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Over the last decade, the number of expensive football transfers have seen a meteoric rise. The inflation of the market has seen many transfers surpass clubs' existing transfer records, and in many cases, even world records. In fact, the ten most expensive footballers of all time were all purchased between the years 2010 and 2020.
Real Madrid's purchase of Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur kicked off the decade's spree of world record signings, which was then surpassed numerous on many occasions over time. Neymar's eye-watering €222m transfer to Paris Saint-Germain — currently the most expensive move in the world — changed the landscape of transfers entirely. Many of the record fees seen in football have come after the completion of this record-breaking move.
On that note, here, we take a look at the most expensive football XI of all time, based on positions of the players.
GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga | Chelsea | €80m
Chelsea made Kepa the world's most expensive goalkeeper in the wake of Thibaut Courtois' decision to move to Real Madrid in 2018. However, after a respectable debut campaign, it has been anything but plain sailing for the keeper.
The Spanish international has endured a terrible 2019/20 campaign in which he was statistically one of the worst goalkeepers in the Premier League. Kepa was abysmal in goal, letting in shots that would have made for simple saves for more experienced keepers. Chelsea conceded more goals than anyone in the top half of the table and Kepa ultimately lost his place to Willy Caballero in the side.
The fact that Chelsea are on the lookout for a new number one ahead of the 2020/21 season is enough to sum up the 25-year-old's dismal season. Athletic Bilbao, his former club, proved to be the only winners from this world-record deal.
Also read: 10 Premier League signings that have failed to impress (2019-20)
LB: Benjamin Mendy | Manchester City | €57.50m
Pep Guardiola suffered his worst-ever league finish in the 2016/17 season, due to which he wanted to oversee a thorough revamp of the squad. He spent heftily on the full-back area, and as part of this expenditure, City purchased AS Monaco star Benjamin Mendy for €57.50m in the summer of 2017.
Mendy has endured an absolutely shambolic time in Manchester so far. The Frenchman has missed over a staggering 80 games via injuries since he arrived in the Premier League, and even when he has played, Mendy has left a lot to be desired. His lack of defensive awareness and knack of getting beaten by opposition wingertime and time again saw him lose his place to Oleksandr Zinchenko and, more recently, Joao Cancelo in the XI.
Unless the 26-year-old's career sees a drastic turnaround, Mendy's record purchase from Monaco will go down as one of the worst signings in recent history, as he's offered little to no impetus to this City side.
CB: Virgil van Dijk | Liverpool | €84.65m
Eyebrows were raised when Liverpool made the decision to shell out a world-record fee for a defender to sign then-Southampton centre-half Virgil van Dijk. The Dutchman, who cost the Reds a staggering €84.65m at the time, has since gone on to establish himself as the best central defender in world football.
The transformative signing enabled them to build a team that achieved success across both domestic and continental fronts. Liverpool won the UEFA Champions League in 2018/19, and Van Dijk was adjudged the best player in Europe for his immeasurable impact on the six-time European champions. The 29-year-old then guided Jurgen Klopp's men to their first-ever Premier League title in 2019/20 with the best defensive record in the top-flight.
Van Dijk's world-record purchase for a defender at the time has proven to be one of the most successful and transformative signings in all of football history, let alone that of the Premier League.
CB: Harry Maguire | Manchester United | €87m
Manchester United ditched their well-documented pursuit of Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly to sign English defender Harry Maguire for a world-record fee in 2019. The former Leicester City man was made the most expensive centre-half in the world after the Red Devils purchased him for €87m last summer.
Although he is yet to have a Van Dijk-esque impact on Manchester United, Maguire's defensive prowess has been at the fore for the club, as seen by their improvement in defensive numbers. The Red Devils conceded 54 goals in 38 league games last year, a number which the 26-year-old has helped limit to 36 this year. He was made captain in the wake of Ashley Young's departure and has been a reliable figure for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men, who finished third in the Premier League in 2019/20.
That being said, there is a feeling that Maguire is yet to justify why Manchester United parted with a surreal amount of money for him. They are reportedly looking for a pacey centre-half to pair with Maguire for the 2020/21 season.
RB: Kyle Walker | Manchester City | €53m
The second Manchester City defender on this list, Kyle Walker was briefly the most expensive specialist full-back in the world, until City broke their own record just days after to purchase Mendy. However, Walker's time at Manchester City is unrecognisably different from that of Mendy's.
The Englishman has grown into a pivotal figure for Pep Guardiola's defence, proving why City were insistent on signing him from Tottenham Hotspur. Walker has been utilised by Guardiola in both roles, as an attacking full-back and as an inverted one, and both have helped him reap the rewards of Walker's ability. He remains one of the quickest full-backs in the Premier League, and his intelligence allows him to be deployed in various set-ups with varying responsibilities.
Walker has mostly been an undroppable figure for Guardiola and City, regularly putting in tireless shifts for his side. His consistency has been remarkable, and Walker has been one of the better of City's plethora of signings in recent times.
Also read: 5 Best signings made by Pep Guardiola at Manchester City | Premier League 2019-20
CDM: Rodri | Manchester City | €70m
Rodri was said to be one of the most talented Spanish midfielders to come through the ranks of LaLiga Santander in years. So much so, that his style of play and intelligence were likened to that of Sergio Busquets, with Rodri being tipped to replace him in the future. Naturally, a Pep Guardiola-led Manchester City were in the running for his signature, and they paid a club-record €70m for his services.
