5 most profitable transfers in the history of Barcelona

Neymar had a stunning time playing alongside Lionel Messi.
Neymar had a stunning time playing alongside Lionel Messi.

#3 Arthur Melo - £40.5 million

Arthur Melo couldn't make it big at the Camp Nou.
Arthur Melo couldn't make it big at the Camp Nou.

With Barcelona losing their legendary midfield of Xavi and Andres Iniesta, they looked for a strong replacement in 2018. Arthur Melo from Gremio fitted their requirement, and was signed for £27.9 million.

The Brazilian midfielder was expected to use his amazing vision, superb passing abilities and smart positioning to benefit the Blaugrana. Arthur had a decent spell with the Spanish giants, but couldn't reach his optimum potential.

In the summer of 2020, Barcelona reached an agreement with Juventus for a transfer involving the swap of Arthur and Miralem Pjanic. The deal meant the Spanish club received a fee of £68.4 million, resulting in a £40.5 million profit from Arthur's sale. This does not include the fee spent on Pjanic.


#2 Luis Figo - £51.75 million

Luis Figo was a big player for the Spanish giants.
Luis Figo was a big player for the Spanish giants.

Luis Figo is one of a handful of players to have played for both Barcelona and Real Madrid. He was signed by the Blaugrana in the summer of 1995 for a fee of £2.25 million from Sporting Lisbon.

Thanks to his amazing presence and creativity in midfield, the Blaugrana enjoyed a good amount of success. He won both the La Liga and Copa Del Rey twice while playing for the Spanish giants. Figo won the 2000 Ballon d'Or award, but surprised many when he decided to join Real Madrid in the summer of 2000.

That created a lot of hatred for him among Blaugrana fans. The transfer fee involved was around £54 million, with the Blaugrana earning a profit of £51.75 million from Figo's sale.


#1 Neymar - £120.6 million

Neymar connected very well with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
Neymar connected very well with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

There was a lot of hype around Neymar while he played for FC Santos in Brazil. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona were keen for his signature, but eventually the latter succeeded in signing him for £79.2 million in 2013.

With his mind-boggling dribbling, amazing creative play and impressive goal-scoring abilities, Neymar was a huge asset for the Blaugrana. His partnership with Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi on the pitch brought a lot of success to the club. He won the historic continental treble in 2014-15, and earned a lot more accolades as well.

In 2017, Neymar joined Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). The move cost the French club £199.8 million, helping the Blaugrana amass a massive profit of £120.60 million from the sale of the Brazilian forward to PSG.

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