Parma, Hernan Crespo became the most expensive player in the world when he was acquired by Serie A champions Lazio.
In his debut season, Crespo proved he was worth every penny by ending the campaign as the league’s top scorer with 26 goals, though Lazio failed to defend their title. Numerous injuries, as well as Lazio’s financial troubles, saw him suffer from a lack of support in attack and he was sold to Inter in 2002.
45) Kyle Walker – Tottenham to Manchester City (€56.7m, 2017)
After spending six years with Tottenham, Kyle Walker became the most expensive defender in the world when he was transferred to ?Manchester City, as Guardiola began a major defensive upheaval at the club.
Walker became a dominant figure in City’s defence, helping the club win the Premier League title in both seasons since joining.
44) John Stones – Everton to Manchester City (€58m, 2016)
Beginning his career at Championship side Barnsley before moving on to a successful spell at Everton, John Stones became the second most-expensive defender in the world, at the time, when he was bought by Guardiola’s City.
His arrival at the Etihad was notorious for being accidentally leaked ahead of the official announcement, having been included in the Citizens’ Champions League Play-Offs squad list which was published on UEFA’s website.
43) Benjamin Mendy – Monaco to Manchester City (€58.2m, 2017)
Part of the historic Monaco side that beat out Paris Saint-Germain to the Ligue 1 title in 2016/17, Monaco became the next member of Guardiola’s defensive revolution at City, joining the club in a five-year deal and eclipsing the world record for a defender, set only ten days earlier by Walker.
Mendy’s career at City has been injury-ravaged, missing out on most of both seasons since joining the club and undergoing two major surgeries. However, he has managed to become a one of the fans’ favourite players due to his social media presence and attitude.
42) Hulk – Zenit St Petersburg to Shanghai SIPG (€58.6m, 2016)
The Brazilian behemoth set an Asian football record when he left Zenit St Petersburg to join Chinese side Shanghai SIPG in 2016.
However, he managed to make only seven appearances in his debut season due to injury, but went on to become one of the symbols of the Chinese league – winning the league title in 2018 and being named in the team of the season in 2017 and 2018.
41) Jorginho – Napoli to Chelsea (€58.9m, 2018)
Jorginho was the star of Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli side, and when the manager joined Chelsea in 2018 he made the Italian midfielder his main transfer target. Despite interest from Manchester City, Jorginho joined his former manager at Stamford Bridge and made his debut in the Community Shield against City.
His season at Chelsea started well, in their third Premier League match of the campaign Jorginho completed 158 passes, setting a new record for the most passes completed by a Chelsea player in a single league match, and breaking the record for most attempted passes with 180 three games later.
With Sarri moving on to Juventus this summer, Jorginho just might complete another huge transfer in the near future.
40) Fred – Shakhtar Donetsk to Manchester United (€58.9m, 2018)
After spending five years with Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk, a club well-known for purchasing and developing young Brazilian stars, Fred completed a big money move to Manchester United in 2018.
Despite the monster fee, Fred failed to leave a lasting impression in his first season at Old Trafford, making just 17 appearances in all competitions as he couldn’t break his way into the starting XI under both Jose Mourinho and his successor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
39) Fernando Torres – Liverpool to Chelsea (€59m, 2011)
El Nino’s exploits over the course of his four seasons at Liverpool were constantly accompanied by rumours of a big-money move to Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea, and despite constant denials from both the club and the player, Fernando Torres completed his transfer to Stamford Bridge in January 2011.
However, he failed to live up to the enormously high expectations with the Blues, scoring just one goal in his debut campaign and failing to reach double figures in any of his three-and-a-half seasons at the club. He was eventually loaned to Milan, but only managed to find success again when he returned to former club Atletico Madrid.
38) Luis Figo – Barcelona to Real Madrid (€60m, 2000)
In July 2000, Luis Figo made one of the most controversial moves in football history when he left Barcelona to join hated rivals Real Madrid, smashing the world record for the highest transfer fee.
In his first season with Real he won the Ballon d’Or award, largely for his time at Barcelona, and upon his return to the Camp Nou, for the first Clasico of the season, he was met by a deafening chorus of boos and banners hung around the stadium reading ‘traitor’, ‘scum’ and ‘Judas’.
