Most expensive players by age featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Virgil van Dijk and Paul Pogba

Some of the best players of the 21st-century feature on this list

20 - Ousmane Dembele (£135.5m, Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona, 2017)

Dembele has been in excellent form for Barcelona this season

France has a plethora of talented youngsters coming through the ranks and this is highlighted by the number of French internationals on this list.

Ousmane Dembele made a controversial switch to Barcelona last summer from Borussia Dortmund but the Catalan club had to spend £97 plus another £38.5 million in add-ons to secure the deal. Even without the add-ons, Dembele is well ahead of the previous record holder, Raheem Sterling, who cost Manchester City £53.13m from Liverpool in 2015.

After a tough start to life in Spain, Dembele’s talent is coming to the fore this season and he has 12 goals in 26 games in all competitions.

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21 - Neymar (£48.6m, Santos to Barcelona, 2013)

Neymar is the only player who features twice on this list

Neymar is the only player on this list to feature twice and both his transfers were controversial just like the player.

The Brazilain made his move to Europe in 2013 for £48.6m and it is still the highest fee received by a Brazilian club for a player. However, the transfer was investigated by FIFA which led to the resignation of Sandro Rosell as Barcelona president.

However, Neymar justified his price tag by scoring 105 goals in 186 appearances in four seasons before another controversial switch.

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22 - Thomas Lemar (£52.7m, Monaco to Atletico Madrid, 2018)

Lemar is Atletico's most expensive transfer

Thomas Lemar is one of the many players from Monaco’s title-winning squad of 2016/17 to leave the club for a European giant while commanding a hefty fee.

Lemar joined Atletico Madrid before the 2018 FIFA World Cup for a club record £52.7m. He has been with the club for only a few months now but for a player who cost so much, his meagre return of four goals and five assists in 25 games isn’t good enough.

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