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List of most expensive association football transfers

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This article is about association football as played by men. For transfers of women's association football players, see List of most expensive women's association football transfers.
Neymar, who completed the most expensive transfer 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 confirmed record transfer was of Willie Groves from West Bromwich Albion to Aston Villa for £100 in 1893[1] (equivalent to £14,000 in 2023), made just eight years after the introduction of professionalism by the Football Association in 1885.[2]

The current transfer record was set by the transfer of Neymar from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for €222 million (£200 million) in August 2017.[3][4] While the current record for women was set by the transfer of Olivia Smith from Liverpool to Arsenal for €1.157 million (£1 million) in July 2025.[5]

Highest transfer records in association football

[edit]

All selling clubs involved in transfers on this list are under UEFA's jurisdiction. Most players transfer to clubs from the Big Five Leagues, with half of them being Premier League clubs. Saudi Arabian clubs are the only purchasing clubs not under UEFA's jurisdiction. Overall, Manchester United has made the list nine times for player purchases, the most among all clubs.

Romelu Lukaku appears on this list three times for moves to Manchester United, Inter Milan, and Chelsea. Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo appear on the list twice. All of the players on the list are of European (UEFA), South American (CONMEBOL) or African (CAF) origin. There are currently no players on the list from the remaining regions; North America (CONCACAF), Asia (AFC) and Oceania (OFC). Ten French players have made their name on the list, the most among all countries.

Most transfer fees listed are not officially disclosed by the trading clubs and are reported by reliable mainstream media. Different media outlets may report varying transfer fees. The transfer fees are ranked in Euro (€) and based on the exchange rate at the time of the transfer.