Figo’s move marked the beginning of the Galacticos era at Los Blancos, and he was later joined by stars such as Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham. Over the course of his career at Real he won two La Liga titles, two Spanish Supercups, the Champions League, a UEFA Supercup and the Intercontinental Cup, finally moving to Inter in 2005.
37) Naby Keita – RB Leipzig to Liverpool (€60m, 2018)
?Liverpool identified RB Leipzig’s tough-tackling, dynamic midfielder ?Naby Keita as the player who could transform them into title contenders, and were even prepared to wait a year for his arrival after reaching an agreement in 2017.
The Reds have indeed become title challengers since Keita’s arrival, and he’s really starting to find his feet now – flourishing in the final weeks of the 2018/19 season.
36) Oscar – Chelsea to Shanghai SIPG (€60.3m, 2017)
Chinese transfer fees are notoriously difficult to pin down, with estimates for Carlos Tevez’s move to Shanghai Shenhua in 2017 ranging between £12m and £72m depending on who you believe and how you calculate it.
Only the second Chinese transfer we can confirm in the top 50 is Oscar’s move to Shanghai SIPG in 2017. The Brazilian had slipped down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge and decided to take a big payday in the Far East, linking up with former Brazil teammate Hulk.
Unlike Tevez, Oscar didn’t let his standards drop and has taken advantage of the lower quality league to rack up some impressive statistics, with 25 goals and 41 assists in just two years.?
35) Angel Di Maria – Manchester United to Paris Saint-Germain (€61.6m, 2015)
After being deemed the worst signing of the season at Manchester United, Angel Di Maria completed a dramatic move to French champions Paris Saint-Germain in 2015.
He failed to board a flight to join the Red Devils in the United States, to which manager Louis van Gaal commented: “I have heard he is not on the plane. I cannot say anything. He was not on the plane.” One week later the transfer was officially announced, and Di Maria has been a PSG player ever since.
34) David Luiz – Chelsea to Paris Saint-Germain (€62.5m, 2014)
In the summer of 2014, David Luiz became the most expensive defender in history – leaving Chelsea to join Paris Saint-Germain on a five-year contract.
The Brazilian international became a stalwart figure at the Parc des Princes, helping PSG win the domestic treble in both of his seasons at the club, before returning to former club Chelsea in 2016.
33) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal (€63.75m, 2018)
Sven Mislintat had been ?Arsenal’s head of recruitment for just two months when he secured one of their best signings in recent years, raiding his former club ?Borussia Dortmund for ?Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January 2018.
The Gabonese international scored 10 goals in 13 league appearances up to the end of the season and has continued his prolific form into Unai Emery’s reign.
After years of treading water, this is the sort of signing Arsenal need to make more of if they want to become a force to be reckoned with again. Mislintat’s departure from the Emirates Stadium was a real blow in that regard.
32) Christian Pulisic – Borussia Dortmund to Chelsea (€64m, 2019)
The first 2019 transfer on this list saw ?Chelsea pay £58m to sign Christian Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund, the highest transfer fee ever paid for a North American player by quite some distance.
At just 20 years of age, Pulisic is already vastly experienced with over 100 Dortmund appearances under his belt. However, he was allowed to leave the German side after slipping behind Jadon Sancho in the pecking order.
After Chelsea lost Eden Hazard to Real Madrid, they will hope that Pulisic can fill the void left behind. It will certainly be a lucrative transfer in a commercial sense, with Pulisic being the poster boy of football in the USA.
31) Edinson Cavani – Napoli to Paris Saint-Germain (€64.5m, 2013)
Arriving at Paris Saint-Germain after they had just won their first league title in two decades, Edinson Cavani helped to establish Les Parisiens as the dominant force in French football. They have won 17 of the 20 domestic competitions they have entered in Cavani’s five years on board.
Throughout his PSG career, Cavani has never been the club’s poster boy, overshadowed first by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, then by Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. However, his consistency has never been in doubt as he has always scored at least 20 goals each season.
