5 most expensive midfielders in football history

Midfielders are arguably the hardest-working players in a team, as they provide a key link between attack and defense.

Like other positions on the field, there are various types of midfielders like box-to-box, central, defensive, attacking, and so on. Midfield is the place where games are often decided, so it is paramount that teams contending for titles have quality personnel in this key area of the field.

Over the years, a plethora of talented midfielders have graced the game, delivering big titles after big-money moves. On that note, here's a look at the five most expensive midfielders in the history of the game:

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#5 Zinedine Zidane - €77.5 million

Zinedine Zidane

Arguably one of the best players to have graced the game, Zinedine Zidane arrived at Real Madrid in the summer of 2001 and proved to be an instant hit.

Zizou, as he was affectionately known, endeared himself to the Madrid faithful by scoring a stunning winner against Bayer Leverkusen to help the Merengues win their third Champions League title in five years.

The Frenchman wasn't a prolific scorer, netting only 49 times in over 200 appearances, but provided a staggering 68 assists. The 1998 Ballon d'Or winner was one of the few players who picked himself in a star-studded Madrid squad.

A decade later, Zidane would help his former club win an unprecedented Champions League three-peat and deliver two La Liga titles across two managerial stints.

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#4 Kai Havertz - €80 million

Kai Havertz

Kai Havertz is one of the best young midfielders in the game at the moment. He arrived at Stamford Bridge with much fanfare in the summer of 2020 after Chelsea splurged the cash to land the precocious midfielder.

Although Havertz took his time to get going under Frank Lampard, the 22-year-old flourished in a more advanced role under his compatriot Thomas Tuchel. The former Bayer Leverkusen midfielder scored the only goal of the game in the Champions League final against Manchester City as Chelsea won the competition for the second time in nine years.

Earlier, Havertz had a prolific 2019-20 campaign with Leverkusen, scoring 18 goals across competitions. The midfielder has also dazzled in German colors, scoring five goals, two of them at Euro 2020, and registering nine assists in only 18 games.

#3 Frenkie de Jong - €86 million

Frenkie de Jong

Frenkie de Jong was one of the stars of a young Ajax team that made a fairy-tale run from the qualifiers to the Champions League semi-finals in 2018-19, flooring European giants Real Madrid and Juventus along the way.

Barcelona did not take long to swoop in for his services, dishing out €86 million to bring De Jong to Camp Nou, where he has been a key player in the Blaugrana midfield.

The 24-year-old central midfielder has made close to 100 appearances in all competitions in two seasons with Barcelona, scoring nine goals and making 13 assists. De Jong has struck a promising chemistry with the club's talisman and captain Lionel Messi, who is expected to re-sign with Barcelona after his contract ran out this summer.

De Jong particularly starred in the Copa Del Rey final, producing three goal contributions against Athletic Bilbao, as Barcelona won their first competition in two years.

The Dutchman's versatility and ability to stay injury-free has seen him become a mainstay in the Blaugrana midfield under compatriot Ronald Koeman. De Jong has also starred prominently for the Oranje, playing all four games at Euro 2020

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#2 Paul Pogba - €105 million

Paul Pogba

Despite his undeniable class and quality, Paul Pogba has had a largely indifferent stint at Manchester United since arriving from Juventus on a €105 million transfer in the summer of 2016.

It would be unfair to say that Pogba has been a flop at Old Trafford, but the Frenchman has only shown glimpses of his potential. In almost 200 games for the English giants, Pogba has scored 38 times and provided 45 assists, tallies that seem underwhelming.

Nevertheless, the Frenchman, who has won two League Cups and one Europa League title at the club, had one of his best seasons in 2019-20, making 16 goal contributions in 42 games across competitions. That form and confidence showed in his performances at Euro 2020 for France, as Pogba made an assist and scored a stunner against Switzerland in the Round of 16.

Pogba has no dearth of suitors, but he is expected to remain at Manchester United, where he has become one of the mainstays under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

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#1 Philippe Coutinho - €135 million

Philippe Coutinho

Philippe Coutinho became the most expensive midfielder in the history of the game when Barcelona made a whopping €135 million move for his services in the summer of 2017.

But four seasons later, it can be surmised that the Brazilian has failed to live up to expectations. His best performances in this period have ironically come against his parent club in a 2019-20 Champions League game while on loan at Bayern Munich.

Coutinho made a promising start to life at Camp Nou, making 20 goal contributions in 52 league games as Barcelona won successive La Liga titles. However, the Brazilian's stock nosedived as he was considered surplus to requirements and was sent out on loan to Bayern Munich.

The former Liverpool player returned to Barcelona after a productive loan spell, but found first-team opportunities hard to come by. Coutinho is expected to make a high-profile exit from Camp Nou this summer as Barcelona try to balance their books to accommodate Messi's contract extension without falling foul of La Liga rules.

It remains to be seen where the 29-year-old lands up before the 2021-22 season commences.