Biggest Football Transfers of the Modern Era

It has now undoubtedly become an accepted fact, that the transfer market is a wild arena. Even clubs that previously insisted on lean budgets are far more willing to pay massive amounts, to land their desired players.

Some transfers appear to be entirely over the top. Here are the top ten transfers, that have left heads reeling in recent years, leading up to the 2018-19 football season, in no particular order.

10. Virgil van Dijk: Southampton to Liverpool (£84.2m)

Jürgen Klopp’s desperation to seal a leaking defence forced him to make van Dijk the most expensive defender ever.

9. Paul Pogba: Juventus to Manchester United (€105m)

United let this star out for free but had to pay dearly to bring him back. By October 2018, he was yet to justify his price tag.

8. Neymar: Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain (€220m)

A transfer that sent the market into a whirlwind, and still does cause ripples.

7. Cristiano Ronaldo: Real Madrid to Juventus (€117m)

You have to give it to Cristiano Ronaldo. He became the most expensive player when he moved to Real. He won lots of awards there, and at 33, he was still among the most costly players, when he moved to Juventus.

6. Kylian Mbappe: Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain (€135m)

This was to make permanent, a loan move that was worth €45m.

5. Ousmane Dembele: Dortmund to Barcelona (€105m)

One of the Neymar-effect transfers, Dembele was incredibly expensive, at just 20 years of age.

4. Philippe Coutinho: Liverpool to Barcelona (€120m)

Another Neymar-effect transfer.

3. Gareth Bale: Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid (€100m)

Arguably Tottenham’s most significant business to date, and to think, the Welshman might have remained a left-back.

2. Romelu Lukaku: Everton to Manchester United (€84.8m)

Many transfers later, Lukaku proved himself, and United was finally ready to pay the top price for him.

1. Gonzalo Higuaín: Napoli to Juventus (€90m)

After sparkling at Napoli, Juventus just couldn’t resist paying this up!