In recent years he has been particularly lethal, outscoring both Neymar and Mbappe in the 2017/18 season, and despite injuries and fewer appearances he still managed to net 23 times in 2018/19.
30) Aymeric Laporte – Athletic to Manchester City (€65m, 2018)
Athletic’s unique transfer policy allows them to command much higher fees for players than other clubs would be able to, but Manchester City fans will agree that Laporte was worth every penny paid.
Laporte joined City in January 2018 when they were already 12 points clear of their nearest rivals and played on and off until the end of the season. In 2018/19, he became City’s main defender, and there’s no questioning his place in the team nowadays.
Arguably his most important City performance came against Liverpool, when he deputised superbly at left back in a crucial victory for Guardiola’s side.
29) Kaka – AC Milan to Real Madrid (€65m, 2009)
One of the best midfielders of his generation and a Ballon d’Or winner in 2007, a world record move to Real Madrid seemed like the natural step for Kaka when AC Milan’s status in European football began to slip in the late 2000s.
But like the Rossoneri, Kaka’s best years were behind him. Injuries disrupted his first two seasons at the Bernabeu, with Mesut Ozil taking his place in the side, and he also had a troubled relationship with Jose Mourinho.
The huge loss Real Madrid made when they sold Kaka back to Milan in 2013 means that this is regarded as one of the worst transfers of all time.?
28) Riyad Mahrez – Leicester City to Manchester City (€67.8m, 2018)
How do you improve a squad which has just scored a record number of goals, won a record number of games and become the first side to surpass 100 points in the Premier League? Guardiola’s answer was to buy ?Riyad Mahrez from ?Leicester in the summer of 2018.
City had been after Mahrez for at least a year, but their approach had been rebuffed the previous summer and Leicester held firm the following January, despite Mahrez temporarily going on strike. The champions eventually got their man for €67.8m.
Despite ending the season with 12 goals and 12 assists in all competitions, Mahrez is yet to hit the heights which saw him named PFA Player of the Year during Leicester’s unlikely title triumph of 2015/16, and his penalty miss at Anfield in October will remain his most memorable moment ot the season.
27) Raheem Sterling – Liverpool to Manchester City (€69.1m, 2015)
The talented youngster’s transfer from Liverpool to Manchester City in 2015 was the end product of a highly publicised contract dispute between Raheem Sterling and the Reds.
After his breakthrough at Anfield, Sterling was offered a contract extension which he refused to sign, to which manager Brendan Rodgers said: “In terms of Raheem I’m just saying what I think the club are offering. It’s an incredible deal for a young player.
“But we’re certainly not a club that is going to give way, way above what a player is worth at a certain time in their career.”
The rift between Sterling and Liverpool grew towards the end of the season, with the player and his agent giving unsanctioned interviews and Sterling missing two days of training due to ‘illness’.
The saga finally drew to a close when Manchester City made Sterling the most expensive English player in history, also breaking the record for the highest fee paid for a teenager.
26) Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Inter to Barcelona (€69.5m, 2009)
A world class player, moving from Italy to Spain, for €69.5m, in 2009. Spanish football fans were having déjà vu when Barcelona signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic just three weeks after Real Madrid had bought Kaka, and the symmetry continued as this transfer was equally unsuccessful.
Ibrahimovic’s only season at the Camp Nou wasn’t that bad, as he scored 16 La Liga goals, but fans were scratching their heads as to why Samuel Eto’o – an equally brilliant striker – had been allowed to join Inter in part exchange.
Ibrahimovic resented having to share the limelight with Lionel Messi and accused Guardiola of being a coward after a Champions League defeat. “You bought a Ferrari, but you drive it like a Fiat,” Ibrahimovic said. He was written off at the end of the season, and sold to AC Milan.?
25) Luka Jovic – Eintracht Frankfurt to Real Madrid (€70m, 2019)
After a breakthrough season on loan at ?Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt, Luka Jovic completed a move to Real Madrid as part of Zinedine Zidane’s 2019 squad rejuvenation.
The Serbian striker will hope to replicate his form from the 2018/19 season which saw him score 27 goals from 48 appearances, helping Eintracht finish seventh in the Bundesliga and reach the semi-final of the Europa League.
