Transfer fees in football seem to be rising constantly, and the Premier League has seen some of the biggest outlays in football history.
Though Neymar currently holds the record as the most expensive player of all-time following his move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, plenty of lucrative business has been done in England as well – and Goal has all the information.
Who is the Premier League record transfer?
France international Paul Pogba currently holds the record for being the most expensive Premier League player of all-time, with his return from Manchester United from Juventus in 2016 culminating in a then-world-record transfer fee of €105 million (£89.3m/$110m).
It surpassed the former world-record holder Gareth Bale following his move from Tottenham to Real Madrid in 2013 for £86m ($105m).
In Pogba's first season back at Old Trafford, he won the League Cup and the Europa League.
![Paul Pogba Europa League 2016-17](https://assets.goal.com/images/v3/blt9539b49c46bdc9c2/aca5380c230c19074545b613182611eaf441a13a.png?format=pjpg&auto=webp&width=3840&quality=60)
Pogba's transfer to Man Utd started to set a precedent for European football transfers, with Neymar's move to PSG from Barcelona in 2017 breaking the world-record fee in a whopping €222m (£198m/$240m) move, marking the first time that the record was broken by a French club.
Elsewhere in Europe, Philippe Coutinho's move from Liverpool to Barcelona in December 2018 for €120m (£105m/$128m) set the Liga record at the time of the transfer, before it was broken by Joao Felix's transfer from Benfica to Atletico in 2019 for €126m (£114m/$139m).
Record-breaking Premier League football transfers
The below table outlines the most expensive Premier League transfers of all time, with several of the top 10 having broken top-flight records at the time of the transfer.
Harry Maguire broke the Premier League record fee for a defender with his £80m ($97m) move from Leicester to Man Utd. He surpassed Virgil van Dijk's previous record set in December 2017 when the Netherlands international was the most expensive defender, moving from Southampton to Liverpool for £75m ($91m).
Romelu Lukaku's £75m ($91m) move to Man Utd from Everton broke the national league record at the time, while Nicolas Pepe's arrival at Arsenal broke the record for an African player – surpassing Algeria international Riyad Mahrez's fee.
Angel Di Maria previously held the mark for the Premier League record transfer following his £60m ($73m) switch from Real Madrid to Man Utd.
Chelsea's Kepa Arrizabalaga holds the record for the most expensive Premier League goalkeeper in 2018 with his £72m ($86m) move, which was previously set by Alisson's £56m ($68m) move to Liverpool from Roma earlier that summer.
Rank | Player | Team | Team | Fee | Fee | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Paul Pogba | Juventus | Man Utd | €105 | £89m | 2016 |
2 | Harry Maguire | Leicester | Man Utd | €87m | £80m | 2019 |
3 | Romelu Lukaku | Everton | Man Utd | €85m | £75m | 2017 |
4 | Virgil van Dijk | Southampton | Liverpool | €85m | £75m | 2017 |
5 | Nicolas Pepe | Lille | Arsenal | €80m | £72m | 2017 |
6 | Kepa | Athletic Bilbao | Chelsea | €80m | £72m | 2018 |
7 | Angel Di Maria | Real Madrid | Man Utd | €75.6m | £60m | 2014 |
8 | Kevin De Bruyne* | VfL Wolsfburg | Man City | €75m | £55m | 2009 |
9 | Rodri* | Atletico Madrid | Man City | €70m | £63m | 2017 |
10 | Riyad Mahrez* | Leicester | Man City | €67.8m | £60m | 2019 |
*Player did not break a transfer record, but is included in the list of top 10 most expensive Premier League transfers.