10 Most Expensive Players Ever by Total Transfer Fees

Transfer fees are becoming more and more astronomical within the world of football, but what happens when the same player moves several times for big money? Having a massive transfer fee to your name is a lot of pressure when acclimatising at a new club – especially when it ranks among the biggest of all time.

Some players struggle with that, take for instance £72m Arsenal flop Nicolas Pepe. Now imagine having that same pressure on multiple occasions. It must weigh heavily on the shoulders of the player. Some of the best players in recent memory have moved to several clubs for substantial transfer fees, while some have moved only once or twice for extraordinary sums of money.

But which players have still been able to thrive despite the eyes of the world pointing in their direction after such blockbuster moves, and who has struggled to live up to the hype? Using Transfermarkt’s data, here are the 10 most cumulatively expensive players in history.

10Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Total transfer fees: £145.3 million

The retired Swedish international has made his way around some of the biggest clubs in world football. Having moved between Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, Manchester United and PSG, it comes as no shock that a lot of money has been put into Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s services. The biggest fee paid for the striker was the £57 million spent by Barcelona to lure him to Camp Nou.

The final three transfers of his career, to Man Utd, LA Galaxy and finally Milan were a free transfer which prevented that £145 million figure rising even more. Had he been entering his prime in 2024, there’s no guessing the figures that would be touted for the sensational striker, who is one of the game’s most decorated footballers.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Club Career

Club
Years
Transfer Fee

Malmö
1999 – 2001
Free

Ajax
2001 – 2004
£6.7 million

Juventus
2004 – 2006
£13.7 million

Inter Milan
2006 – 2009
£21.3 million

Barcelona
2009 – 2010
£59.7 million

AC Milan
2010 – 2012
£20.6 million

Paris Saint-Germain
2012 – 2016
£18 million

Manchester United
2016 – 2018
Free

LA Galaxy
2018 – 2019
Free

AC Milan
2020 – 2023
Free

Transfer Fees via Transfermarkt

9Angel Di Maria

Total transfer fees: £154 million

The heavy lifting in Angel Di Maria’s transfer history is done by Manchester United. The English club spent £59.7 million on the skillful winger back in 2014, in a move that flattered to deceive. In fact, there is an argument that Di Maria ranks among Man United’s worst-ever signings of all time, although this doesn’t reflect the Argentine’s overall ability.

He also had moves to PSG and Real Madrid in his career to bump his cumulative fees up by a significant amount. In the summer of 2023, Di Maria completed a free transfer move from Juventus to Benfica but as of July 2024 he is now without a club as a free agent. The 2022 World Cup winner has been one of the most consistent wingers in the world for the previous decade, and it is clear to see why some of the biggest clubs in Europe have parted with big fees to bring him in even if his best days are now behind him.

Angel Di Maria’s Club Career

Club
Years
Transfer Fee

Rosario Central
2005 – 2007
Free

Benfica
2007 – 2010
£6.9 million

Real Madrid
2010 – 2014
£28.4 million

Manchester United
2014 – 2015
£64.5 million

Paris Saint-Germain
2015 – 2022
£54.2 million

Juventus
2022 – 2023
Free

Benfica
2023 – 2024
Free

Free Agent
2024 – Present
N/A

Transfer Fees via Transfermarkt

8Kylian Mbappe

Total transfer fees: £154.7 million

Incredibly, the move made from Monaco to PSG in 2018 is the only transfer fee paid for the 25-year-old to date. He has been one of the most exciting players in world football for some time now, and proved fair value for money in the French capital as he bagged 256 goals in 306 games.

That said, PSG would have liked to have picked up some financial return on their investment when Real Madrid came in a plucked away their biggest asset. However, Mbappe let his contract wind down and moved for free. Not that it still didn’t cos Los Blancos a pretty penny, with Madrid have to fork out around £128m directly to the player in the signing-on fee alone. The Frenchman’s deal really does prove the old saying: nothing in life comes for free.

Kylian Mbappe’s Club Career

Club
Years
Transfer Fee

Monaco
2015 – 2018
Free

Paris Saint-Germain
2018 – 2024
£154.7 million

Real Madrid
2024 – Present
Free

7Philippe Coutinho

Total transfer fees: £155 million

It’s well-known that selling Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona, funded Liverpool’s moves for both Alisson and Virgil van Dijk. Looking back in hindsight, it is clear to see which club got the better end of that particular deal. A fee of £142 million was the agreed price to snap up the dazzling Brazilian in the January transfer window of 2018. His initial move to Liverpool in 2013 was a bargain as he was still a youngster at the time, before developing into a superstar.

