Former stars of Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea are among the top 10 footballers to have the highest accumulated transfer fees paid for them in their career.
Europe’s biggest clubs are willing to break the bank to sign highly-rated players and PSG smashed the world transfer record by signing Neymar in 2017.
We’ve looked at the 10 players with the highest cumulative transfer fees, with the figures taken from Transfermarkt. Note: all fees are in Euros.
Coutinho joined Liverpool from Inter Milan for just €13million in 2013 and was sold to Barcelona for a €122million profit five years later.
The Brazil international has failed to live up to expectations at the Camp Nou and the transfer was summed up when Coutinho scored two goals against Barcelona during his loan spell at Bayern Munich in 2019-20.
He moved to Aston Villa, but was largely sidelined by Unai Emery and has since moved back to Brazil with Vasco de Gama.
Perhaps the most surprising entry on this list, Cunha’s €74.2million move to Manchester United in 2025 was just the latest in a series of expensive swaps to date.
Still just 26, the Brazilian cost Hertha Berlin €18million five years ago before Atletico Madrid paid €35million for his services to 2021.
Wolves paid a loan sum, followed by a permanent fee of €50million two years later and still turned a profit by selling him to United.
A talented player with plenty of years left in his career, there’s still time for Cunha to rise up this list.
With Ajax, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Manchester United on his CV, it’s no surprise that De Ligt is the only defender on this list.
The biggest fee came back in 2019, when Juve paid a whopping €85.5million for the centre-back who’d just captained Ajax to the Champions League semis.
It didn’t work out in Italy, or at Bayern after a €67million transfer three years later.
United paid under €50million for De Ligt last year, but a solid debut season in England failed to stop the club from finishing in their lowest league position since 1974.
After coming through the ranks at Real Sociedad, Griezmann completed a €30million move to Atletico Madrid in 2014.
The France international then developed into one of the world’s best forwards under Diego Simeone’s guidance, scoring 133 goals in 257 appearances.
Barcelona activated his €120million buyout clause in 2019, but the 32-year-old struggled to replicate his Atletico form at the Camp Nou.
With Barca desperate to rectify their eye-watering debt, Griezmann was loaned back to Atletico in August 2021 with a €22million permanent deal agreed for the following summer.
One of football’s great nomads, Morata has already completed eight major transfers between some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
The striker came through the Real Madrid academy and was sold to Juventus for €20million in 2014, but the Spanish side exercised their buy-back clause two years later.
He then had an ill-fated stint at Chelsea before completing a €35million move back to Spain with Atletico Madrid in 2020.
The 30-year-old spent the 2020-21 season on loan at Juventus and the temporary deal was extended until June 2022.
Further moves to AC Milan and Galatasaray followed, taking Morata’s combined transfer fee to over €200million.
Borussia Dortmund have an exceedingly great eye for young talent and signed Dembele from Rennes for just £13million in 2016.
After just a year in Germany, the winger joined Barcelona as a direct replacement for Neymar in a £135.5million deal, helping Dortmund to fund six brilliant transfers.
He has been plagued with injury problems over the last few years, while Barcelona reportedly had several concerns about his attitude off the pitch.
But Dembele played well enough to earn a contract extension in the summer of 2022, which eventually earned the club €50million when he moved to PSG in 2023.
It finally clicked for the Frenchman last season, his individual performances helping PSG win the Champions League and making him favourite for the Ballon d’Or.
Books will be written about Felix’s career, with the former wonderkid already in Saudi Arabia by the age of 25.
Atletico Madrid paid €127.2million for the teenage Felix in 2019, but he never impressed under Diego Simeone and was eventually sold to Chelsea for €52million five years later.
The Blues had already taken Felix on loan in 2023, turning down the chance to sign him permanently then, sparking accusations of asset hoarding.
These claims were only strengthened by the sad year Felix spent at Stamford Bridge, failing to impress once more, and being shipped off to Saudi Arabia for €30million.
What a waste of a career it’s been to date.
Signed for just €19million from Sporting Lisbon by Manchester United, Ronaldo developed into one of the best players in the world at Old Trafford.
Real Madrid then brought the winger to Spain for €94million in 2009, and he proved to be excellent value for money, scoring 450 goals in 438 appearances in all competitions.
Having won two La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues with Los Blancos, the 36-year-old completed a €117million move to Juventus in 2018.
Ronaldo then returned to Old Trafford – signing from Juventus for the small fee of €17million.
His move to Saudi Arabia in December 2022, after throwing the entire contents of Toys ‘R’ Us from his gilded pram, was for a nominal fee.
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While Lukaku has often divided opinion during his career, he has an impressive goal-scoring record across his time as a professional.
The striker joined Chelsea from Anderlecht in an €15million deal in 2011 and was sold to Everton for a €20million profit in 2014.
Manchester United paid the Toffees €84.7million for his services in 2017 before shipping him off to Inter Milan two years later in a deal worth €74million.
The 30-year-old silenced his critics with 64 goals in 95 games for Inter and Chelsea agreed to pay €113million to bring him back to England in 2021.
But the Belgium international soon burnt his (Stamford) bridges with poor performances and frequent outbursts.
The Blues got around €12million in loan fees from Inter and Roma, before flogging Lukaku to Napoli for €30million in 2024.
After starring for Santos, Neymar joined Barcelona in a €88million deal in 2013 before forming part of a deadly attacking trio alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
PSG then signed the forward for a world-record fee of €22million in the summer of 2017, a move which sent shockwaves across Europe and caused Barcelona to plunge themselves into debt trying to replace him.
He cost Al-Hilal around €90million in 2023, a move that saw him shoot back to the top of this list.