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Football's relationship with money has always been a close one, with plenty of top clubs willing to break the bank for the best of players.
Very few clubs, though, are great at buying low and selling high - although the present trend seems to be increasing.
Without further ado, here are the 10 most profitable transfers of all time, as of February 2018:
All transfer figures sourced from Transfermarkt.com
#10 Virgil van Dijk - Southampton to Liverpool
Southampton have the reputation of being Liverpool's feeder club, but the Saints can truly be happy at their ability to sell players at inflated prices to the Reds. The fact that Virgil van Dijk is the most expensive defender of all time is still a bit disconcerting - especially given his record of conceding 5 goals in 2-and-a-half-games for the Reds so far.
However, Van Dijk truly justified the €15.7 million Southampton paid Celtic for his services and then some, with some commanding performances in the 2016/17 season.
A €63.1 million profit is also nothing to frown at - and you can be sure the Saints will reinvest that fee well. As for Liverpool, as long as Jurgen Klopp persists with his current system, Virgil van Dijk might never truly justify his fee.
Fee Paid: €15.7m
Fee Sold: €78.8m
Profit: €63.1m
#9 Aymeric Laporte - Athletic Bilbao to Manchester City
For a club with the financial power of Manchester City, the fact that their record signing is a defender speaks volumes. To be City's most expensive player ever, also points to a player being something special.
Pep Guardiola himself said that Laporte was 'cheap', saying "All teams work to improve their teams. When you see Laporte's performance, people think it's expensive, and you think 'wow, it's still cheap."
Aymeric Laporte has all the best qualities of a Basque defender, tough-as-nails yet very elegant with the ball at his feet. If his debut performance is anything to go by, the release clause of €65 million that City triggered will be viewed around Europe as a bargain in the future.
Fee Paid: €0m
Fee Sold: €65m
Profit: €65m
#8 Zinedine Zidane - Juventus to Real Madrid
Real Madrid are a club that's very easy to get a big fee from, but even Juventus would never have imagined what Florentino Perez and co. were willing to part with for Zinedine Zidane. Yes, the 2001 transfer was the beginning of the Galactico era, but €77.5 million was truly a mind-boggling figure in 2001.
Given what Zizou managed to achieve as a player and then as a coach, you would say Real Madrid did recoup their fee in terms of formulating a club legend. Juventus, however, will also look upon the transfer in a positive sense, especially since they only paid Bordeaux €3.5 million in 1996.
After all, there's a reason Juventus are Juventus, and Blackburn Rovers are Blackburn Rovers.
Fee Paid: €3.5m
Fee Sold: €77.5m
Profit: €74m
#7 Cristiano Ronaldo - Manchester United to Real Madrid
The story of how Manchester United came to sign Cristiano Ronaldo is pretty much part of footballing folklore now - with Sporting Clube de Portugal looking at the €19 million with plenty of regret now. A stellar 6 years at Old Trafford followed, with Ronaldo reaching some atmospheric levels.
He left with a final gift - a world record fee for Manchester United to rebuild with - and Sir Alex Ferguson used it well. However, given the heights Ronaldo went on to reach with Real Madrid, most Red Devils would rather have the player than the money.
€94 million is a huge, huge amount - but Real Madrid would not have it any other way. Even if Cristiano Ronaldo is experiencing a decline, the success he has brought to Los Blancos has well and truly justified his fee.
Fee Paid: €19m
Fee Sold: €94m
Profit: €75m
#6 Gareth Bale - Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid
Daniel Levy is one of the best negotiators in football, and when Tottenham managed to negotiate a world record fee for Gareth Bale, plenty of praise came his way. The Welshman was undoubtedly one of the best players in the world, but managing to get €101 million in 2013 was downright brilliant.
So much so, that Real Madrid denied all reports of being the first team to have ever breached the €100m mark - so as to placate Cristiano Ronaldo. FootballLeaks managed to reveal the truth years later, which confirmed Bale's massive fee.
In the 5 seasons he's spent at the Bernabeu, Gareth Bale's quality has not been in question. However, since Bale's injury record has been quite awful, you could comfortably justify that Madrid have been short-changed.
As for Spurs, they did not use that money to the best of their ability, so it seems this was a lose-lose all round.
Fee Paid: €14.7m
Fee Sold: €101m
Profit: €86.3m
#5 Neymar Jr. - Santos to FC Barcelona
One of the most controversial transfers of all time - and not just because of the price involved. From tax evasion to alleged orgies for Neymar Sr, this was perhaps the murkiest transfer to ever take place in the last decade.
That Neymar would be leaving Santos was a given - the battle came down to Real Madrid, Chelsea and Barcelona. After some very underhand dealings, whose consequences are still being felt (Former Barcelona President Sandro Rosell was jailed), Neymar left his boyhood club for an eye-watering €88.2 million in 2014.