That nominal fee proved to be great value for money as far as Liverpool were concerned. Coutinho spent five seasons at Liverpool, scoring 54 goals in 201 appearances. That’s despite it coming during a fairly underwhelming era at Anfield in which they failed to win a trophy. If only he had stuck around under Jurgen Klopp a little longer.

But Coutinho had a poor time in Spain, to say the least. His former teammate, Steven Gerrard, signed him as Aston Villa manager for just shy of £20 million in order to end his La Liga nightmare in 2022 but things haven’t gone much better back in the Premier League. The Brazil international moved to Al-Duhail on loan for the 2023/24 season and then was shipped out to Vasco da Gama for the following campaign, he struggles to rediscover his previous form.

Philippe Coutinho’s Club Career

Club
Years
Transfer Fee

Inter Milan
2008 – 2013
£3.3 million

Vasco de Gama
2008 – 2010
Loan

Espanyol
2012
Loan

Liverpool
2013 – 2018
£11.2 million

Barcelona
2018 – 2022
£116.1 million

Bayern Munich
2019 – 2020
Loan

Aston Villa
2022 – 2023
£17.2 million

Al-Duhail
2023 – 2024
Loan

Vasco da Gama
2024 – Present
Loan

6Antoine Griezmann

Total transfer fees: £155.85 million

A release clause in his contract allowed the Frenchman to move to Barcelona, making up almost the entire sum of the above number. The Spanish giants would have regretted that decision with hindsight as they eventually sold Antoine Griezmann back to Atletico Madrid only three years after paying the astronomical fee.

Remarkably, it means that Atlético have bought Griezmann on two separate occasions for far less than they sold him to Barcelona for. Now that’s business. Griezmann has become one of the top players in his position over the past few years and there are always murmurs that some elite European clubs could be interested in snapping up the former Real Sociedad star. With that in mind, the total sum of transfer fees spent on Griezmann could increase even more in the not-so-distant future.

Antoine Griezmann’s Club Career

Club
Years
Transfer Fee

Real Sociedad
2009 – 2014
Free

Atletico Madrid
2014 – 2019
£25.8 million

Barcelona
2019 – 2021
£103.1 million

Atletico Madrid
2021 – 2023
£18.55 million Loan fee (+ £8.4 million)

5Alvaro Morata

Total transfer fees: £170.3 million

Perhaps a surprise entry on the list is the striker best known for being inconsistent in front of goal. Alvaro Morata moved from Real Madrid to Juventus in the early stages of his career before being bought back by Los Blancos.

After one season back in Madrid, Chelsea broke their transfer record to bring him to the Premier League for around £60 million. He was very underwhelming in England and ended up moving to Atletico Madrid for a similar fee to the one Chelsea bought him for, astonishingly.

Morata had looked likely to leave Atleti once again to contribute to his accumulative transfer fee in the summer of 2023, but the Spaniard remained with Diego Simeone’s side. AC Milan had been heavily linked with the Spaniard, while a move to Saudi Arabia was also touted, and after his success captaining Spain to Euro 2024 glory, the Italian club triggered his release clause.

Alvaro Morata’s Club Career

Club
Years
Transfer Fee

Real Madrid
2010 – 2014
Free

Juventus
2014 – 2016
£17.2 million

Real Madrid
2016 – 2017
£25.8 million

Chelsea
2017 – 2019
£56.8 million

Atletico Madrid

2019 – 2024
£30.1 million (+ £15.5 million loan fee)

Juventus
2020 – 2022
Loan (£17.2 million fee)

AC Milan
2024 – Present
£10.9 million

4Ousmane Dembele

Total transfer fees: £189.2 million

Again, Barcelona have a lot to do with another player’s appearance on this list. The staggering amount of money the Catalan giants have spent on transfers partially explains the financial trouble they have been in over the past few years.

The injury-prone winger has struggled to really make his stamp on the league, having signed for a higher fee than his international teammate, Griezmann. Previously, Borussia Dortmund did spend around £30 million on Ousmane Dembele from Rennes before selling him to Barca for more than three times that amount.

