Top 7 players with the highest combined transfer fees of all time
Every successful club in Europe possess two primary characteristics. First, they have an insatiable desire to win. Second, they can go to any lengths to fulfill their ambitions.
Their relentless pursuit of excellence has inevitably taken a toll on the transfer market, which has become more inflated than ever before. Records are not only broken for world-beaters but also for players who show that little bit of spark.
In the list below, we will take a look at the seven superstars who have seen big clubs splurge millions on them over the course of their careers. Interestingly, only a couple of them have managed to justify the exorbitant amount of money spent on them.
Without further ado, let us check out the seven players with the highest accumulated transfer fees in history:
Stats via: One Football
#7 Angel Di Maria - €179 million
Barring a lackluster spell at Manchester United, Angel Di Maria has found success in each of the club he’s played for.
The Argentine, who has cost clubs €179 million in transfer fees, first swapped shirts in 2007, when he left Rosario Central for Benfica (€7 million). Three years later, Real Madrid lapped him up for €33 million.
He helped Madrid to their La Liga triumph in the 2011-12 season and was one of their best performers in their successful Champions League campaign in 2013-14.
Despite Di Maria’s impressive performances, Madrid sold him to Manchester United for a €75 million fee in the summer of 2014. But he failed to settle down in Manchester and joined Paris Saint-Germain for a €63 million fee a season later.
Di Maria, who has won five French titles with PSG, is set to move again when his contract runs out in June 2022.
#6 Philippe Coutinho - €180 million
Aston Villa midfielder Philippe Coutinho has played for multiple tier-one clubs in Europe. Except at Liverpool, he could not quite make his mark anywhere. The Brazilian has been a part of five transfers, amounting to a total of €180 million in transfer fees.
It all started with a €13 million switch from Inter Milan to Liverpool in 2013. Over the next five seasons, Coutinho emerged as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.
In January 2018, the Reds accepted a €135 million bid from Barcelona for their prized possession. He sadly couldn’t live up to his billing at the Camp Nou and was loaned out to Bayern Munich in August 2019 (€8.5 million loan fee).
He returned from the loan spell in 2020, with Barcelona deciding to keep him around for the next season-and-a-half. Coutinho’s struggles continued, prompting Barca to loan him out again, this time to Aston Villa.
The player seems to have finally found his footing at Villa and will be joining them permanently in the 2022-23 season for €20 million.
#5 Antoine Griezmann - €184 million
On his day, Antoine Griezmann can tear any defense in the world apart. Unfortunately for him, those occasions have been few and far between lately. The 31-year-old, who was once one of the best players in the world, has become a liability for his parent club Barcelona.
Griezmann has only played for three clubs in his career, with all of the teams belonging to La Liga. The cumulative transfer amount stands at €184 million, and we don’t expect the amount to change too much in the coming days.
His first transfer saw him join Atletico Madrid from Real Sociedad for a €54 milion fee in 2014. An excellent five-year stint later, during which he played a Champions League final, he joined Barcelona for €120 million in 2019.
Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t quite make it at Barca and was loaned out to Atletico in 2021 (€10 million fee). The France international is set to return to the Camp Nou at the end of June 2022.
#4 Alvaro Morata - €189 million
Alvaro Morata might not be the most clinical of finishers around, but he certainly has the charm to convince (and reconvince) some of the best clubs in Europe. The Real Madrid Cantera graduate has played for four clubs so far, but has been a part of six transfers, bringing his total to €189 million.
Juventus bought him from Real Madrid for €20 million in 2014. A couple of years later, Morata returned to the Spanish capital for a €30 million fee. He won the La Liga-Champions League double in the 2016-17 season, but was sold to Chelsea at the end of the campaign for €66 million.
Álvaro Morata is ‘very close’ to signing for Arsenal for a fee of around €30m. 
🚨 Álvaro Morata is ‘very close’ to signing for Arsenal for a fee of around €30m.
(Source: @Sport) https://t.co/r8SWb6X2F7
Disappointed with his performances, Chelsea first loaned him out to Atletico Madrid (€18 million loan fee) in January 2019 before selling him permanently (€35 million) in June 2020. The same summer, Los Rojiblancos loaned him out to Juventus for a €20 million fee.
The player, who is out of contract in June 2023, is set to return from his loan stint at Juventus on June 30.
#3 Cristiano Ronaldo - €245 million
Cristiano Ronaldo is by far the most decorated player on our list today. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has won it all in his club career, emerging as one of the best players in the history of the sport. Ronaldo has changed clubs four times so far, costing the teams €245 million in transfer fees.
His first switch saw him leave Sporting Lisbon and join Manchester United for a €19 million fee. One Champions League, three Premier League titles, and one Ballon d’Or later, he joined Real Madrid for a then-world record fee of € 94million in 2009.
He spent the next nine years at the Bernabeu, winning four Champions League trophies, two La Liga titles, and four more Ballons d’Or amongst other honors.
In 2018, he moved to Juventus for €117 million and helped them to two Serie A titles and three other trophies. In the summer of 2021, he returned to Manchester United in a €15 million deal.
#2 Neymar - €310million
Neymar is widely hailed as one of the best players of this generation. He enjoyed a breathtaking spell at Barcelona between 2013 and 2017 before shattering all transfer records to move to PSG.
The Brazilian superstar has only moved twice in his career, but those two transfers alone have taken his total to a whopping €310million.
🚨 PSG have made 30-year old Neymar available for transfer this summer.
(Source: ESPN) https://t.co/LWZ4SnBHOt
Following an eye-popping stint at Santos, Neymar joined Barcelona in an €88 million deal in 2013. Over the next three years, he won two La Liga titles, one Champions League, and three Copa del Rey trophies amongst other honors.
In the summer of 2017, PSG triggered his €222 million release clause and lured him away from the Catalonian capital. He has since scored 100 goals for the club across competitions, winning four Ligue 1 titles, three French Cups, and two French League Cups.
#1 Romelu Lukaku - €326 million
Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku is yet to prove himself as a dependable goalscorer, but that has not stopped him from bagging big-money moves. Since 2011, the Belgian forward has been a part of six transfers, amounting to a total of €326 million in transfer fees.
He first joined Chelsea from Anderlecht for €15 million in 2011. A couple of years later, he moved to Everton on loan (€3.5million loan fee). In 2014, Everton made his transfer permanent by paying Chelsea €35.36 million in transfer fees.
Three years later, Lukaku joined Manchester United for €84.7 million. Following an unsuccessful two-year spell at Old Trafford, he joined Inter Milan for €74 million. The Belgian helped Inter win the Serie A title in the 2020-21 season, which earned him a €113 million move back to Chelsea.
Much to the Blues' disappointment, he only scored 15 goals in the 2021-22 season, often cutting a frustrating figure in front of goal.
Also Read: 7 world-class stars who have rejected Real Madrid