Not Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo… who has the highest career transfer fee?
After Atletico signed him for a record fee of £113m in 2019 from Benfica his stocks dipped when was acquired by Chelsea for just £47.2m in 2023. Mid-way through that season, he was sent on loan to Barcelona before returning to Chelsea for the 2024 season and spent the last season at Milan. And on Wednesday, ended up in Saudi league for £26m.
According to Transfermarkt, despite being just 25, the Portuguese has so far gone for £194.89m in transfers, making him the player with the fourth-highest career transfer fee. There are three players who are ahead of Felix in this list with Lionel Messi not even in the top-10. Here are the top three.
Ahead of the 2003 season, when Alex Ferguson brought him to Manchester United fending off interest from rivals Arsenal, the English giants paid £16.4m for the then 18-year-old, who would hit his prime at Old Trafford. After spending seven seasons with the Red Devils, Real Madrid acquired him for a then world-record fee of £81.17m, with whom he reached his peak, winning three Champions League titles on the bounce. Then ahead of the 2019 season, Juventus came calling for the Portuguese and spent £101.03m for the 33-year-old before he returned to United in 2021 for £14.86m. Following his free transfer to Al-Nassr in 2022 where he signed a reported £175m-a-year deal, his five transfers have cost £213.28m.
The Belgian forward has divided opinions, particularly in the Premier League where he had stints with West Brom, Chelsea, Everton, Manchester United. He has also left his footprints with Inter Milan, Roma and Napoli and with nine transfers.
Like Felix, his fees once skyrocketed before it fall flat in recent times. After his splendid season with West Brom, Everton paid £3.02m for a season-long loan before making him a permanent in 2014 for £30.53m. In 2017, United spent £73.14m to acquire his services before Inter put an end to his mixed stay at Old Trafford for £63.90m in 2019. Chelsea then raised eye-brows two seasons later, when they brought him back to the Premier League for £97.57m. With the forward struggling for form and place, he was sent on loan to Inter and Roma for a combined fee in the region of £11.80, Napoli finally bought him for £25.90 that takes his overall tally to £318.82m.
Leading the list with £345.39m is the former Brazilian forward, who has managed a humongous sum with just three transfers. After catching the imagination of the world during his time at Santos in Brazil, it didn't take long for Neymar to set the stage on fire. After a dramatic transfer battle during the peak years of El-Clasico rivalry, Barcelona landed him to Camp Nou for £75.99m in 2013, where he formed one of the most lethal front three the world has seen. With Messi and Luis Suares for company, they were nicknamed 'MSN' as they landed a famous treble against all-odds. During his four-year stint with Catalan giants, he won 8 titles before PSG lured him to Paris, where he would be the sole lead. The prospect of not being the shadows of Messi played a part too, but PSG had to pay a whopping £189.97m for their prized asset. Unfortunately for Neymar, he could never replicate the success and form he enjoyed at Barca as PSG struggled to lay hands on Champions League despite uniting him with Messi and Kylian Mbappe also for company. After six years, Al-Hilal landed him for £77.71m before he decided to head home to Santos to finish his playing career.
Below the top four are 5) Ousmane Dembele – £189.97m, 6) Alvaro Morata – £179.60m, 7) Antoine Griezmann – £177.88m, 8) Matthijs de Ligt – £170.54, 9) Matheus Cunha – £165.96m, 10) Philippe Coutinho – £155.69m.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
4 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Is Donald Trump winning on economic policy, or just shifting the rules?
Six months into his second term, it is fair to say that US President Donald Trump has swept the board when it comes to economic policy — at least by the standards he set for himself. In fact, he has imposed his will to a degree no other post-World War II President, with the possible exception of Ronald Reagan, has been able to achieve. For starters, Mr Trump got his One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed, despite a razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives and credible projections that his signature tax and spending package will add more than $3 trillion to the federal deficit over the coming decade. And the southern US border is now more tightly controlled than it has been in decades. On tariffs in particular, Mr Trump got what he wanted. Europe and Japan effectively capitulated — agreeing to eliminate their own trade barriers while accepting a 15 per cent US tariff on their exports. Given these humiliating terms, it was more than a little absurd to see European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hail the deal as a success simply because Mr Trump backed down from his initial threat of a 30 per cent tariff. Both the European Union and Japan also committed to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the US economy, with Mr Trump exerting significant influence over where that money would be directed. His self-styled 'Tariff Man' persona clearly rattled world leaders, many of whom failed to recognise that his threats were unsustainable in the long run. In retrospect, they would have been better off calling his bluff. While European policymakers were busy mitigating the impact of American tariff threats, Mr Trump pushed through legislation aimed at bringing cryptocurrencies into the mainstream financial system with minimal oversight. Astonishingly, despite the Trump family's multi-billion-dollar crypto holdings, Congress has shown little interest in investigating the President's glaring conflict of interest. To be sure, the GENIUS Act does contain some worthwhile ideas. One provision, for example, requires that stablecoins — cryptocurrencies pegged to a traditional currency or commodity, usually the US dollar — be backed by safe, liquid assets. But overall, instead of laying out clear guidelines for taming the crypto Wild West, the GENIUS