Romelu Lukaku goes ahead of Neymar as the costliest player of all time
- Graeme Bailey
- 14 August 2021
Romelu Lukaku has become the costliest player of all time following his return to Chelsea, with his combined fees adding up to £285.5m but who else makes the top ten?
Planet Sport has trawled back through the record books to calculate the ten most expensive players in the history of the game, based on permanent transfer fees.
And what is immediately apparent is the lack of British players. Indeed, the most expensive is the recent breaker of the British record, Jack Grealish. No other Brit has transfers fees tallying up to £100million, with Gareth Bale coming in just shy of the mark as a result of his transfers between Real Madrid, Tottenham and Southampton.
10. Ousmane Dembele - combined fees of £137m
A true starlet at Rennes, Borussia Dortmund snapped him up for a bargain £15million. They made more than £100million on him when, in 2017, Barcelona snapped him up using their Neymar money.
9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - £152m
His spell in the Netherlands then saw him earn a move to Juventus who paid nearly double for him at £13.5million.
Inter Milan then paid £21million for him in 2006 to take him to the San Siro.
AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain then both paid £25million for the privilege, taking his career total beyond £150million.
8. Philippe Coutinho - £153.5m
Coutinho was snapped up as a 16-year-old by Inter Milan for £3million but he was moved onto Liverpool in 2013 for just £8.5milion. That proved a great piece of business as they sold him to Barcelona five years later for £142million, giving them a huge £133.5million profit.
7. Alvara Morata - £154m
Morata has completed four major transfers between some of Europe's biggest clubs. The striker came through the Real Madrid academy and was sold to Juventus for £16million in 2014, but the Spanish side exercised their buy-back clause two years later for £20million. He then had an ill-fated stint at Chelsea which cost them £60million before completing a £58million move back to Spain with Atletico Madrid in 2020.
6. Antoine Griezmann - £156m
After coming through the ranks at Real Sociedad, Griezmann made a £49million move to Atletico Madrid in 2014. Barcelona activated the France international's £107million buyout clause in 2019.
5. Eden Hazard - £162m
Hazard first caught the world's attention thanks to his performances at Lille, and Chelsea won the race for his signature in 2012, paying around £32million. The Belgium international then spent a successful seven years at Stamford Bridge before joining Real Madrid for a fee that could reach £130million.
4. Kylian Mbappe - £165.7m
Despite only making one transfer in his career, Mbappe still makes it into the top five as PSG paid Monaco £165.7million for his signature.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo - £191m
Signed for just £12.25million from Sporting Lisbon by Manchester United, Ronaldo developed into one of the best players in the world at Old Trafford.
2. Neymar - £271.5m
1. Romelu Lukaku - £285.5m
The journey started for Lukaku at Anderlecht when Chelsea paid £10million to land him. Loan spells followed before a £28million move to Everton.
