Joao Felix has struggled to realise his promise but has drawn some significant fees throughout his career with Al Nassr the latest to spend significantly for his services
Joao Felix completed his latest mega-money transfer earlier this week and in doing so has become the fourth most expensive player ever. The Portugual international joined Al Nassr from Chelsea in a deal which could rise to £43.7million.
The Saudi side have an initial outlay of £26m for the attacker but the Blues look set to scrape their money back after signing the 25-year-old in a £45m deal less than 12 months ago. Felix was unable to break into Enzo Maresca's plans after his signing was used to help facilitate Conor Gallagher 's transfer to Atletico Madrid.
The former Benfica star signed a seven-year contract at Stamford Bridge but found himself moving on loan to AC Milan after just a matter of months. Felix failed to record a significant impact in Serie A and only scored in his final two matches for the club.
But a difficult year did not prevent Al Nassr from splashing the cash to add Felix to a squad that already includes Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane. And his latest move has taken the total fees spent on Felix into the region of £200m after Atletico Madrid spent £113m on the forward when he was just 19.
It is a status that perhaps belies Felix's place in the game, particularly with what was expected from the ex-Chelsea ace a few years ago. But who joins him among the most expensive players in histroy? Mirror Football takes a look.
5. Ousmane Dembele - £189.97m
The Frenchman looked set to be another player who failed to live up to his fees but after a stint at Barcelona disrupted by injury, Dembele is now a Ballon d'Or contender at Paris Saint-Germain. It took Dembele just three transfers to rack up some big spending from some of the world's biggest clubs with Barcelona paying the bulk.
The Catalan side spent £116.57m on Dembele from Borussia Dortmund as the German side made a big profit having paid Stade Rennais £30.22m for his services. Dembele's exit from Barca then came for £43.17m.
4. Joao Felix - £ 194.89m
There's little more to say about the figures spent on Felix but at just 25, there's still time for him to climb the list.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo - £213.28m
A player where the figures spent correspond to him being one of the best players of all time. While Manchester United managed to pay less than £15m on each occasion they signed the Portugal legend and Al Nassr landed the veteran for free - Real Madrid and Juventus had to part ways with some significant sums.
Los Blancos were forced to part ways with £81.17m to bring Ronaldo to the Bernabeu from Old Trafford in a then-record transfer. After four Champions League wins, two La Liga titles and winning four of his five Ballon d'Ors in Spain, Juventus then spent £101.03m in 2018 when Ronaldo was 33.
2. Romelu Lukaku - £318.82m (nine transfers)
The Belgian striker has racked up a combination of significant transfers and lots of them on his way to seeing more than £300m spent for his services. Lukaka has been a man in demand throughout his career after Chelsea signed him for £12.95m in 2011, when he was just 18.
Everton, Manchester United, Inter Milan, Chelsea (again) and Napoli have all signed Lukaku permanently, with the Stamford Bridge side seeing the most significant spend when they paid £97.5m to seal his return. That move never worked out however as he the moved to Inter and Roma on loan before earning another move away from the club.
1. Neymar Jr - £345.39m
Neymar has required just three transfers to top the list and it's quite the statement when the cheapest fee paid was in excess of £70m. Barcelona spent significantly to sign the Brazil star from Santos as he helped the club to Champions League and La Liga successes before they eventually raked in close to £200m from PSG.
Neymar found plenty of success in the French capital but failed to find European glory or achieve a Ballon d'Or which will have ultimately left both parties with mixed feelings. They are unlikely to feel as frustrated as Al Hilal who parted ways with £75m for the forward but ultimately terminated his contract after he spent most of his time at the club injured.