In the summer of 2023, Dembele made the move to Paris Saint-Germain for £43.5 million where his performances have characteristically been mixed. At the age of 27, the Frenchman still has plenty of years left in his career to fulfil the incredible potential he showed when he was young. But he’s also got plenty of time for another big-money move that might see him even further up this list.

Ousmane Dembele’s Club Career

Club
Years
Transfer Fee

Rennes
2014 – 2016
Free

Borussia Dortmund
2016 – 2017
£30.1 million

Barcelona
2017 – 2023
£116.1 million

Paris Saint-Germain
2023 – Present
£43 million

3Cristiano Ronaldo

Total transfer fees: £212.5 million

Had Cristiano Ronaldo played his entire career in this generation, his cumulative transfer fee figure would be a lot higher. His £80 million move to Real Madrid in 2009 was seen as massive, with it breaking the world record at that time. Looking back, that figure is almost measly for a player who would go on to become the top goalscorer of all time.

Fees that are being thrown around in the modern day make this sum look paltry in comparison. Players seen as good are being touted at £80 million and above. With Ronaldo being one of the best players ever, you can only imagine how much his club would request for his signature these days if he was in his prime.

Back in 2013, at the very start of his career, United made Ronaldo the most expensive teenager in history by paying just £12 million for him from Sporting Lisbon. It’s fair to say it was £12 million very well spent.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Club Career

Club
Years
Transfer Fee

Sporting Lisbon
2002 – 2003
Free

Manchester United
2003 – 2009
£16.3 million

Real Madrid
2009 – 2018
£80.9 million

Juventus
2018 – 2021
£100.6 million

Manchester United
2021 – 2023
£14.6 million

Al-Nassr
2023 – Present
Free

2Romelu Lukaku

Total transfer fees: £291.9 million

The second most cumulatively expensive player in football history is the Belgian forward, Romelu Lukaku. With his loan move to Inter Milan coming to a close at the end of the 2022/23 season, the striker then returned to Italy on loan once again, joining AS Roma.

Now back at his parent club, Chelsea, the Blues have forked out close to a combined £120 million to sign the 31-year-old on two separate occasions with very little return. The second of which has been far from successful, as he returned to Italy on loan only one year later.

Lukaku has scored a combined 15 goals in 59 appearances at Stamford Bridge, and it seems unlikely he will get the opportunity to add to that tally. Manchester United, Everton and Inter Milan have all parted company with large amounts of money to acquire his services in the past and it looks as though Napoli are set to be his next destination – which could see his cumulative fees rise even more.

Romelu Lukaku’s Club Career

Club
Years
Transfer Fee

Anderlecht
2009 – 2011
Free

Chelsea
2011 – 2014
£12.9 million

West Brom
2012 – 2013
Loan

Everton
2014 – 2017
£30.4 million (+ £3 million loan fee)

Manchester United
2017 – 2019
£72.9 million

Inter Milan
2019 – 2021
£63.7 million

Chelsea
2021 – Present
£97.2 million

Inter Milan
2022 – 2023
£6.8 million loan fee

Roma
2023 – Present
£5 million loan fee

1Neymar

Total transfer fees: £344.1 million

The flamboyant Brazilian is still the most expensive player in history when it comes to a one-off transfer fee. And following his move to Saudi Arabia, he overtook Lukaku as the most expensive player in terms of combined transfer fees.

Neymar was the first ever player to be purchased for £200 million and, at the moment, remains out on his own in that regard. The move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain rocked the football world, and even with the money swashing around in today’s game, it could be quite some time until that fee is topped. PSG are the only team to have come close to spending as much on another player, after bringing in Mbappe from Monaco.

Has the £200 million been money well spent for Neymar? Injuries and controversies plagued his six years at the Parc des Princes, despite his brilliance. He still managed 118 goals in 173 appearances, winning five league titles. But no Champions League title.

Neymar then joined several high-profile players in Saudi Arabia, signing for Al Hilal for around £77 million. He es earning an eye-watering wage while in Saudi Arabia, but having all but ended his career in Europe, injury problems have followed him to the Middle East.

Neymar’s Club Career

Club
Years
Transfer Fee

Santos
2009 – 2013
Free

Barcelona
2013 – 2017
£75.7 million

Paris Saint-Germain
2017 – 2023
£200 million

Al-Hilal
2023 – Present
£77.4 million