As of 1 September 2025
  Fee broke the world record at the time of the transfer
  Fee broke the record for a teenager at the time of the transfer
  Fee broke the national league record at the time of the transfer
  Fee broke the record for a South American player at the time of the transfer
  Fee broke the record for an African player at the time of the transfer
  Fee broke the record for a goalkeeper at the time of the transfer
  Fee broke the record for a defender at the time of the transfer
Top 50 most expensive association football transfers
Rank Player From To Position Fee
(€ million) 		Fee
(£ million) 		Year Ref.
1 Brazil Neymar (1) Spain Barcelona France Paris Saint-Germain Forward €222[a] £200 2017 [3]
2 France Kylian Mbappé France Monaco France Paris Saint-Germain Forward €180 £165.7 2017 [6]
3 Sweden Alexander Isak England Newcastle United England Liverpool Forward €144.5 £125[b] 2025 [7]
4 Portugal João Félix Portugal Benfica Spain Atlético Madrid Forward €126 £113 2019 [8]
5 Argentina Enzo Fernández Portugal Benfica England Chelsea Midfielder €121 £106.8 2023 [9]
6 France Antoine Griezmann Spain Atlético Madrid Spain Barcelona Forward €120[a] £107 2019 [10]
7 Brazil Philippe Coutinho England Liverpool Spain Barcelona Midfielder €118.4 £105[c] 2018 [11]
8 England Jack Grealish England Aston Villa England Manchester City Midfielder €117.7 £100 2021 [12]
9 Germany Florian Wirtz Germany Bayer Leverkusen England Liverpool Midfielder €117.5 £100[d] 2025 [13]
10 England Declan Rice England West Ham United England Arsenal Midfielder €116.5 £100[e] 2023 [14]
11 Ecuador Moisés Caicedo England Brighton & Hove Albion England Chelsea Midfielder €116.3 £100[f] 2023 [15]
12 Belgium Romelu Lukaku (3) Italy Inter Milan England Chelsea Forward €115 £97.5 2021 [16]
13 France Ousmane Dembélé Germany Borussia Dortmund Spain Barcelona Forward €105[g] £96.8 2017 [17]
France Paul Pogba Italy Juventus England Manchester United Midfielder €105[h] £89.3 2016 [18]
15 England Jude Bellingham Germany Borussia Dortmund Spain Real Madrid Midfielder €103[i] £88.5 2023 [19]
16 Belgium Eden Hazard England Chelsea Spain Real Madrid Forward €100 £89[j] 2019 [20]
Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo (2) Spain Real Madrid Italy Juventus Forward €100 £88.3 2018 [21]
England Harry Kane England Tottenham Hotspur Germany Bayern Munich Forward €100[k] £86.4 2023 [22]
Wales Gareth Bale England Tottenham Hotspur Spain Real Madrid Forward €100 £85.3 2013 [23]
20 Brazil Antony Netherlands Ajax England Manchester United Forward €95[l] £81.3 2022 [24]
21 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo (1) England Manchester United Spain Real Madrid Forward €94 £80 2009 [25]
22 Croatia Joško Gvardiol Germany RB Leipzig England Manchester City Defender €90 £77 2023 [26]
Brazil Neymar (2) France Paris Saint-Germain Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal Forward €90 £77.6 2023 [27]
Argentina Gonzalo Higuaín Italy Napoli Italy Juventus Forward €90[a] £75.3 2016 [28]
25 England Harry Maguire England Leicester City England Manchester United Defender €86.6 £80 2019 [29]
26 England Jadon Sancho Germany Borussia Dortmund England Manchester United Midfielder €85 £73[m] 2021 [30]
27 Belgium Romelu Lukaku (1) England Everton England Manchester United Forward €84.8 £75[n] 2017 [31]
28 Netherlands Virgil van Dijk England Southampton England Liverpool Defender €84.4 £75 2018 [32]
29 Uruguay Luis Suárez England Liverpool Spain Barcelona Forward €82.3 £65 2014 [33]
30 France Wesley Fofana England Leicester City England Chelsea Defender €80.9 £70[o] 2022 [34]
31 Belgium Romelu Lukaku (2) England Manchester United Italy Inter Milan Forward €80 £74 2019 [35]
Ivory Coast Nicolas Pépé France Lille England Arsenal Midfielder €80 £72 2019 [36]
Spain Kepa Arrizabalaga Spain Athletic Bilbao England Chelsea Goalkeeper €80[a] £71.6 2018 [37]
France Hugo Ekitike Germany Eintracht Frankfurt England Liverpool Forward €80 £69[p] 2025 [38]
France Aurélien Tchouaméni France Monaco Spain Real Madrid Midfielder €80[q] £68.3 2022 [39]
France Lucas Hernandez Spain Atlético Madrid Germany Bayern Munich Defender €80[a] £68 2019 [40]
Brazil Alisson Becker Italy AS Roma England Liverpool Goalkeeper €80[a] £66.8 2018 [41]
Colombia James Rodríguez France Monaco Spain Real Madrid Midfielder €80 £63 2014 [42]
38 France Zinedine Zidane Italy Juventus Spain Real Madrid Midfielder €77.5 £46.2 2001 [43]
39 Colombia Jhon Durán England Aston Villa Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr Forward €77 £64.5[r] 2025 [44]
40 Slovenia Benjamin Šeško Germany RB Leipzig England Manchester United Forward €76.5[s] £66.3 2025 [45]
41 Belgium Kevin De Bruyne Germany VfL Wolfsburg England Manchester City Midfielder €75.7 £55 2015 [46]
42 Argentina Ángel Di María Spain Real Madrid England Manchester United Forward €75.6 £59.7 2014 [47]
43 Germany Kai Havertz England Chelsea England Arsenal Midfielder €75.3 £65 2023 [48]
44 Netherlands Matthijs de Ligt Netherlands Ajax Italy Juventus Defender €75[t] £67.8 2019 [49]
Netherlands Frenkie de Jong Netherlands Ajax Spain Barcelona Midfielder €75[u] £65 2019 [50]
Cameroon Bryan Mbeumo England Brentford England Manchester United Forward €75 £65[v] 2025 [51]
Germany Nick Woltemade Germany VfB Stuttgart England Newcastle United Forward €75[w] £64.9 2025 [52]
Nigeria Victor Osimhen Italy Napoli Turkey Galatasaray Forward €75 £64.8 2025 [53]
Argentina Julián Álvarez England Manchester City Spain Atlético Madrid Forward €75[x] £64.4 2024 [54]
France Randal Kolo Muani Germany Eintracht Frankfurt France Paris Saint-Germain Forward €75[y] £64.2 2023 [55]
Uruguay Darwin Núñez Portugal Benfica England Liverpool Forward €75 £64[z] 2022 [56]
Denmark Rasmus Højlund Italy Atalanta England Manchester United Forward €75 £64[aa] 2023 [57]
  1. ^ a b c d e f The player's buyout clause was activated in the transfer
  2. ^ Initial £125 million plus £5 million in possible add-ons
  3. ^ Initial £105 million plus £37 million in possible add-ons
  4. ^ Initial £100 million plus £16 million in possible add-ons
  5. ^ Initial £100 million plus £5 million in possible add-ons
  6. ^ Initial £100 million plus £15 million in possible add-ons
  7. ^ Initial €105 million plus €40 million in possible add-ons
  8. ^ Initial €105 million plus €5 million in possible add-ons
  9. ^ Initial €103 million plus €30.9 million in possible add-ons
  10. ^ Initial £89 million plus £60 million in possible add-ons
  11. ^ Initial €100 million plus €10 million in possible add-ons
  12. ^ Initial €95 million plus €5 million in possible add-ons
  13. ^ Initial £73 million plus £5 million in possible add-ons
  14. ^ Initial £75 million plus £15 million in possible add-ons
  15. ^ Initial £70 million plus £5 million in possible add-ons
  16. ^ Initial £69 million plus £10 million in possible add-ons
  17. ^ Initial €80 million plus €20 million in possible add-ons
  18. ^ Initial £64.5 million plus £6.5 million in possible add-ons
  19. ^ Initial €76.5 million plus €8.5 million in possible add-ons
  20. ^ Initial €75 million plus €10.5 million in possible add-ons
  21. ^ Initial €75 million plus €11 million in possible add-ons
  22. ^ Initial £65 million plus £6 million in possible add-ons
  23. ^ Initial €75 million plus €5 million in possible add-ons
  24. ^ Initial €75 million plus €20 million in possible add-ons
  25. ^ Initial €75 million plus €15 million in possible add-ons
  26. ^ Initial £64 million plus £21 million in possible add-ons
  27. ^ Initial £64 million plus £8 million in possible add-ons

