The biggest transfer profits in football history as Man City strike deal with Atletico Madrid for Julian Alvarez. City will make a huge profit of £67.5 million on the player they signed two years ago.
Neymar, Ousmane Dembele and Gareth Bale are all among the most profitable stars in history. Argentinian forward Julian Alvarez looks set to complete a mammoth deal to leave Manchester City and join Atletico Madrid for a total of £81.5 million (€95 million).
Not only would this make the forward the most expensive sale in the club's history, but it would also represent an incredible amount of profit. The Citizen's signed the 24-year-old in 2022 for just £14m. This represents a profit of a whopping £67.
5m for the World Cup winner. As impressive as it is, it is not enough for Alvarez to be in the top five most profitable players in football history, although he is able to crack the top 20, where he joins some esteemed company. Chelsea feature three times, while only one Saudi Pro League team makes an appearance.
Biggest Transfer Profits: 20-11 At the bottom of the top 20 is arguably the player who has performed the least to his expectations after making his big money move. Borussia Dortmund bought a young Jadon Sancho from Manchester City and, after developing him into a world-class player, would send him back to England's north west, this time to Man United, for a profit in excess of £54m. He is followed by his teammate Casemiro who, despite being 30 - an age where big money tends not to spent, still managed to land Real Madrid a serious return.
Riyad Mahrez was one of the all-time Premier League bargains , and after establishing himself at Leicester, would move to Manchester City in a deal that worked out for both parties. The same success can't be said for Thomas Lemar , who would've hoped to achieve more at Atletico Madrid. Luckily for Virgil van Dijk, his move to Liverpool transformed the Anfield outfit, leading to domestic and European successes, which also applies to Jude Bellingham following his Real Madrid move.
Harry Maguire became the most expensive defender in world football with his move to Old Trafford. Whether he was worthy of that moniker is up for debate, but Leicester won't have cared with the money they brought in. Bordeaux, on the other hand, will be wishing they still had the £63.
5m they made on Zinedine Zidane after the club lost their professional status due to financial trouble. Cristiano Ronaldo 's world record move from Manchester United to Real Madrid appears just below Enzo Fernandez's arrival at Chelsea, which rounds out the bottom half of the top 20. It's one thing losing a player for free, but it somehow feels even worse when a high-profile signing leaves for a pittance.
.. Top 20 Most Profitable Transfers (11-20) Rank Player Selling Club Buying Club Bought For Sold For Profit 11 Enzo Fernandez Benfica Chelsea £37.
9m £103.8m £65.9m 12 Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United Real Madrid £16.
3m £80m £63.7m 13 Zinedine Zidane Bordeaux Juventus £3m £66.5m £63.
5m 14 Harry Maguire Leicester City Manchester United £11.7m £74.6m £62.
9m 15 Jude Bellingham Borussia Dortmund Real Madrid £25.8m £88.4m £62.
6m 16 Virgil Van Dijk Southampton Liverpool £13.4m £72.6m £59.
2m 17 Thomas Lemar AS Monaco Atletico Madrid £3.4m £61.8m £58.
4m 18 Riyad Mahrez Leicester City Manchester City £429k £58.1m £57.6m 19 Casemiro Real Madrid Manchester United £5.
15m £60.76m £55.61m 20 Jadon Sancho Borussia Dortmund Manchester United £17.
6m £72m £54.4m Biggest Transfer Profits: 10-1 With an expected profit of £67.5m, Alvarez's transfer would see him just about snatch a place in the top ten, knocking down his compatriot Fernandez in the process.
He joins stars who have had varying levels of success post their head-spinning moves. On the poorer end of the spectrum sits Antony , who has managed just five Premier League goals in two seasons at Old Trafford. Dusan Vlahovic 's move to Juventus was perhaps ill-timed, as the Serbian move to the Old Lady from Fiorentina at a time when the Turin giants, who had dominated Italian football for a decade, were on the decline.
He has still been a regular marksman since his move, something that cannot be said for Eden Hazard . The Belgian superstar struggled with injuries, and was criticised by his teammates at Real Madrid and has since retired from the beautiful game altogether. Gareth Bale also had his struggles with injuries at the Bernabeu, but achieved plenty in his time at the club, including four Champions League titles, two of which he scored key goals in the finals.
He may have been disliked by the fans, but statistically speaking, the Welshman is one of the greatest players to have played for the club. Moises Caicedo became the latest name in a tumultuous recruitment policy under the Todd Boehly regime, but has begun to settle into life at Stamford Bridge. GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Moises Caicedo is the most expensive South American footballer in Premier League history.
Barcelona certainly makes their presence known in the top four, as they are involved in all the deals. They will not look back fondly on the signings of Antoine Griezmann , Ousmane Dembele or Philippe Coutinho , all of whom struggled to make an impact at the football club and were later sold for huge losses. However, they will be happy with the profit they received from selling Neymar to PSG in t he most expensive move of all time .
The Brazilian failed to secure the French giants the Champions League title they were desperate for and now plys his trade in Saudi Arabia. Top 20 Most Profitable Transfers (1-10) Rank Player Selling Club Buying Club Bought For Sold For Profit 1 Neymar Barcelona Paris Saint-Germain £75.5m £190m £114.
5m 2 Philippe Coutinho Liverpool Barcelona £11.16m £115.9m £104.
74m 3 Ousmane Dembele Borussia Dortmund Barcelona £30m £115.9m £85.9m 4 Antoine Griezmann Atletico Madrid Barcelona £25.
7m £103m £77.3m 5 Moises Caicedo Brighton Chelsea £24.2m £99.
6m £75.4m 6 Gareth Bale Tottenham Real Madrid £12.6m £86.
7m £74.1m 7 Eden Hazard Chelsea Real Madrid £30m £103.6m £73.
6m 8 Dusan Vlahovic Fiorentina Juventus £2.7m £71.6m £68.
9m 9 Antony Ajax Manchester United £13.5m £81.5m £68m 10 Julian Alvarez Manchester City Atletico Madrid £14m £81.
5m £67.5m All transfers courtesy of Transfermarkt - accurate as of 06/08/2024..