24) Thomas Lemar – Monaco to Atletico Madrid (€70m, 2018)
?It’s early days in the La Liga career of ?Thomas Lemar, but it’s already starting to look like ?Atletico Madrid may have paid well over the odds for the Frenchman when they signed him from Monaco last summer.
In 31 league appearances, Lemar has managed just two goals and three assists for Diego Simeone’s team, and Atletico fans are starting to fear that this might be Jackson Martinez all over again.
Simeone has pleaded patience, emphasising Lemar’s talent and insisting he will come good. He will need to do so quickly if Atletico are to stand any chance of competing with Barcelona and Real Madrid in La Liga.
23) Alisson Becker – Roma to Liverpool (€73m, 2018)
Loris Karius’ disastrous performance in the 2018 Champions League final forced Jurgen Klopp to swallow his pride and dip into the transfer market for a world class goalkeeper. He put up the cash for Alisson Becker, Roma’s Brazilian shot-stopper, breaking Buffon’s long-standing record for the most expensive goalkeeper.
Alisson’s impact is reflected in Liverpool’s defensive record, which was the best in the Premier League in 2018/19. He has come to the fore with some memorable saves against Brighton, Chelsea, Burnley, and most notably Napoli, helping the Reds win the Champions League title.
22) Angel Di Maria – Real Madrid to Manchester United (€74.6m, 2014)
Angel Di Maria had been named man of the match in the Champions League final as Real Madrid finally clinched La Decima in 2014, so it looked like a good piece of business when Manchester United broke their transfer record to sign the Argentine a few months later.
He made a promising start at Old Trafford, winning Manchester United’s player of the month award for September after two goals and two assists in four Premier League matches, including a sensational chipped finish against Leicester.
However, Di Maria’s form soon took a nose-dive and a costly red card against Arsenal in the FA Cup proved to be his final start for United as he was sold at the end of the season to Paris Saint-Germain for a loss of around £15m.
21) Kevin De Bruyne – Wolfsburg to Manchester City (€75m, 2015)
Two years after Jose Mourinho decided that Kevin De Bruyne wasn’t good enough for the Premier League, Manuel Pellegrini brought him back to England, paying a hefty sum to sign the Belgian from Wolfsburg.
De Bruyne has been worth every penny spent, with his performances in the 2017/18 season affirming his status as one of the best players in the ?Premier League. He won the inaugural Playmaker Award for most assists and narrowly missed out on the PFA Player of the Year award to Mohamed Salah.
Injuries have restricted De Bruyne more recently, but if he can maintain his fitness then City have a good chance of winning every trophy available to them…every year.
20) Frenkie de Jong – Ajax to Barcelona (€75, 2019)
After months of speculation, the Frenkie de Jong transfer saga finally came to an end in January 2019 as the Dutch midfielder agreed to join Barcelona at the end of the season.
De Jong has been compared to both Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer, which is not as ridiculous as it seems, given that he possesses a Cruyff-like ability to float past players despite being closer to Beckenbauer in terms of his position and tactical flexibility.
Producing consistent performances in the Eredivisie is one thing; doing it in La Liga is quite another. If De Jong can learn from Sergio Busquets and become the Spaniard’s successor, Barcelona will have a world class talent on their hands.
19) Zinedine Zidane – Juventus to Real Madrid (€77.5m, 2001)
In 2001 Zidane joined the Galacticos project at Real Madrid, becoming the most expensive player in the world at the time, playing at the club until his retirement in 2006.
The Frenchman, widely considered to be one of the best players in football history, left his mark in just his first season at the club – scoring the match-winning goal against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League final.
He went on to win the La Liga title with Los Blancos and was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 2003, as well as achieving international success with the French national team.
After retiring from active play, Zidane started his managerial career at Real, eventually replacing Rafa Benitez as the club’s manager in 2016. With Zidane at the helm, Los Blancos became the only team to win three consecutive ?Champions League titles.
