Football clubs have always invested heavily in bringing in world-class players capable of playing at the highest level.
These football clubs have also earned huge amounts of money from the sales of their best players in the 21st century.
These are the top 10 best-selling football clubs of the 21st century.
1. Chelsea (£1.6 billion)
The West London team, which are the biggest spender in the Premier League, are also the biggest earner in the world because of their huge sales in the transfer window.
Over the last 24 years, Chelsea have earned a whopping £1.6 billion. The majority of the club’s big sales came last season.
Chelsea sold Kai Havertz to Arsenal for a transfer fee worth £65 million, and Mason Mount joined Manchester United for £55 million.
2. Juventus (£1.51 billion)
The Serie A giant made £1.51 billion in terms of transfers in the 21st century. They signed Paul Pogba for free and sold him to Manchester United in 2016 for a transfer fee worth £89 million.
He left Manchester United to join Juventus again in the 2022–23 season for free.
The Old Lady’s second biggest sale in the 21st century is France legend Zinedane Zidane, who joined Real Madrid in 2001 for a transfer fee worth £69.8 million.
3. Benfica (£1.5 billion)
The Portuguese league giant may not be the best when it comes to winning silverware, but when it comes to selling players at an exorbitant price, Benfica are the best.
In the last 10 years, Benfica have made a whopping profit of £636 million on transfers. Recall that Atletico Madrid paid £114 million to sign Joao Felix from the Portuguese club on July 3, 2019.
The second-most expensive sale in Benfica history is Enzo Fernandez, who moved to Chelsea for a transfer fee worth £107 million.
Benfica sold Darwin Nunez to Liverpool for a transfer fee worth £85 million. Manchester City paid £61 million to sign Ruben Diaz from Benfica.
In the current transfer window, Benfica sold Joao Neves to Paris Saint-Germain for a transfer fee of £50 million.
4. Inter Milan (£1.3 billion)
Inter Milan earned £1.3 billion in the transfer window in the 21st century. The Serie A giant earned £250 million from the sale of Romelu Lukaku, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Achraf Hakimi, and Ronaldo Nazario.
Last season, Inter Milan sold Andre Onana to Manchester United for a transfer fee worth £47 million.
5. AS Monaco (£1.27 billion)
The French football club, AS Monaco, made £1.27 billion from the sale of players over the years.
The club’s biggest sales in the 21st century is Kylian Mbappe, who left the club to join Paris Saint-Germain for a transfer fee worth £166 million.
Some of the club’s big-money sales are Aurélien Tchouaméni, James Rodriguez, Bernardo Silva, and Thomas Lemar.
6. Barcelona (£1.25 billion)
Barcelona are well known for spending more than selling players. However, they had made £1.25 billion in the 21st century.
Barcelona sold Neymar Jr. to Paris Saint-Germain for a transfer fee worth £198 million in 2017.
The Spanish giant sold Arthur Melo for £69 million to Juventus, and Luis Figo moved to Real Madrid in 2000 for £50 million.
7. Porto (£1.23 billion)
Porto made £1.23 billion in the 21st century in terms of players sales. The Portuguese giant were able to make £51.5 million from the sale of Otavio to Saudi Arabian Pro League giant Al Nassr.
8. Real Madrid (£1.22 billion)
Over the years, Real Madrid have earned £1.22 billion in players sales. In 2018, Juventus paid €100 million to bring Cristiano Ronaldo to Turin.
The Los Blancos made £223 million from Premier League football clubs after they sold Alvaro Morata to Chelsea, Mesut Ozil to Arsenal, Casemiro and Angel Di Maria to Manchester United.
9. Atletico Madrid (£1.2 billion)
Atletico Madrid have managed to compete for silverware even though they sell their superstars. The La Liga giant are one of the best selling football clubs to have made £1.2 billion over the years.
Atletico Madrid sold Antoine Griezmann for a transfer fee worth £103 million to Barcelona. The club earned £68.5 million from the sale of Lucas Hernandez to Bayern Munich.
Inclusively, the club made a huge amount of money from the sale of Rodri, Thomas Partey, and Matheus Cunha to the Premier League football clubs.
10. AS Roma (£1.1 billion)
Over the last 24 years, AS Roma are one of the best selling football clubs to have earned £1.1 billion in terms of selling players. The Serie A giant made £90 million from the sale of Alisson Becker and Mohamed Salah to Liverpool.
