10 Most Expensive Players in History Cumulatively: Adding Up Millions

Spoiler alert, but the most expensive player also tops the 10 most expensive players in history cumulatively list. But many of the other names on the list are quite surprising. Although mostly overlooked as a metric, taking a look at the value of transfer fees paid for a player is a good indication of their career utility and longevity.

Also, it’s curious to see just how many transfers some players had in order to make the top 10 most expensive cumulative transfer fees. For a single player, one was enough. The biggest nomad had eight transfers (so far).

Interestingly, no player made the cut with only two transfers, although one was enough for a single star. Yet one man with two moves lies just outside the top 10 most expensive players, ranked 11- Enzo Fernandez, whose €162,250,000

#10 Zlatan Ibrahimovic - €169,100,000 - 7 transfers

It's not surprising to see one of the symbols of longevity in football here. Even though his last three transfers were all free moves and the last paid one happened 12 years ago. As even Ajax paid solid money for him, €7,800,000 to Malmo in 2001. Juventus paid €16,000,000 and got €24,800,000 from Inter later on. Nerazzurriin turn received €69,500,000 from Barcelona which utilized Ibra only for a single season. After a €6,000,000 loan to Milan, the black-and-red Milano team paid €24,000,000 for the Swedish international.

Just a year later, in 2012, Ibrahimovic had his last paid transfer. Truthfully, a severely underrated move from Paris Saint-Germain as they brought in their long-time star for only €21,000,000!

#9 Angel Di Maria €169,100,000 - 4 transfers

Even though he was underrated by some clubs that he was in, Angel Di Maria always got the nod of the recruitment teams when it was time to spend. Owners of Benfica, Real Madrid, Manchester United, and PSG all grabbed the chequebook and used long strokes to secure the signature of the Argentinian.

Benifa paid €8,000,000 to Rosario Central in 2007, making a profit of €25,000,000 when Real came knocking in 2010. Di Maria was one of the 10 most expensive transfers of 2014 as United splurged €75,000,000 for the ill-fitting relationship to form. PSG capitalized on that flop a year later by paying "only" €63,000,000.

#8 Kylian Mbappe - €169,100,000 - 1 transfer

The anomaly. Not just in his playing ability, but also - reflecting that - by being on this list of most expensive players cumulatively without the need for adding sums. Mbappe made two moves so far, but the one to Real was for free. Paris Saint-Germain paid a total of €180,000,000 for the then-youngster in 2018. Although Mbappe joined a year earlier on a loan, as PSG needed that financial feint in order to comply with FFP. Considering MBappe played 308 games for the Saints, scoring 256 goals and making 108 assists, yeah, he paid off his dues even without a transfer fee received.

#7 Philippe Coutinho - €180,300,000 - 5 transfers

Somewhat forgotten now, even though he's only 32, as not many of those transfers fared off. Inter picked Coutinho early on, from Vasco da Gama's U17 side for €3,800,000. But he didn't make much of a splash until the 2013 move to Liverpool for €13,000,000. LFC made a ten-times higher profit of €135,000,000 when Barca came knocking. Bayern paid €8,500,000 for a loan of the then-struggling Brazilian in 2019. Villa received the winger on loan in 2022 for no fee, and outright purchased him the same year but in the summer for €20,000,000.

On loan back at the club where he started out, even if Coutinho makes another transfer, it might bump him only one spot. If that.

#6 Antoine Griezmann - €182,000,000 - 4 transfers

A yo-yo transfer inclusion, as even though Antoine Griezmann is one of the most versatile players in the world, he didn’t fit at Barcelona following his €120,000,000 move to Barcelona in 2019. Atletico paid him from Real Sociedad for €30,000,000 in what was Griezmann's first transfer and later got him on a two-year loan from Barca for €10,000,000. Buying him back for €22,000,000. Atleti got 389 games and 181 goals out of the Frenchman but only paid around half of what Barca paid for two years of servitude.

#5 Alvaro Morata - €202,000,000 - 7 transfers

Perhaps the biggest surprise inclusion on the list of 10 most expensive players in the world. Yet, Alvaro Morata had a quite nomadic career which also has impressive longevity too, despite never being respected by the fans. Perhaps, only when he was at Juventus.

Real Madrid's product, Juve paid €20,000,000 for the tall striker and sold him back for €30,000,000 after two years. But Real, once again, didn't have much sympathy for the prodigal son and cashed in €66,000,000 from Chelsea, who other? Atletico took the Spaniard back home on a loan with a hefty fee of €18,000,000 before making the transfer permanent for €35,000,000! Juventus had him again for a loan fee of €20,000,000 for two years. After two solid years at Atleti, Morata scored a €13,000,000 transfer to Milan in 2024. All big clubs, only 31, and still Morata doesn't get the credit from the masses because of viral misses.

#4 Ousmane Dembele - €220,000,000 - 3 transfers

Borussia Dortmund made a massive profit on Ousmane Dembele as he was brought in for €35,000,000 from Rennais in 2016, and only a year later was paid €135,000,000 by Barcelona. Considering that Dembele threw a fit and trashed the house BVB was paying for in order to force a move, the German club made a tremendous piece of business. Barca didn't see the red flag and got a player who struggled with fitness and was a general nuisance for negotiations. Resulting in a €50,000,000 move to PSG in the summer of 2023. As he is 27, Dembele will probably rise to the third spot sooner, rather than later. Even if his stock continues to plummet.

#3 Cristiano Ronaldo - €247,000,000 - 4 transfers

Besides the retired Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo is the player least likely to further improve on his number. As he is 39 and now finally finding himself on the list for the worst of something, like the worst players at the 2024 Euros.

Coming through Sporting Lisabon's academy, Manchester United picked up the teenager in 2003 for €19,000,000! Selling him six years later to Real Madrid for €94,000,000! Los Blancos got their perfect player and still managed to make a profit from his transfer nine years later when he moved to Juventus for €117,000,000!

A surprise return to Manchester United happened in 2021, and CR7 was paid €17,000,000 after three years in Turin. His last move to Al-Nassr was possible because he mutually terminated his deal with the Red Devils.

#2 Romelu Lukaku - €339,220,000 - 8 transfers

The most nomadic of the players on the list. Romelu Lukaku bounced around clubs and his transfer history is shockingly dense for a player only 31 now. Anderlecht received €15,000,000 for their youth product from Chelsea. Yet CFC didn't really cherish their lifelong fan and loaned him out twice, only the second time for a fee, of €3,500,000. Everton paid slightly above 10 times that much to make his move permanent in 2014.

After solid years with the Toffees, Manchester United paid the striker €84,700,000 only to regret it. They were still satisfied with the return they got from him as Inter paid €74,000,000 for Lukaku in 2019. Antonio Conte worked wonders with Big Rom, but still, everybody knew Chelsea overpaid with €113,000,000 when they brought him back in 2021. A loan return to Inter followed paid €7,860,000, before Chelsea gave him up to Roma for €5,800,000. A new loan is probably on the cards for Lukaku, yet the throne is secure.

#1 Neymar - €400,000,000 - 3 transfers

The most expensive player ever when looking at transfers individually, and when looking at them cumulatively. This isn't that surprising, but considering that Neymar had only three transfers, the margin at which he surpasses compulsive movers is. Barcelona paid €88,000,000 for the teen from Brazil in 2013, only to sell him for the still-record €222,000,000 in 2017, courtesy of PSG.

After missing around half of the games he could've technically played in France, and a track record of both injuries and falling out with football, Al-Hilal still splurged €90,000,000 on the Brazilian in 2023. Since then, in a year and a half, Ney has played five games for the side.