Statistics

[edit]
Country Player Selling clubs Purchasing clubs
France France 10 5 3
England England 6 19 26
Belgium Belgium 5 0 0
Brazil Brazil 4 0 0
Argentina Argentina 4 0 0
Germany Germany 3 10 2
Netherlands Netherlands 3 3 0
Portugal Portugal 3 3 0
Colombia Colombia 2 0 0
Uruguay Uruguay 2 0 0
Spain Spain 1 6 14
Cameroon Cameroon 1 0 0
Croatia Croatia 1 0 0
Denmark Denmark 1 0 0
Ecuador Ecuador 1 0 0
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast 1 0 0
Nigeria Nigeria 1 0 0
Slovenia Slovenia 1 0 0
Sweden Sweden 1 0 0
Wales Wales 1 0 0
Italy Italy 0 6 4
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia 0 0 2
Turkey Turkey 0 0 1

Most expensive player by confederation

[edit]
Confederation Player From To Position Fee
(€ million) 		Fee
(£ million) 		Year Ref.
CONMEBOL Brazil Neymar Spain Barcelona France Paris Saint-Germain Forward €222[a] £200 2017 [3][4]
UEFA France Kylian Mbappé France Monaco France Paris Saint-Germain Forward €180 £165.7 2018 [6]
CAF Ivory Coast Nicolas Pépé France Lille England Arsenal Forward €80 £72 2019 [58]
CONCACAF United States Christian Pulisic Germany Borussia Dortmund England Chelsea Midfielder €64 £57.6 2019 [59]
AFC South Korea Kim Min-jae Italy Napoli Germany Bayern Munich Defender €50[a] £43 2023 [60]
OFC New Zealand Chris Wood England Burnley England Newcastle United Forward €29 £25 2022 [61]
  1. ^ a b The player's buyout clause was activated in the transfer

World football transfer record

[edit]