18) Alvaro Morata – Real Madrid to Chelsea (€78.9m, 2017)
Antonio Conte’s Chelsea downfall began when he decided to replace Diego Costa with Alvaro Morata in the summer of 2017. Costa had just scored 20 goals to help Chelsea win the Premier League title in 2016/17; Morata had never scored more than 15 in a league campaign.
Sure enough, Morata failed to have the expected impact. After a bright start, scoring six goals in his first six Premier League matches, he faded badly, hitting the target just five more times all season as Chelsea finished outside the top four and Conte was sacked.
Even the appointment of Maurizio Sarri couldn’t get the best out of Morata, who is now at Atletico Madrid on loan. If Los Rojiblancos want to make the move permanent they will be able to do so for a £15m loss on Chelsea’s original investment.
17) James Rodriguez – Monaco to Real Madrid (€80m, 2014)
Coming off the back of his performances at the 2014 World Cup, where he scored six goals and led Colombia to the quarter finals, ?James Rodriguez said it was his ‘life’s dream’ to play for Real Madrid. Los Blancos were happy to oblige, splashing out £63m on the Monaco star.
Rodriguez was certainly living the dream in his first season at the Bernabeu, with 17 goals and 18 assists making him Real’s third most productive player, behind only Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo. Alas, injuries meant that he couldn’t maintain his promising start.
Seeking to rejuvenate his career, Rodriguez joined Bayern Munich on loan in summer 2017 and excelled in his first year, but injuries have once again slowed his progress. Bayern have declined the opportunity to sign him on a permanent deal, and he is widely believed to be heading for a final exit from the Santiago Bernabeu in the summer.
16) Lucas Hernandez – Atletico Madrid to Bayern Munich (€80m, 2019)
French World Cup winner Lucas Hernandez will join ?Bayern Munich from Atletico Madrid on July 1 for a huge €80m fee.
He can play at left back and centre half, and is set to be part of a Bayern overhaul which has also seen the likes of Benjamin Pavard and Jann-Fiete Arp join. There’s going to be more too, you can be sure of that.
15) Kepa Arrizabalaga – Athletic to Chelsea (€80m, 2018)
Alisson was the world’s most expensive goalkeeper for less than three weeks last summer before he was replaced at the top of the list by Kepa Arrizabalaga, with Chelsea paying Athletic top dollar to replace Thibaut Courtois.
The commanding Basque shot-stopper has settled in well at Stamford Bridge, with his height and agility ensuring that Courtois has not been missed. He cemented his popularity with the Chelsea fans by saving a penalty in the shoot-out which booked their place in the EFL Cup final.
His most famous moment so far, however, has to be that time he refused to be substituted at Wembley against Manchester City.
14) Luis Suarez – Liverpool to Barcelona (€82.3m, 2014)
No price tag would have been enough for Liverpool to happily part with ?Luis Suarez, but they couldn’t stand in the way of his dream move to Barcelona, and he became damaged goods (even more so than before) after biting Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup.
Liverpool’s title challenge in the 2013/14 season had been so dependant on the brilliance of Suarez that they crumbled without him, finishing sixth the following year and eighth the season after that. Not until signing Mohamed Salah did they fill the void Suarez had left behind.
At Barcelona, Suarez has proved why he is regarded as one of the best strikers in the world. He has scored 131 goals in 163 La Liga appearances and is the only player apart from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Pichichi Trophy in the last nine years.
13) Virgil van Dijk – Southampton to Liverpool (€84.5m, 2018)
?Some people were sceptical when Liverpool smashed their transfer record to make Virgil van Dijk the world’s most expensive defender in January 2018, but 18 months later he is the most important piece of the jigsaw in the Reds’ title bid.
With the Dutchman at the back, Liverpool reached the Champions League final two years in a row, winning it the second time around. Their previously fragile defence is now the sturdiest in the Premier League, after years of committing unforced errors.
Rated by many as one of the world’s best centre backs, Van Dijk has shown that a good defender is worth his weight in gold. The likes of Kalidou Koulibaly, Milan Skriniar and Matthijs de Ligt could soon be changing hands for similar fees.