The Spanish international took barely any time to settle into the pace and intensity of the Premier League. He enjoyed an impressive debut season at the base of the former champions' midfield, controlling the tempo of their play and overseeing proceedings effortlessly in the middle. The former Atletico Madrid star has added a sense of physicality to City's midfield along with control, given that he stands at 6'3".
At 24, Rodri has a stellar future awaiting him, especially if Guardiola — a confessed admirer of the midfielder — remains at the helm of the Etihad for a few more years.
CM: Paul Pogba | Manchester United | €105m
One of the relatively older record transfers on this list, Paul Pogba was made the most expensive player in the world in 2016 Manchester United. The Red Devils parted with €105m for their former midfielder and purchased him from Juventus in Jose Mourinho's first summer at the club.
His performances and overall career at Old Trafford has divided opinion. While some say that he has been at the heart of everything positive done by the club in a troubled post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, the other section of fans and experts alike have been critical of his displays. Pogba was always tipped to be a player capable of winning the Ballon d'Or and coveted titles, and although he has done the latter, there is a belief his contributions have left a lot to be desired because he's capable of more.
After an injury-laden season, Pogba enjoyed a superb second half of the season under Solskjaer and mainly since Bruno Fernandes arrived. It remains to be seen if Pogba commits his long-term future to the club, but all the signs point to the Frenchman remaining at Old Trafford.
CM: Philippe Coutinho | Barcelona | €145m
Replacing a player such as Neymar Jr was always going to be a herculean task for any club in the world. Barcelona were tasked with doing so, and purchased two players in two back-to-back windows when they bought Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho in the summer and winter of 2017/18 for over €100m each. It's safe to say that neither of the moves worked out in the slightest.
Coutinho's controversial move to the Nou Camp from Liverpool has been a dismal one so far, with the Brazilian falling out of favour at the Nou Camp just a year and a half after his move. This was due to several factors, the most important of which were him not being able to adapt to Barcelona and being played out of his preferred position. He was quickly loaned out to Bayern Munich with an option to purchase, which the Bavarians didn't choose to do.
Coutinho remains the most expensive Barcelona purchase in their illustrious history, and has a compelling case to be their worst-ever. It was ultimately a terrible transfer for everyone involved except Liverpool, who purchased Van Dijk and Alisson Becker the money earned from this blockbuster sale.
Also read: 5 Worst signings made by Barcelona under Josep Maria Bartomeu
LW: Neymar Jr | Paris Saint-Germain | €222m
French champions Paris Saint-Germain sent shockwaves through the football world when they purchased Barcelona superstar Neymar for a record fee of €222m in 2017. The Brazilian was widely expected to be groomed by Lionel Messi to inherit the Argentine's Nou Camp throne after breathtaking few seasons in Spain.
However, there were several recurring complications that came as part of this deal. Neymar reportedly wanted to force a move back to Barcelona in the first couple of years of his stay in Paris, with Lionel Messi himself admitting that he would have loved for the Brazilian to return to the Nou Camp. It is in the 2019/20 season that Neymar has sparked PSG's European ambitions to life after putting in a string of majestic performances for the French club, and is now 90 minutes away from guiding them to their first-ever UCL final.
This transfer was used as a measuring stick for many transfers since 2017, with clubs demanding extortionate amount of transfer fees for their players. The Brazilian icon, however, could go on to carve out his own legacy in Paris as PSG are set to play either Bayern Munich or Olympique Lyon in the UCL final on Sunday.
RW: Kylian Mbappe | Paris Saint-Germain | €145m
Signing one of the three best players in the world for a historic fee is only a dream for some clubs. For Paris Saint-Germain, this was clearly not the case, as they went on to sign arguably the most talented teenager in the 21st century — Kylian Mbappe — to make him one of the three most expensive players in the sport.
Much like the case with Neymar, it would be unfair to judge the two stars' signings purely by domestic accolades, given PSG's pre-existing stronghold on Ligue 1. However, it is on the European front that Mbappe has excelled this year, helping PSG reach their historic maiden UCL final. The French prodigy made the difference for his club having been subbed on against Atalanta in the quarter-finals despite concerns after a horror injury in the French Cup final.
At 21, Mbappe has already won league titles, a FIFA World Cup (in which he was adjudged the best young player) and is now 90 minutes away from winning his first UCL. It's safe to say that this has been one of the most successful signings in recent times, given that Mbappe could only get better and win a few Ballons d'Or before he retires.
ST: Cristiano Ronaldo | Juventus | €117m
Cristiano Ronaldo was once the most expensive player in the world when Real Madrid came calling for the then-Manchester United man. Los Blancos paid €94m for the Portuguese who spearheaded them to four UCL titles, two league titles, and became their highest-scoring players in his nine years in Madrid.
However, Juventus showed faith in the then-33-year-old Ronaldo in 2018 to purchase him for a whopping €117m. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner moved from Madrid to Turin to help them win the elusive UCL trophy, and so far, it's been nothing but a failure. Ronaldo fired Juve to two Serie A titles in two years, albeit they were the Bianconeri's eighth and ninth consecutive league titles — highlighting their domestic dominance. Ronaldo has scored every single goal Juve have netted in the UCL knockouts since he arrived, but suffered notably due to a lack of support from his teammates.
After a disappointing quarter-finals exit to Ajax and a last 16 defeat to Lyon, Ronaldo's big-money move to Juventus has evidently not paid off, at least as of yet. However, the Juve centre-forward individually has been in spectacular form, breaking records aplenty for the champions.
Also read: 5 Greatest career achievements of Cristiano Ronaldo