The first player to ever be transferred for a fee of over £100 was Scottish striker Willie Groves when he together with Jack Reynolds (£50) made the switch from West Bromwich Albion to Aston Villa in 1893,[2] eight years after the legalisation of professionalism in the sport. It took just another twelve years for the figure to become £1,000, when Sunderland striker Alf Common moved to Middlesbrough.[62][63] It was not until 1928 that the first five-figure transfer took place. David Jack of Bolton Wanderers was the subject of interest from Arsenal, and in order to negotiate the fee down, Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman got the Bolton representatives drunk.[64][65] Subsequently, David Jack was transferred for a world record fee when Arsenal paid £10,890 to Bolton for his services, after Bolton had asked for £13,000, which was double the previous record made when Sunderland signed Burnley's Bob Kelly a fee of for £6,500.[63]

Diego Maradona and Ronaldo (pictured) were twice transferred for world record fees.[66]

The first player from outside Great Britain to break the record was Bernabé Ferreyra, a player known as La Fiera for his powerful shot. His 1932 transfer from Tigre to River Plate cost £23k,[65] and the record would last for 17 years (the longest the record has lasted) until it was broken by Manchester United's sale of Johnny Morris to Derby County for £24k in March 1949. The record was broken seven further times between 1949 and 1961, when Luis Suárez Miramontes was sold by Barcelona to Inter Milan for £152k, becoming the first ever player sold for more than £100k.[63] In 1968, Pietro Anastasi became the first £500k player when Juventus purchased him from Varese,[65] which was followed seven years later with Giuseppe Savoldi becoming the first million pound player when he transferred from Bologna to Napoli.[63][65]

After Alf Common and David Jack, the third player to twice be transferred for world record fees is Diego Maradona.[63][65] His transfers from Boca Juniors to Barcelona for £3m, and then to Napoli for £5m, both broke the record in 1982 and 1984 respectively. In the space of 61 days in 1992,[65] three transfers broke the record,[63] all by Italian clubs: Jean-Pierre Papin transferred from Marseille to A.C. Milan, becoming the first ever £10m player.[65] Almost immediately, rivals Juventus topped that with the signing of Gianluca Vialli for a fee of £12m from Sampdoria. Milan then completed the signing of Gianluigi Lentini for a fee of £13m which stood as the record for three years.

The 1996 transfer of Alan Shearer from Blackburn Rovers to Newcastle United, for a fee of £15m,[67] kickstarted a year-by-year succession of record breaking transfers: Ronaldo moved the following year to Inter Milan from Barcelona for a fee of £17m,[68] which was followed in 1998 by the shock transfer of his fellow countryman Denílson from São Paulo to Real Betis for a fee of approximately £21m.[63][65][69] In 1999 and 2000, Italian clubs returned to their record-breaking ways, with Christian Vieri transferring from Lazio to Inter Milan for £28m,[70] while Hernán Crespo's transfer from Parma to Lazio ensured he became the first player to cost more than £30m.[63][71] The transfer prompted the BBC to ask "has the world gone mad"?[72] It took two weeks for the record to be broken when Luís Figo made a controversial £37m move from Barcelona to rivals Real Madrid.[63][73] A year later, Real increased the record again with a signing of Zinedine Zidane for £48m (150 billion lire).[74]

Zidane's record stood for 8 years, the longest since the 1940s. Real Madrid continued with the Galácticos policy by buying Kaká from Milan for €67m (£56m),[75] which was the world record in pound sterling. However, both world record in euro and in pound sterling were broken by Real themselves when signing Cristiano Ronaldo for £80m (€94m) from Manchester United in the same transfer window,[63][76] Four years later Real Madrid broke the record again after completed the signing of Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013. Although Real initially insisted that the transfer cost €91.59m, slightly less than the Ronaldo fee, the deal was widely reported to be around €100m (around £85.1m).[77][78] Documents leaked in 2016 by Football Leaks revealed that instalments brought the final Bale fee up to a total of €100,759,418.[63][79] In 2016, Manchester United eventually took the record away from Real Madrid, signing French midfielder Paul Pogba for €105m (£89m),[80] four years after having released him to Juventus for training compensation.

A year after the Pogba transfer, however, there was a major jump in the record fee. Paris Saint-Germain matched the €222m buyout fee of Barcelona's Neymar, converted to a reported £198m by different sources,[4] or £200m[3] more than double the previous record. This was the first time that the record fee was paid by a French club.

