The 20 footballers with the highest combined transfer fees of all time
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In an age where top players seemingly move around more and more, it’s unsurprising to see fees of upwards of £70million being spent on players. When a player moves on more than one occasion, the cumulative fees paid soon add up to a pretty significant amount, making those players the most expensive in history. We’ve looked at the top 20 players in terms of cumulative transfer fees spent on them and there’s a good chance that a couple of them could be on the move again in January, so they could be about to add even more cash to their cumulative values. (Figures via Transfemrarkt).
20th. David Luiz - £106.83m
Five transfers, including his latest move to Arsenal, make David Luiz the 20th most expensive player ever when all the fees paid for him are combined.
19. Juan Sebastian Veron - £107.64m
Seven different transfers, including moves to Lazio, Manchester United and Chelsea see former Argentina midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron come in at 19th.
18. Joao Cancelo - £108.36m
The fees paid by Valencia, Juventus and Manchester City see Joao Cancelo make the top 20.
17. Hernan Crespo - £110.65m
Hernan Crespo comes in at 17th. This is mainly due to the then world-record fee of £35m that Lazio paid for him, the £22m Inter paid for him and the £16.8m that Chelsea forked out.
16. Joao Felix - £113.4m
Atletico Madrid paid £113.4m to Benfica for Joao Felix and that fee alone sees the young superstar make this list.
15. Paulinho - £114.7m
Paulinho has had a career that has seen him play in South America, Europe and Asia and the fees paid for him land him in 15th place. His most recent move was a £37.8m switch back to CSL club Guangzhou Evergrande.
14. Nicolas Anelka - £114.62m
The highest-placed retired player on the list is Nicolas Anelka. Notable fees for Anelka include the £22.3m paid by Real Madrid, the £22m paid by PSG and the £15m paid by Chelsea.
13. Eden Hazard - £121.5m
Eden Hazard’s move to Real Madrid in the summer has propelled the Belgian superstar into 13th place on this list.
12. Ousmane Dembele - £126m
Ousmane Dembele’s move from Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona raised a few eyebrows and the French star still has a bit of work to do to justify the pricetag.
11. James Rodriguez - £128.5m
The £63m paid by Real Madrid for James Rodriguez propelled him up this list. There is talk that he could be sold this January too, so he might find himself further up the pile in the near future.
10. Kylian Mbappe - £130.5m
Kylian Mbappe is the highest-placed player in the list to have only made one transfer, with PSG paying £130.5m to sign him from Monaco.
9. Gonzalo Higuain - £139.5m
Considering Gonzalo Higuain once made a £76m move to Juventus, it’s no surprise to see him on the list.
8. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - £143.7m
Big money moves to the likes of Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona and PSG see Zlatan reach ninth place on the list.
7. Philippe Coutinho - £153.27m
The majority of the combined £153.27m for Philippe Coutinho was paid by Barcelona to Liverpool in 2018.
6. Antoine Griezmann - £156.6m
The fees paid by Atletico Madrid and Barcelona for World Cup winner Antoine Griezmann combine to an amount just over £156m.
Joint 4. Angel di Maria - £161.1m
The £59.7m that Man United paid for Angel di Maria was a British record at the time. When added to the fees paid by Benfica, Real Madrid, and PSG, that figure puts him in joint 4th.
Joint 4. Alvaro Morata - £161.1m
Alvaro Morata has played for some of Europe’s biggest clubs, such as Juventus, Real Madrid and Chelsea and has cost £161.1m in combined fees.
3. Romelu Lukaku - £183.2m
The moves that Romelu Lukaku made to Chelsea, Everton, Man United and Inter Milan all equate to a huge £183.2m
2. Cristiano Ronaldo - £207m
Cristiano Ronaldo’s moves to Man United, Real Madrid and Juventus see him come in at second place on this list, meaning only one man has had more money spent on him than the Portuguese superstar…
1. Neymar - £279.18m
No shocks to see the most expensive player ever at the top of this list. Most of the £279.18m in fees comes from the amount that PSG paid to sign the Brazilian star from Barcelona.