Al-Hilal winger Neymar is leading the list of footballers who have accumulated the highest transfer fees throughout their career.
The Brazilian footballer, who is nearing the twilight of his career, has accumulated a total sum of €457m as a transfer fee throughout his career.
Notably, Neymar’s transfer value skyrocketed to astonishing heights after the footballer left his boyhood club, Santos, in Brazil to Barcelona. The amount Barcelona forked out to secure the services of Neymar is still unclear.
However, some reports claimed the Catalan club paid as much as €57m for the player. After his move to Barcelona, Neymar signed for PSG as one of the most expensive players then for a record €222m.
In the 2023/24 campaign, Neymar took his total transfer fees, accumulated throughout his career, to an astonishing €457m after he signed for Al-Hilal from PSG for €90m.
Apart from Neymar, below are other footballers with staggering transfer fees accumulated throughout their careers
Romelu Lukaku
Former Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku has one of the longest transfer histories compared to other players. Lukaku graduated from Anderlecht Academy in 2009 and has played for seven different clubs throughout his career.
His first recorded transfer fee, as captured by Transfermarkt is €15m – the amount Chelsea paid for his services in 2012. In the 2013/14 campaign, he joined Everton on loan for a fee of €3.5m.
After impressing in the loan spell with the Toffees, the move was made permanent for €35.36m. After three seasons with Everton, Manchester United bought him for €84.7m in 2018. Lukaku spent two seasons with United and was signed by Inter Milan for €74m in 2020.
Notably, while Man United’s deal with Inter Milan for Lukaku saw the value of the player drop drastically, it was still considered a high transfer fee at that time. After two seasons with Inter Milan, Lukaku returned to Chelsea on his biggest transfer sale ever. The Blues paid a whooping €113m for the player.
He was then loaned to Roma in the next season in 2023 for €5.80m. This summer, Lukaku completed his fifth permanent transfer, joining Napoli for €30m. His total transfer fee in the course of his career is €369m.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has completed five permanent transfers in his football career. The footballing icon first joined Manchester United from Sporting Lisbon in 2004 for €19m. He then made a record transfer move to Real Madrid in 2010 for €94m.
Eleven years later, he made a bigger transfer move to Juventus, joining the club for a record €117m. In 2021, United brought him back for just €17m. Throughout his career, Cristiano Ronaldo has accumulated €247m as his transfer fees.
Ousmane Dembele
France international and PSG forward Ousmane Dembele is another footballer with high transfer fees accumulated over the course of his career. The 27-year-old has completed three big permanent transfers that spiked up his transfer fees.
He joined Borussia Dortmund in 2017 for €35m. His biggest transfer move was a mega €135m move to Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund in 2017. In 2024, Barcelona could only sell the player for €50 to PSG. Dembele’s total transfer fee is €220m.
Alvaro Morata
Alvaro Morata’s total transfer fee throughout his career is €202m. Morata joined Juventus in 2015 from Real Madrid for €20m. He then returned to Real Madrid in 2018 for €30m. In 2017, he signed for Chelsea for €66m and was loaned to Atletico Madrid in 2019 for €18m.
After an impressive loan spell with the La Liga side, he was signed permanently in a deal worth €35m. In 2020, he was loaned to Juventus for €20m.