Act amounts to little more than a regulatory skeleton. As several critics have noted, Mr Trump's stablecoin framework bears striking similarities to the free-banking era of the 1800s, when the US did not have a central bank. At the time, private banks issued their own dollar-backed currencies, often with disastrous consequences such as fraud, instability, and frequent bank runs. That said, some criticisms may be overstated, as today's leading issuers are generally more transparent and better capitalised than their nineteenth-century counterparts. Fortunately, the US economy has remained resilient amid the uncertainty and chaos unleashed by Mr Trump's tariff war. Although growth appears to be slowing, and the July jobs report was soft — a hard reality that Mr Trump's firing of the technocrat in charge of producing the data will not change — second-quarter data show that the country is not yet in a recession. Likewise, higher tariffs have not yet triggered a surge in domestic inflation, and the US is on track to collect $300 billion in tariff revenue in 2025. So far, importers have been reluctant to pass those costs on to consumers, but that could change if the current tariff war ever winds down. Some analysts have even argued that the apparent success of Mr Trump's heterodox policies proves that conventional economic models are wrong. I doubt that, though the jury is still out. This short-term optimism, however, overlooks long-term consequences. While some of former President Joe Biden's policies were damaging, numerous economists have warned that Mr Trump's actions could prove devastating to American institutions and the global economic order. Most critically, the rule of law would be severely weakened if the expanded presidential powers Mr Trump has claimed are allowed to become permanent. A big test is coming if the Supreme Court ultimately decides that he lacks authority to impose tariffs without Congress's approval. If they stand, Mr Trump's sweeping tariffs may have long-term effects on US growth. The rest of the world is unlikely to tolerate Mr Trump's protectionist policies indefinitely. If he starts to look weak for any reason, expect foreign governments to retaliate with sweeping tariffs of their own. The Big Beautiful Bill could compound the damage, triggering a cycle of higher interest rates, rising inflation, and financial repression. Still, we should give Mr Trump his due and acknowledge that his second presidency is off to a far stronger start than almost anyone — aside from Mr Trump himself and his most fervent acolytes — could imagine six months ago. We should not be surprised by whatever comes next — and that might be the scariest part. ©Project Syndicate, 2025
Time of India
18 minutes ago
- Time of India
After England heroics, Akash Deep's big day off the field: Buys dream car
Akash Deep (Image credit: Getty Images) NEW DELHI: Indian fast bowler Akash Deep marked a special moment in his career by purchasing a new car and sharing pictures from the showroom with his family on Instagram. The celebration came shortly after his standout batting performance as a nightwatchman in the final Test against England at The Oval, where he scored 66 runs and played a key role in India's series-levelling victory. Akash posted photos of the car delivery on social media, captioning them: "Dream delivered. Keys received. With the ones who matter most." India vs England Day 5: Can India do the UNTHINKABLE at The Oval? Four wickets and 2-2! Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! The pacer was promoted to the No. 4 position late on Day 2 of the Test match as a nightwatchman. On Day 3, he impressed everyone with a gritty knock of 66 runs off 94 deliveries, helping India post a competitive total of 396. "When I went to sleep last night, my mindset was that I don't want to get out. Even if the ball makes me out, I don't want to be out. Even if the ball is on the body, I want to play," Akash said, sharing insights into his mindset during the innings. He stitched a crucial 107-run partnership with opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, frustrating the English bowlers and anchoring India's innings. "Where there was a need to play the ball, we set up a 100-run partnership with Jashu (Yashasvi Jaiswal). So this is very special for me. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Recover All Your Loss With This Superclass on Option Trading By Mr. Gopal ! TradeWise Learn More Undo The fifty is special, but more than that, the two hours that I played for the team in the morning is even more special," he added. Jaiswal also lauded Akash's effort, saying: "I think it's just wonderful the way he batted. We were having a good chat in the middle. Yeah, I hope he'll keep doing this for us." India eventually secured a 6-run victory in the fifth Test, finishing the five-match series in a 2-2 draw. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
The Hindu
37 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Why has Barcelona manager Hansi Flick been banned for the next Champions League match?
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick and his assistant Marcus Sorg have been fined 20,000 euros ($23,320) each and banned for one match in UEFA club competitions for misconduct, the European football governing body's disciplinary committee said on Friday. Flick had been furious at several refereeing decisions in his side's 4-3 semifinal loss to Inter Milan in May that stopped it reaching its first Champions League final in a decade. The sanctions will take immediate effect, ruling both men out of the dugout for the start of this season's Champions League. RELATED | Lewandowski to miss season opener due to injury In a separate decision, UEFA fined Barcelona forwards Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski 5,000 euros each for failing to comply with instructions from an anti-doping officer and not immediately reporting to a control post at the same game. Barcelona was also fined 5,250 euros over fans throwing objects and 2,500 euros for lighting fireworks during the match. Inter was fined 22,000 euros for its supporters' blocking public passageways and another 11,500 euros for lighting fireworks.
