The 100 most expensive football transfers of all time

Gareth Bale is the most expensive British player of all time, having cost Real Madrid €100.8 million in 2013.

At the time, Bale was the most expensive player in history, but he slipped to eighth in the ranking in 2019. He is now behind the likes of Paul Pogba, Antoine Griezmann and Philippe Coutinho.

The costliest English player in history, incidentally, is Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, who joined from Leicester City in 2019 for €87.1m.

Kylian Mbappe is the most expensive teenager ever after joining PSG on a loan-to-buy deal that will be worth €180 million after bonuses.

Not only is he the most expensive teenage footballer of all time, but Mbappe is also second-most expensive player of all time.

Joao Felix follows Mbappe as the second most expensive teenager, having been signed by Atletico Madrid from Benfica for €126m in 2019.

Harry Maguire became the most expensive defender of all time when Manchester United forked out a fee worth €87.1 million to Leicester City for the England international’s services in 2019.

Maguire overtook Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk in the process, but only relatively marginally, with the Netherlands centre-back costing the Reds €84.5m

Kepa Arrizabalaga is the most expensive goalkeeper in history after Chelsea spent €80 million to meet his release clause with Athletic Club 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, the 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 matched Kepa’s release clause not even a month later, meaning the Spain international has quickly dethroned Alisson for the No.1 spot in transfer history. 

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.

However, with the way the market is going, who knows which record will be shattered next?!