Overall, Barcelona has broken the record for the highest transfer fee received four times, while Real Madrid has broken the record for the highest transfer fee paid for a player five times.

Historical progression

[edit]

The transfer fees fluctuate due to exchange rate variations and are based on the exchange rate at the time of the transfer.

Year Player From To Fee (£)
1893 Scotland Willie Groves England West Bromwich Albion England Aston Villa 100[2]
1896 England Fred Wheldon England Small Heath England Aston Villa 350-500[81]
1903 England Ben Green England Barnsley England Small Heath 500[82]
1904 England Alf Common (1) England Sheffield United England Sunderland 520[83]
1904 Scotland Andy McCombie England Sunderland England Newcastle United 700[84]
1905 England Alf Common (2) England Sunderland England Middlesbrough 1,000[85]
1913 England Daniel Shea England West Ham United England Blackburn Rovers 2,000[86]
1913 England Tommy Barber England Bolton Wanderers England Aston Villa 2,000[87]
1914 England Percy Dawson Scotland Heart of Midlothian England Blackburn Rovers 2,500[88]
1920 England David Jack (1) England Plymouth Argyle England Bolton Wanderers 3,500[89]
1921 Scotland Tom Hamilton Scotland Kilmarnock England Preston North End 4,600[90]
1922 England Syd Puddefoot England West Ham United Scotland Falkirk 5,000[91]
1922 England Warney Cresswell England South Shields England Sunderland 5,500[92]
1925 England Bob Kelly England Burnley England Sunderland 6,500[93]
1928 England David Jack (2) England Bolton Wanderers England Arsenal 10,890[94]
1932 Argentina Bernabé Ferreyra Argentina Tigre Argentina River Plate 23,000[94]
1949 England Johnny Morris England Manchester United England Derby County 24,000[93]
1949 England Eddie Quigley England Sheffield Wednesday England Preston North End 26,500[93]
1950 Wales Trevor Ford England Aston Villa England Sunderland 30,000[93]
1951 England Jackie Sewell England Notts County England Sheffield Wednesday 34,500[93]
1952 Sweden Hans Jeppson Italy Atalanta Italy Napoli 52,000[94]
1954 Uruguay Juan Schiaffino Uruguay Peñarol Italy Milan 72,000[94]
1957 Argentina Omar Sivori Argentina River Plate Italy Juventus 93,000[94]
1961 Spain Luis Suárez Spain Barcelona Italy Inter Milan 152,000[94]
1963 Italy Angelo Sormani Italy Mantova Italy Roma 250,000[94]
1967 Denmark Harald Nielsen Italy Bologna Italy Inter Milan 300,000[95]
1968 Italy Pietro Anastasi Italy Varese Italy Juventus 500,000[94]
1973 Netherlands Johan Cruyff Netherlands Ajax Spain Barcelona 922,000[94]
1975 Italy Giuseppe Savoldi Italy Bologna Italy Napoli 1,200,000[94]
1976 Italy Paolo Rossi Italy Juventus Italy Vicenza 1,750,000[94]
1982 Argentina Diego Maradona (1) Argentina Boca Juniors Spain Barcelona 3,000,000[94]
1984 Argentina Diego Maradona (2) Spain Barcelona Italy Napoli 5,000,000[94]
1987 Netherlands Ruud Gullit Netherlands PSV Eindhoven Italy Milan 6,000,000[94]
1990 Italy Roberto Baggio Italy Fiorentina Italy Juventus 8,000,000[94]
1992 France Jean-Pierre Papin France Marseille Italy Milan 10,000,000[94]
1992 Italy Gianluca Vialli Italy Sampdoria Italy Juventus 12,000,000[94]
1992 Italy Gianluigi Lentini Italy Torino Italy Milan 13,000,000[94]
1996 Brazil Ronaldo (1) Netherlands PSV Eindhoven Spain Barcelona 13,200,000[94]
1996 England Alan Shearer England Blackburn Rovers England Newcastle United 15,000,000[96]
1997 Brazil Ronaldo (2) Spain Barcelona Italy Inter Milan 19,500,000[94]
1998 Brazil Denílson Brazil São Paulo Spain Real Betis 21,500,000[97][98]
1999 Italy Christian Vieri Italy Lazio Italy Inter Milan 32,000,000[99]
2000 Argentina Hernán Crespo Italy Parma Italy Lazio 35,500,000[99]
2000 Portugal Luís Figo Spain Barcelona Spain Real Madrid 37,000,000[99]
2001 France Zinedine Zidane Italy Juventus Spain Real Madrid 46,600,000[99]
2009 Brazil Kaká Italy Milan Spain Real Madrid 56,000,000[100]
2009 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo England Manchester United Spain Real Madrid 80,000,000[101]
2013 Wales Gareth Bale England Tottenham Hotspur Spain Real Madrid 86,000,000[102]
2016 France Paul Pogba Italy Juventus England Manchester United 89,000,000[103]
2017 Brazil Neymar Spain Barcelona France Paris Saint-Germain 200,000,000[3][4]

