5 transfers that yielded the highest profit in football history

#3 Joao Felix (Benfica to Atletico Madrid - £113m)

Felix's transfer to Atletico made him the second-most expensive teenager in football

The transfer of Joao Felix to Atletico Madrid gave a massive profit to Benfica. The Portuguese footballer was initially part of Porto's youth academy. He eventually joined Benfica in 2015, after which he was called up to the senior team in the 2018-19 season.

Felix emerged as one of the most promising prospects in football while playing for Benfica. His performances in different attacking positions, with amazing positional and technical play, grabbed attention from all around Europe.

Atletico Madrid won the race for his signature in 2019, making Felix the club's most expensive signing ever. He was signed for £114.48 million to replace the departing Antoine Griezmann, who joined Barcelona. In the said transfer deal, Benfica made a profit of £114.48 million. Even a selling club like Benfica wouldn't have imagined Felix to give such an enormous profit.

Felix has yet to live up to expectations at Atletico Madrid, scoring only 19 times in 78 appearances in all competitions for the La Liga Champions. Atletico will be hoping that the Portuguese steps up soon.

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#2 Neymar (Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain - £120.42m)

Neymar's transfer to PSG created a lot of controversy

The Brazilian forward came through Santos' academy in Brazil. Neymar spent four years at the Brazilian club, scoring an amazing tally of 136 goals in 225 appearances across all competitions. His ability to dribble past players with utter ease combined with the art of creating and scoring goals on a regular basis made him a football sensation.

Both the Spanish giants, Barcelona and Real Madrid, were desperate for Neymar's signature in the summer transfer window of 2013. Eventually, it was Barcelona who ended up signing the young Brazilian for a transfer fee of £79.38 million.

During his four years at Barcelona, Neymar formed an elite partnership with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, creating havoc in the opposition defense. The trio of Messi, Neymar and Suarez became one of the most feared attacking units in the world. Neymar was part of the 2014-15 Barcelona squad that won the treble and the 2015-16 squad that won the double, playing a vital role in both seasons.

Citing a new challenge, Neymar decided to join Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 2017. The French club paid £199.80 million to get Neymar to join them, making it the most expensive transfer ever in the history of football.

The transfer resulted in a profit of £120.42 million for Barcelona. Surely, the Spanish giants wouldn't have expected to earn this big a profit when they signed the Brazilian from Santos.

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#1 Kylian Mbappe (Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain - £130.50m)

Mbappe is one of the best young players in football right now

Kylian Mbappe started his football career with AS Bondy and then moved on to AS Monaco. It took him very little time to develop and get promoted to the senior team.

He made his first-team debut in 2015 against Caen. The very next season, Mbappe had a major role to play in helping Monaco win the Ligue 1 title. Monaco also went on to reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League during that season, where they were eventually eliminated by Juventus. Mbappe ended the season scoring 26 goals in 44 matches at the age of just 18.

The following season, Real Madrid tried to sign him but the then Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane could not guarantee a regular starting position. Paris Saint-Germain swooped in on the opportunity and were able to convince the Frenchman to join them. Mbappe signed for PSG on loan for a year, with an obligation to buy the youngster for a transfer fee of £130.50 million the following year.

Monaco, who have always been a selling club, made the best profit ever a club has made in football history. £130.50 million till date remains the biggest profit margin on a football transfer deal.