12) Romelu Lukaku – Everton to Manchester United (€84.8m, 2017)
?Romelu Lukaku can count himself unfortunate to have come in for so much criticism since joining Manchester United in 2017. He averaged nearly a goal every other game in his debut season, but was accused of not being mobile enough and only scoring against lesser sides.
With 27 goals in all competitions, his debut season was actually the most prolific of Lukaku’s career. It’s a little more difficult for him nowadays though, and he could find himself moved on again this summer as part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s revamp at Old Trafford.
11) Neymar – Santos to Barcelona (€86.2m, 2013)
Brazilian superstar Neymar made the step up to European football in 2013 when joined Barcelona in a highly complicated and controversial deal.
The striker was highly sought after when he broke onto the scene at Santos, with Real Madrid and Barcelona racing to get their hands on him. He eventually announced that he chose the Catalan side, and Barcelona confirmed that they had paid €57.1m for the star.
Several months later an investigation was opened into the transfer by the prosecutor’s office in Madrid, which revealed that the transfer had actually cost the club €86.2m, leading Barcelona and then-vice president Josep Maria Bartomeu to be charged with tax fraud.
However, Neymar would go on to become the most expensive player in the world and Barcelona would make their investment back and then some.
10) Gonzalo Higuain – Napoli to Juventus (€90m, 2016)
In their efforts to finally win that elusive Champions League title, ?Juventus raided Serie A rivals ?Napoli for ?Gonzalo Higuain in 2016. It was a fair price for a striker whose 36 goals the previous season was the highest total in Serie A since 1928/29.
Higuain didn’t quite scale those heights in Turin, though he did score 40 goals in 73 league appearances. As for the Champions League, Higuain scored five goals to help Juventus reach the final in 2016/17, but they came up short again, losing to Real Madrid in Cardiff.
After just two seasons at Juventus, Higuain was loaned out to Milan as part of the deal which brought Leonardo Bonucci back. Just six months later he was on the move again, joining Chelsea.
9) Cristiano Ronaldo – Manchester United to Real Madrid (€94m, 2009)
Nothing which costs €94m can be described as a bargain, but this will go down as one of the greatest transfers ever despite the extortionate price. ?Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at Real Madrid as one of the best players in the world and left having established himself as one of the best players of all time.
In nine seasons at the Bernabeu, Ronaldo scored a staggering 450 goals in 438 appearances, won the Ballon d’Or four times, and won every possible trophy at least twice, including four Champions League titles.
The rivalry between Ronaldo and Lionel Messi means that this era of La Liga will always be remembered as one of the greatest periods in football history.
8) Eden Hazard – Chelsea to Real Madrid (€100m + €40m in Add-Ons)
Known as one of the most exhausting and unsurprising transfer sagas in recent years, Eden Hazard completed his highly anticipated move to the Santiago Bernabeu from Chelsea in the summer of 2019.
Hazard made no secret of his desire to join Real Madrid since the 2018 World Cup, saying on several occasions that his dream was to play for Los Blancos and that he had already made up his mind to leave Chelsea.
The Blues managed to keep Hazard at the club in the summer of 2018 despite Real’s advances, and he went on to record the most prolific season of his career, scoring 21 goals and providing 17 assists in all competitions as Chelsea finished the season in third place and claimed the Europa League title.
7) Cristiano Ronaldo – Real Madrid to Juventus €100m, 2018)
Guess who’s back? It’s inevitably Cristiano Ronaldo. Juventus watched Real Madrid win three consecutive Champions League titles and decided they wouldn’t mind a piece of the action, and they were prepared to spend big to get it.
Of all the players on this list, Ronaldo was the oldest at the time of his transfer, but the 33-year-old appears ageless as he has taken to Serie A like a duck to water – with 21 goals and a Scudetto in his debut season.
6) Gareth Bale – Tottenham to Real Madrid (€100.8m, 2013)
?Nothing says Real Madrid like breaking your own world transfer record, as Los Blancos did in 2013 when they signed Gareth Bale from Tottenham, slightly surpassing the fee paid for Ronaldo four years prior.
With his price tag naturally drawing comparisons to Ronaldo, Bale was under immediate pressure to succeed, but injuries marred his first six months. However, a sensational winner against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final was the perfect way to ingratiate himself to his new fans.
