Neymar’s near-£200m transfer to PSG from Barcelona in 2017 turned the football world on its head and ushered in the future of absurd fees we see today.
Don’t get me wrong, transfer sums had been on the rise but the Brazilian’s move sparked an incredible initial chain-reaction before setting a new standard for what a player is worth.
The summer of 2022 saw another example of this, with a mad scramble for defensive midfielders hiking prices to such a degree that players purchased for seven-figure sums a couple of years prior could be on the market for over £100m.
9 = Casemiro – £61million profit
The top 10 actually begins with two transfers tied for ninth place. Manchester United’s 2022 capture of five-time Champions League winner Casemiro came at an extraordinary expense considering the Brazilian’s age.
The Red Devils forked out £70m for the then-30-year-old, who at times in his debut campaign looked like the club’s most important player. Still, even in during that run it was hard to make a case for the eye-watering figure.
Casemiro was a key cog in Erik ten Hag’s maiden season at the helm of the Old Trafford club as they earned qualification for the Champions League and reached two cup finals – winning the League Cup.
However, this term things have not been as smooth with injury and poor hinting at an exit in the summer.
9 = Thomas Lemar – £61m
The French winger was one of the breakout stars of Leonardo Jardim’s Monaco side that reached the semi-final of the Champions League in 2017 alongside the likes of Fabinho, Bernardo Silva and Kylian Mbappe.
Lemar had 32 goal contributions in all competitions, 14 goals and 18 assists from 55 outings. His startling displays saw him depart the Stade Louis II a year after many of his team-mates.
Atletico were willing to part with £61m for the creative left-footer. Unfortunately, he has struggled to perform at anything like his output in the Principality as injuries have taken their toll on the 28-year-old.
7= Frenkie de Jong – £62m
The Netherlands international was the top target of Ten Hag when he first moved to Old Trafford and his unwillingness to leave the LaLiga giants motivated a move for Casemiro.
De Jong was earmarked as the archetypal Barca player, having come up through the ranks at Ajax, where he showed incredible potential in the defensive midfield position – arguably the most important for the respective side’s style of play.
Barcelona didn’t waste any time and snapped up the starlet during the January transfer window, before allowing him to complete the season in Amsterdam. Good job too, as the Eredivisie club reached the semi-final of the European Cup.
7 = Enzo Fernandez – £62m
Chelsea moved quickly to secure the services of Enzo Fernandez following his standout performances in Argentina’s successful 2022 World Cup campaign – there appears to be a trend with a lot of these.
The midfielder had spent just 18 months in the Portuguese capital with Benfica before the Blues decided to spend a British record £107m fee on the youngster.
The 23-year-old has endured a mixed spell in west London, though it’s difficult to assess the extent to which his displays have been hampered by the upheaval at the club.
6. Aurelien Tchouameni – £68m
Real Madrid beat Liverpool to the signing of the commanding defensive midfielder in 2022. The Reds were made to rue their loss as they went on to endure a miserable Premier League campaign that highlighted the ageing legs of club stalwarts Jordan Henderson and Fabinho.
As for Madrid, they had got their hands on another piece for a midfield rebuild that was completed with the arrival another starlet the following year.
Tchouameni turned out 33 times for the LaLiga giants in his debut campaign. He also started every game for France on their way to the 2022 World Cup final.
Monaco would have been delighted by the £68m profit they made in just two years on the player they signed from Bordeaux. But considering the potential of Tchouameni, they might just feel they could have got even more than the £85m they received.
5. Dusan Vlahovic – £70m
The Serbian striker’s stock has fallen some since his time with Fiorentina. That form saw him complete a big-money move to Turin in 2022.
Juventus snapped up the then 22-year-old amid interest from a host of top European clubs. Vlahovic had scored 21 Serie goals in the 2020-21 campaign before hitting 17 in 24, which promoted the Old Lady to fork out £70m in January.
Unfortunately, the striker struggled for form in his first full campaign, however there have been encouraging signs this term as Max Allegri’s team challenge for the title.
4. Randal Kolo Muani – £81m
Kolo Muani spent a solitary season in the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt, where he scored 15 and assisted 14 times before PSG set their sights on him.
The striker had moved from Nantes on a free transfer but had caught the eye in a substitute role for France at the World Cup.
Regardless of the small sample size, the Parisian club decided that he was the right man and inserted him into an all-French front three that includes another player we’re yet to see on this list.
The 25-year-old’s production has gone down this season, finding the net just five times. But it matters little when Kylian Mbappe is the main man scoring bucket loads of goals in a league PSG win without exerting much effort.
2 = Moises Caicedo – £86m
The Blues spent slightly longer assessing the talents of Caicedo before breaking their own British transfer record to sign him for £115m last summer. Though, in fairness they weren’t the only ones willing to part with such a ludicrous sum for the 22-year-old.
In an alternative reality Caicedo would be anchoring a Liverpool midfield at the top of the Premier League and challenging on all four fronts. Instead the Colombian is still searching for his best form within Mauricio Pochettino’s school for gifted students.
The defensive midfielder has shown glimpses of the form he produced with Brighton, however he needs to significantly improve to go anywhere close to meriting the extraordinary price tag.
You could argue that is an unfair expectation. It wasn’t for the next name on this list.
2 = Jude Bellingham – £86m
Another player Jurgen Klopp has missed out on in recent years – maybe that’s the real reason he’s had enough. What more can be said about Jude Bellingham.
Still only 20, the midfielder – if we can still call him that – landed in Madrid last summer and immediately asserted himself as the team’s best player and leader.
Bellingham has 26 goal contributions in 26 games for Los Blancos this term and he is shouldering an unhealthy amount of hope and expectation from the English public ahead of this summer’s European Championship.
1. Ousmane Dembele – 100m
For Borussia Dortmund, who were the selling club in each of the top two transfers in this list, Dembele’s sale was a remarkable triumph. For Barcelona, it was an unmitigated disaster.
His signing, along with that of Philippe Coutinho, was hastily made by the Catalan club after they had stolen Neymar from under their nose. It is therefore a little ironic that they would offload him to the Parisians for half the price, six-years later after a woeful stay at the Nou Camp.
To be fair to the pacy winger, his spell was blighted by injury, though some within the intense goldfish bowl of the club insinuated they were a result of a lifestyle not wholly conducive to that of an elite level sport.
Still, Dembele managed to rehabilitate his image enough earn a move to Paris last summer. He is the only player on this list that is not still with the club that prompted their inclusion.