However, Santos only ever saw about a third of that fee, with the complex ownership rules in Brazil leaving the club feeling quite short-changed. As for Barcelona, the era of the famous MSN trio began - and while it was short-lived, it represented one of the Blaugrana's most successful spells.
Fee Paid: €0m
Fee Sold: €88.2m
Profit: €88.2m
#4 Ousmane Dembele - Borussia Dortmund to FC Barcelona
A little more than 2 years ago, Ousmane Dembele had just enjoyed his breakout season in Ligue 1, one of the cogs of a Rennes team that finished just outside the European spots. The 20-year-old is now one of the most expensive players of all time, and it has been a whirlwind two-and-a-half seasons since.
Borussia Dortmund are another of those clubs that tend to sell well, but they surely could never have anticipated that they would make such a huge profit on Dembele in just 1 year. €15 million brought them an excellent season, as well as a massive profit that could bankroll the club's signings for years to come.
Currently, given Dembele's injury upon arrival, Barcelona are considered to have overpaid. However, Dembele could quite conceivably become one of the best players in the world in the future, and €105 million could eventually be seen as a fair fee.
Fee Paid: €15m
Fee Sold: €105m
Profit: €90m
#3 Paul Pogba - Juventus to Manchester United
Manchester United received plenty of flak when they let go of Paul Pogba, but there's more to the story. In Sir Alex Ferguson's own words, "We had Paul under a three-year contract, and it had a one-year renewal option which we were eager to sign. But Raiola suddenly appeared on the scene and our first meeting was a fiasco."
"He and I were like oil and water. From then on, our goose was cooked because Raiola had been able to ingratiate himself with Paul and his family and the player signed with Juventus."
Juventus pulled off a massive coup when they sold Pogba back to Manchester United for €105 million, with plenty of pundits decrying the fee, but given the transfers that have occurred since, the fee seems legitimate.
Fee Paid: €0m
Fee Sold: €105m
Profit: €105m
#2 Philippe Coutinho - Liverpool to FC Barcelona
Financial Fair Play has featured regularly throughout this slideshow, and for once, a club would be grateful. Plenty of eyebrows were raised when Inter Milan sold Philippe Coutinho to Liverpool for a cut-price €13 million, especially given the Brazilian's undoubted quality, but the Serie A side were 'forced' to do so - to comply with FFP regulations.
Liverpool enjoyed a delightful player for the next 5 seasons, where the €13 million they paid quickly came to be viewed as one of the bargains of the decade. However, when Barcelona came calling, Coutinho's time at Anfield was pretty much over, despite Liverpool managing to resist the transfer last summer.
Barcelona parted with €120 million (and add-ons) for the Brazilian, and while it might seem like they overpaid, the inflationary trend of the transfer market might make this seem a fair fee in years to come. Still, this was good business for Liverpool - their most profitable transfer of all time.
Fee Paid: €13m
Fee Sold: €120m
Profit: €107m
Honourable Mention
Kylian Mbappe - AS Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain
Financial Fair Play has been decried as a bit of a farce by plenty of top managers, and this transfer is perhaps most emblematic of all things deficient with UEFA's regulations. PSG spent big in the summer, and had they purchased Kylian Mbape as well, they would have run afoul of FFP.
Thus, AS Monaco agreed a deal that would see Mbappe loaned out for the 2017/18 season, with PSG obligated to buy the Frenchman for a staggering €180 million next year, thus complying with FFP regulations.
Monaco are a club that does incredibly well when it comes to the 'buy low - sell high' model, but this transfer surely takes the cake, since Mbappe came through their own academy. Once the deal is confirmed next season, this will be the most profitable transfer of all time.
Fee Paid: €0m
Fee Sold: €180m*
Profit: €180m*
*Transfer to be finalized next year.
#1 Neymar Jr. - FC Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain
Not much of a surprise then, is it?
It's a testament to how incredible this transfer was that Neymar's move to Barcelona from Santos was already the 5th most profitable transfer of all time. To then earn the most profit ever on top of that required an incredible amount.
€222,000,000 was that incredible amount, and Paris Saint-Germain received one of the best footballers in the world for that price. Barcelona have used the money from the deal to bring in Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho, and by Lionel Messi's own admission, are better off:
"Without Neymar, we are more balanced," Messi told World Soccer. His departure meant a change in our way of playing, we lost a lot of attacking potential, but it helped in the defensive sense. We are currently very well armed in the midfield; this makes us stronger in defence."
It was viewed as a disaster for Barcelona at the time, but looking back with perspective, perhaps the Blaugrana were better off. They certainly profited monetarily.
Fee Paid: €88.2m
Fee Sold: €222m
Profit: €133.8m