Number of record players by country

[edit]
Country Player records Record selling Record buying
England England 16 20 20
Italy Italy 8 14 18
Argentina Argentina 5 3 1
Brazil Brazil 5 1 0
France France 3 1 1
Scotland Scotland 3 2 1
Netherlands Netherlands 2 3 0
Wales Wales 2 0 0
Portugal Portugal 2 0 0
Spain Spain 1 5 9
Uruguay Uruguay 1 1 0
Denmark Denmark 1 0 0
Sweden Sweden 1 0 0

Managers

[edit]

While players are often purchased for high fees, the fee to release a manager from their contract is a lot less.[104][105][106] Usually described as a "compensation fee", the amount paid to the manager's current club is based around several factors including the total salary for the current length of his contract, as well as potential bonuses and sponsorship deals, and additional fees if the club also need to pay compensation to hire a new manager.[104]

The transfer fees fluctuate due to exchange rate variations and are based on the exchange rate at the time of the transfer.

Rank Manager From To Transfer fee Year Ref.
€ million £ million
1 Germany Julian Nagelsmann Germany RB Leipzig Germany Bayern Munich €25 £21.7 2021 [107]
2 England Graham Potter England Brighton & Hove Albion England Chelsea €23 £20 2022 [108]
3 Portugal André Villas-Boas Portugal Porto England Chelsea €15 £13.3 2011 [109][110]
4 Belgium Vincent Kompany England Burnley Germany Bayern Munich €12 £10.2 2024 [111]
5 Northern Ireland Brendan Rodgers (2) Scotland Celtic England Leicester City €10.44 £9 2019 [112]
6 Portugal Ruben Amorim Portugal Braga Portugal Sporting CP €10 £8.65 2020 [113]
7 Portugal José Mourinho Italy Inter Milan Spain Real Madrid €8 £6.8 2010 [114]
8 Austria Adi Hütter Germany Eintracht Frankfurt Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach €7.5 £6.5 2021 [115]
10 Wales Mark Hughes England Blackburn Rovers England Manchester City €6.2 £5 2008 [116]
Northern Ireland Brendan Rodgers (1) Wales Swansea City England Liverpool €6.2 £5 2012 [117]

Women

[edit]
Main article: List of most expensive women's association football transfers

The transfer fees fluctuate due to exchange rate variations and are based on the exchange rate at the time of the transfer.

