The top 10 footballers that have racked up the most transfer fees in history

The transfer window presents an opportunity for football clubs to shake things up and improve their squads in the hope for a better future.

The summer and winter windows also allow players to start afresh, further their careers, and quite simply, make more money. There are some players that are so sorely sought after, that clubs will break the bank to have their names on the books.

But which players have racked up the most in transfer fees over the years? Here, we take a look at the top 10 players that have accumulated the most in transfer fees to date.

10. Gonzalo Higuain – £143m

Ever since leaving River Plate on New Year's Day in 2007, Gonzalo Higuain has gone on to enjoy a trophy-laden career across Europe.

He left Argentina in a £10.8m move to join Real Madrid, where he won three La Liga titles in a six-year spell.

Higuain then made the move east across the continent to join Napoli in a £35m move before his exploits in Naples saw him move to rivals Juventus in a whopping £81m switch.

Loan moves to AC Milan and Chelsea would eventually bump up Higuain's total transfer fees up to £143m, making him the 10th most expensive player in history.

9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – £152m

The expression 'been there, done that and got the t-shirt' could not be more fitting for Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The 38-year-old has been everywhere in a 20-year career that has seen him win league titles in Italy, Spain, France and Holland along with a never-ending list of personal accolades to his name.

Following his £14m move from Ajax to Juventus in 2004, Ibrahimovic started to become a household name but after a tricky second season in Turin, Inter Milan came knocking and signed the Swede for £22m.

After helping Inter win three consecutive league titles, Barcelona came calling and Ibrahimovic joined the Catalan giants in a deal worth £62m.

Moves to AC Milan and PSG later in his career only added to his combined transfer value which to date totals to £152m.

8. Philippe Coutinho – £153m

In the build up to the 2018 January transfer window, Philippe Coutinho dominated headlines as he continued to be linked with a money-spinning move away from Liverpool.

Coutinho made it no secret that he wanted to join Barcelona after five great years at Anfield.

He was finally granted his wish and joined the Catalan giants in a deal worth £130m.

The staggering fee is the main reason Coutinho comes in eighth on this list, with £20m in other transfer deals contributing to the Brazilian's accumulative total.

7. Antoine Griezmann – £156m

Antoine Griezmann has only moved twice in his career but those two moves are enough to have earned him a place on this list.

The Frenchman graduated from Real Sociedad's academy in 2009 and went onto enjoy five years in the senior side at the Anoeta Stadium.

His performances on the wing and through the middle caught the eye of Atletico Madrid, who shelled out £48m to bring him to the capital in 2014.

Touted as one of the world's best centre forwards, Griezmann flourished under Diego Simeone and was linked with moves away from the club.

After a lengthy and controversial transfer saga, Barcelona agreed to pay his £108m buy-out clause.

The 28-year-old is still finding his feet at the Nou Camp but his big-money move has found him a place on this list.

5. Angel Di Maria – £161m

Here's the first of our three current PSG stars on the list and it's the Argentine winger Angel Di Maria.

The 31-year-old burst onto the scene with Benfica in 2007 following his £7m move from Rosario.

Three stellar years in Portugal saw Real Madrid come calling, who parted with £30m to bring him to the Bernabeu.

However, in 2014, Di Maria made headlines when he was part of one of the most expensive transfers of all time when he completed his £67.5m move to Manchester United – the highest fee ever paid by a British club at the time.

After being handed the No 7 shirt, the expectation and price tag seemed to be too heavy for Di Maria's shoulders and just a year later was shipped off to PSG in another expensive move.

The French champions shelled out £56m for the Argentina international, making him one of the costliest players of all time.

5. Alvaro Morata – £161m

Alvaro Morata joins this star-studded list on a technicality because one of his big-money moves hasn’t actually happened yet.

In July later this year, the Spaniard will complete his permanent move to Atletico Madrid from Chelsea for £50m, making him the joint-fifth most expensive player in history alongside Di Maria.

Morata's journey in football started in Atletico Madrid's ranks before eventually finding his way across town to Real, where he was handed his professional debut in football.

He was sold to Juventus for £18m in 2014 before Real realised the error of their ways and bought him back two years later for £9m more than for what they sold him.

However, Los Blancos made their money back, and then some, when they offloaded him to Chelsea for a whopping £60m in the summer of 2017.

It didn't quite work out for Morata at Stamford Bridge and is now enjoying a two-year loan spell at Atletico, where he will complete his permanent switch this summer.

4. Kylian Mbappe – £162m

At the tender age of 21, Kylian Mbappe is already the fourth most expensive player in history.

The footballing prodigy came through the ranks at Monaco and has gone on to become one of the most exciting prospects in the game and has already drawn comparisons with Ronaldo Nazario by Jose Mourinho.

His explosive pace, raw talent impeccable finishing saw him top the transfer wishlist of every major club across Europe but it was Paris Saint-Germain that won the race to secure his services.

After an initial loan spell with PSG that set them back £31.5m, Mbappe completed his permanent £130m move to the Parisan club in the summer of 2018, making him one of a select few to have been sold for a nine-digit sum.

3. Romelu Lukaku – £183m

By now, you’ll have noticed that this list is made up of strikers and forwards as it is those players that will always go for a premium.

Goals cost money and that’s exactly what you’ll get with Romelu Lukaku.

The Belgian forward has an impressive record wherever he goes, having netted 203 goals in 436 club appearances to date.

His impressive track record has driven up his price over the years and has been sold for more than £50m on two separate occasions.

Manchester United paid Everton £76m in 2017 for his services before shipping him off to Inter Milan last summer in a deal worth £60m.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo – £207m

It wouldn't be a top 10 list without Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese trailblazer has won trophies everywhere he's played but he hasn't been cheap.

Ronaldo was brought in as David Beckham's replacement at Manchester United in 2003 and went on to establish himself as a world class player before securing a record-breaking move to Real Madrid in 2009.

It was at the Bernabeu where he became one of the all-time greats and went on to score an unfathomable 450 goals in 438 games.

Having won four Champions League titles with Los Blancos, Ronaldo called time at Real and completed a £105m move to Juventus in 2018 at the age of 33.

His move to Turin is the highest amount any club has ever paid for a player over the age of 30 and remains the highest fee paid by an Italian club.

1. Neymar – £279m

There could only be one man who could top this list and it had to be Neymar.

The Brazilian superstar obliterated the transfer record over two years ago and it's still mind-boggling looking back at what went down in the summer of 2017.

Since Neymar's jaw-dropping £199m move, the transfer market hasn't been the same, with average prices now through the roof leaving clubs having to fork out a hell of a lot more compared to prices from yesteryear.

And while his world record move to PSG would have nearly earned him top spot on this list by himself, his move from Santos to the Nou Camp in 2013 sees him comfortably take the crown as football's most expensive player.