Though Bale has struggled to maintain consistent popularity during his time in Spain, he has always had the ability to pop up with important goals in big matches, including the 2014 and 2018 Champions League finals.
5) Paul Pogba – Juventus to Manchester United (€105m, 2016)
Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t make many mistakes in his illustrious career, but allowing ?Paul Pogba to leave Manchester United for nothing in 2012 may be one of his biggest. Pogba’s attitude was called into question, but that did not seem to be a problem at Juventus as he became one of the best midfielders in Serie A.
Four years after letting him leave, Manchester United brought Pogba back to Old Trafford. He made a bright start before Ferguson’s old reservations about his attitude began to resurface, and his performances deteriorated in correlation with his relationship with Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese was replaced in late 2018, and after an initial period of brilliance from the Frenchman, form moved back to the norm.
Rarely has he done enough. But he still remains one of the world’s best.
4) Ousmane Dembele – Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona (€105m + €45m in Add-Ons, 2017)
Barcelona took a leap of faith when they spent over €100m to sign ?Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund in 2017. The Frenchman had only spent one season in the Bundesliga, but Barca scouts were convinced that this was a player who could become one of the world’s best.
He isn’t quite in that category yet, but after an injury-ravaged first season at the Camp Nou, Dembele is slowly proving that the faith in him was justified.
Statistics alone cannot convey how impressive Dembele has been, with some of his goals being truly mesmerising: a sensational strike against Sevilla, a sublime run and finish against PSV Eindhoven, and an exhibition of speed and strength against Tottenham, but the jury is still out.
3) Philippe Coutinho – Liverpool to Barcelona (€120m* + €40m in Add-Ons, 2018)
Philippe Coutinho joined Barcelona from Liverpool in January 2018 in search of trophies and acclaim, and he got what he desired – winning two league titles in a row. But he could only watch on as former club Liverpool lifted the big one in 2019, smashing Coutinho’s Barcelona en-route to the Champions League final itself.
Coutinho has struggled. So much so, in fact, that if you were to label this one of the worst transfers of all time, you’d actually have a strong case. Never before has so much money been put up and such disappointment followed.
That money*, you ask? Barca are reported to have paid an initial €120m to Liverpool, with a series of add ons paid down the line – coming after sealing Champions League qualification, winning the tournament itself and in blocks of appearances. The total could reach €160m if all add-ons are triggered.
Nevertheless, it’ll be an interesting summer in 2019, with Barcelona ready to cut their losses and Coutinho unsure of his own next steps.
2) Kylian Mbappe – Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain (€145m + €35m in Add-Ons, 2018)
Most of us weren’t alive the last time a teenager did what ?Kylian Mbappe did at the 2018 World Cup. Not since Pele in 1958 had a teenager scored twice in a World Cup match or scored in a World Cup final. He also became the youngest Frenchman ever to score at a World Cup.
For many people, Mbappe’s performances in Russia confirmed that he is the player who will succeed Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the best in the world. No wonder PSG made him the world’s most expensive teenager in 2017, with the transfer made official a year later.
However, Mbappe may struggle to fulfil his full potential at PSG, who dominate domestically but are yet to go beyond the quarter finals of the Champions League. If they can’t get it right in the next few years, Mbappe may have to look elsewhere.
Rumour has it that ?he’s thinking about it already…
1) Neymar – Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain (€222m, 2017)
?Neymar’s move from Barcelona to PSG in 2017 didn’t so much break the world transfer record as smash it into a million pieces. He became the first player to command a nine-figure sum, with the £198m fee being more than double the previous record of Paul Pogba.
Was it worth it? Neymar has been prolific in front of goal and PSG won the domestic treble in his first season. It was a stroll to the Ligue 1 title in 2018/19 too, but there’s still a sense it’s not gone to plan.
PSG need to see some significant progress in the Champions League, and Neymar was supposed to be the man to lead them to European glory. He was supposed to win the Ballon d’Or, too. But he’s further off that now than he’s ever been, and he may be out the door by September.
All transfer fees according to ?Goal.
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