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The transfer of Neymar to PSG for €222 million last summer has changed the valuation of all players. As a result, Paul Pogba’s previous record transfer fee has been surpassed by three more players in the space of a few months.
In fact, Cristiano Ronaldo cost Juventus €100 million at the age of 33 when Real Madrid signed him for €94 million nine years ago! Such has been the sharp rise in transfer fees of players in the last one year.
Everyone knows who the world’s most expensive players are, but over the course of their careers, which players have commanded the highest combined transfer fees? This is a question that is not easily answered.
For example, after Ronaldo’s move to Juventus, he has commanded a combined transfer fee of €225 million. Where does this place him in the all-time combined transfer list? Read and find out.
N.B: All transfers fees mentioned are obtained from Transfermarkt.com and include bonuses.
#10. James Rodriguez - €140.63m
As things stand, the combined total transfer fees of James Rodriguez stands at €140.63 million which places him 10th in the all-time list. However, he can climb to the third position in the current list if Bayern Munich uses the option to buy him permanently for €42 million next summer.
The Colombian cost Porto just €7.35 million in 2010 from Argentine club CA Banfield and in 2013, they sold him to Monaco for €45 million. A year later, his heroics at the World Cup earned him a move to Real Madrid for €75 million.
The €75 million Real Madrid paid for James made him the fifth most expensive player at the time of his transfer, but now his transfer is only the 14th on the all-time list of highest transfer fees paid.
His combined transfer fees also include the €13 million Bayern Munich paid Real Madrid as loan fee for two years.
#9. Gonzalo Higuain - €141m
Gonzalo Higuain could be on his way out of Juventus after the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo and if a club meets his rumoured valuation of €60 million, then Higuain will climb to third in this list. However, he has to settle for 9th place at the moment.
The Argentine cost Real Madrid just €12 million in 2007 from River Plate. The Madrid side made a huge profit when they sold him to Napoli in 2013 for €39 million.
After three seasons with Napoli, Higuain moved to rivals Juventus for €90 million which at the time of his transfer was the third most expensive one behind Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo. In the same window, it became the fourth most expensive transfer following Paul Pogba’s move to Manchester United
At the moment, Higuain’s fee of €90 million is the ninth highest fee paid for a player by a club. Fittingly, it also places him ninth in the list of players with highest combined transfer fees.
#8. Romelu Lukaku - €155.4m
It doesn’t look like Romelu Lukaku will be moving from Manchester United anytime soon and hence, his place in this list may not last long if players outside the Top 10 are on the move.
Lukaku was signed by Chelsea for €15 million in 2011 from Anderlecht before they sold him for €35.36 million to Everton in 2014. Everton also paid a loan fee of €3.5 million for the player a year before that.
When he moved from Everton to Manchester United in 2017, it cost the Red Devils a little over €100 million including add-ons. He is currently the most expensive Belgian player which could change if Eden Hazard moves this summer to Real Madrid.
#7. Ousmane Dembele - €160m
It only took one transfer for the prodigy, Ousmane Dembele, to climb up this list.
The World Cup winner with France cost Borussia Dortmund just €15 million in 2016 from his first club Rennes but when they sold him to Barcelona a year later, the profit was immense.
Dembele cost Barcelona €105 million plus another €40 million in add-ons. This makes him the fourth most expensive player on the planet behind Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Philippe Coutinho.
There are rumours that Barcelona may be willing to part ways with the player although that seems unlikely now that they have failed to acquire Antoine Griezmann. However, in case the Catalan club part ways with the player, they will be hoping to recoup a huge chunk of what they paid for him. In such an event, Dembele’s combined transfer fee could skyrocket.
#6. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - €169.10m
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s last two transfers were free and yet he’s still placed 6th in the list of players with highest combined transfer fees.
Before the era of inflated transfer fees, Ibrahimovic had the highest combined transfer fee owing to the number of top clubs he has played for.
His first transfer from Malmo to Ajax cost the Dutch club just €7.8 million and when he moved from Ajax to Juventus, the fee went up to €16.00 million. A couple of years later, when Inter signed him from Juventus, they paid €24.8 million for the player.
The most any club has paid for Zlatan’s services was Barcelona in 2009 when they spent €69.5 million. At the time of his transfer, it was the third highest fees paid for a player after Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane. In fact, Ronaldo’s transfer happened in the same transfer window.
Currently, Ibrahimovic’s transfer fee from his move to Barcelona is the 17th highest fee paid for a player.
#5. Philippe Coutinho - €177.8m
It took Ibrahimovic six transfers to accumulate the combined transfer fees of €169.10 and it took Philippe Coutinho just one transfer to gazump the Swede into fifth place.
Coutinho’s first transfer was from Vasco da Gama to Inter for €3.8 million. A few years later, Liverpool signed him for just €13 million as Inter deemed him surplus to requirements. It turned out to be one of Liverpool’s best transfers ever!
The Brazilian turned into a world-beater at Anfield before leaving the club in January 2018 to complete his dream move to Barcelona for €120 million plus another €40 million in bonuses.
The little Brazilian is currently the third most expensive player in the world. If Liverpool managed to keep him till the summer, then his fee could have been much more owing to his performance at club level and the World Cup.
#4. Angel Di Maria - €179m
Angel Di Maria is another player whose combined transfer fees could go up this summer. The Argentine is rumoured to be on his way out of PSG with Napoli likely to be his next destination.
Di Maria’s first transfer from Rosaria to Benfica cost just €8 million, but the Portuguese side sold him to Real Madrid three years later for €33 million.
Four years later, when Real Madrid parted ways with the Argentine, he cost Manchester United €75 million which is the 15th highest transfer fee paid for a player at the moment.
His move from Man Utd to PSG cost the Parisian club €63 million which is the 24th highest fee paid for a player.
#3. Kylian Mbappe - €180m
It’s going to take a while to break Kylian Mbappe’s record of World’s most expensive teenager.
It took the France international just one transfer at the age of 18 to become the player with the third highest combined fee.
PSG secured the deal to sign football’s next big thing for €135 million plus €45 million in add-ons.
If the World Cup winner will move from the Parisian club in the near future, then Real Madrid could be the most likely destination and in such an event, Mbappe will surely become the World’s most expensive player and the player with the highest combined transfer fees.
At the moment, Mbappe is the second most expensive player on the planet.
#2. Cristiano Ronaldo - €225m
The fact that a 33-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo cost more than a 24-year-old Ronaldo tells you how much inflation has occurred in transfer valuations in recent years.
When Ronaldo moved from Sporting to Manchester United in 2003, it cost the Premier League side €19 million. Six years later, they sold him to Real Madrid for a then world record fee of €94 million.
After nine years with Real Madrid, a stint during which he broke records for fun, Ronaldo left the Spanish capital for a new challenge and joined Juventus. The Italian side spent €100 million plus another €12 million in additional fees to sign the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
#1. Neymar - €310.2m
Neymar’s transfer fee when he moved from Barcelona to PSG was €222 million and it is just three million short Cristiano Ronaldo’s combined transfer fees.
The Brazilian is the most expensive player in the world following his most recent transfer and when you add the €88.2 million Barcelona paid to Santos to sign him in 2013, he also becomes the player with the highest combined transfer fees.
The 25-year-old has been linked with a move to Real Madrid but it may not happen this summer. If he does move to the Spanish giants, then the margin of Neymar’s lead over others in the combined transfer list will increase significantly.