As of 4 September 2025
  Fee broke the women's world football transfer record at the time of the transfer
  Fee broke the national league record at the time of the transfer
  Fee broke the women's record for a European player at the time of the transfer
Rank Player From To Position Transfer fee Year Ref(s).
£ thousand € thousand $ thousand
1 France Grace Geyoro France Paris Saint-Germain England London City Lionesses Midfielder £1,430 €1,650 $1,923 2025 [118]
2 Mexico Lizbeth Ovalle ‡ Mexico Tigres United States Orlando Pride Forward £1,111[a] €1,285[a] $1,500[a] 2025 [119]
3 United States Alyssa Thompson United States Angel City England Chelsea Forward £1,000+[b] €1,153+ $1,343+ 2025 [120]
Canada Olivia Smith England Liverpool England Arsenal Forward £1,000 €1,160 $1,360 2025 [122]
5 United States Naomi Girma United States San Diego Wave England Chelsea Defender £883 €1,050 $1,100 2025 [123]
6 Brazil Tarciane United States Houston Dash France Lyon Defender £797 €960[c] $979 2025 [126][127]
7 England Keira Walsh Spain Barcelona England Chelsea Midfielder £714[d] €850[d] $884 2025 [125]
8 Zambia Racheal Kundananji † Spain Madrid CFF United States Bay FC Forward £685[e] €805[e] $862[e] 2024 [130][131]
9 Zambia Barbra Banda † China Shanghai Shengli United States Orlando Pride Forward £582 €681 $740 2024 [132]
10 Spain Lucía Corrales Spain Barcelona England London City Lionesses Forward £433 €500[f] $585 2025 [133]
[edit]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Mexican reports suggested the fee could rise to $2 million, though sources in the United States and elsewhere confirmed its ceiling at $1.5 million.
  2. ^ Thompson's transfer, which was confirmed shortly before Geyoro's, was a Chelsea record fee; "at least on-par" with Smith's previous record fee; and described as just short of Ovalle's then-world record but able to become a new world record with bonuses[120] that would take Thompson's fee up to around $2 million.[121]
  3. ^ Reported as a Houston Dash club record sale and "among the highest in NWSL history", it had previously been reported as equivalent to $830,000 and almost a world record with potential bonuses (up to €960,000).[124] By the end of the season, the bonuses were reportedly met.[125]
  4. ^ a b Base fee of €550,000 (£460,000), as widely reported.[128] According to BBC Sport, Barcelona said that the fee including bonuses was worth up to £800,000 (€956,000).[129] At the end of the season, Spanish media reported the fee had risen to €850,000.[125]
  5. ^ a b c €700,000 release clause, €35,000 (5%) training fee applicable, and $75,000 (€70,000) additional variables.
  6. ^ Fee was considered as London City paying Corrales' release clause after Barcelona had to rescind on her contract renewal. Some sources suggested the clause was €540,000.

References

[edit]
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  3. ^ a b c d e "Neymar: Paris St-Germain sign Barcelona forward for world record 222m euros". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  4. ^ a b c d Lowe, Sid; Laurens, Julien; Hunter, Andy (2 August 2017). "Neymar set to seal world-record move to PSG worth £450m in fees and wages". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  5. ^ Keogh, Emily (17 April 2025). "Arsenal sign Liverpool's Olivia Smith in world-record transfer". ESPN.
  6. ^ a b "Kylian Mbappe: Paris St-Germain sign Monaco forward on loan". BBC Sport. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  7. ^ "Isak joins Liverpool in £125m British record deal". BBC Sport. 1 September 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
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  12. ^ "Jack Grealish: Man City sign England midfielder from Aston Villa for £100m". BBC Sport. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  13. ^ Ornstein, David (13 June 2025). "Liverpool agree €136.3m transfer of Florian Wirtz from Leverkusen". The Athletic. Retrieved 13 June 2025.
  14. ^ "Declan Rice: Arsenal sign England midfielder from West Ham for £105m". BBC Sport. 15 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  15. ^ "Moises Caicedo transfer news: Chelsea sign Brighton midfielder for £100m". BBC Sport. 14 August 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  16. ^ Romano, Fabrizio (12 August 2021). "Chelsea confirm Romelu Lukaku signing from Inter in €115m deal". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Ousmane Dembele: Barcelona agree £135.5m deal for Dortmund forward". BBC Sport. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  18. ^ "Paul Pogba: Man Utd signing of Juventus midfielder subject of Fifa inquiry". BBC Sport. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  19. ^ "Jude Bellingham: Real Madrid complete signing of England midfielder on six-year deal". BBC Sport. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  20. ^ "Eden Hazard: Real Madrid sign Chelsea forward for fee that could exceed £150m". BBC Sport. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  21. ^ Romano, Fabrizio (10 July 2018). "Cristiano Ronaldo joining Juventus in €100m deal from Real Madrid". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  22. ^ "Harry Kane confirms Tottenham exit before Bayern Munich move". BBC Sport. 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  23. ^ "Spurs accept £85m Bale bid". BBC Sport. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  24. ^ "Antony: Manchester United agree to sign Ajax winger for £81.3m". BBC. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
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