The current transfer world record stands at €222m.

That's the fee Paris Saint-Germain coughed up to sign Neymar from Barcelona back in the summer of 2017.

It's a price tag that still looks as extortionate as ever and it's one that likely won't be topped for quite some time.

So just how regularly has the transfer record been broken down the years? Well, since 1978, 17 different players have held the title of 'the world's most expensive footballer'.

Below, we've provided the names of those 17 men, the two teams they moved between and their price tag at the time.

Neymar's PSG presentation

Let's take a look at the timeline...

Data sourced from Transfermarkt.

The last 17 players to break the transfer world record

1978 | Paolo Rossi - €2.65m

Transfer: Juventus to Vicenza

1979 | Andy Gray - €3m

Transfer: Aston Villa to Wolves

Gray with Wolves

1982 | Diego Maradona - €8m

Transfer: Boca Juniors to Barcelona

1988 | Lajos Detari - €8.7m

Transfer: Eintracht Frankfurt to Olympiakos

1990 | Roberto Baggio - €12.9m

Transfer: Fiorentina to Juventus

1992 | Gianluca Vialli - €16.5m

Transfer: Sampdoria to Juventus

1996 | Alan Shearer - €21m

Transfer: Blackburn Rovers to Newcastle

Shearer with Newcastle

1997 | Ronaldo - €28m

Transfer: Barcelona to Inter Milan

1998 | Denilson - €31.5m

Transfer: Sao Paolo to Real Betis

1999 | Christian Vieri - €46.48m

Transfer: Lazio to Inter Milan

2000 | Hernan Crespo - €56.81m

Transfer: Parma to Lazio

2000 | Luis Figo - €60m

Transfer: Barcelona to Real Madrid

Figo with Real Madrid

2001 | Zinedine Zidane - €77.5m

Transfer: Juventus to Real Madrid

2009 | Cristiano Ronaldo - €90m

Transfer: Manchester United to Real Madrid

2013 | Gareth Bale - €101m

Transfer: Tottenham to Real Madrid

2016 | Paul Pogba - €105m

Transfer: Juventus to Manchester United

2017 | Neymar - €222m

Transfer: Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain

Neymar with PSG

Between 1996 and 2001, the transfer record was broken SEVEN times.

But once Real Madrid coughed up €77.5m to sign Zidane, the record wasn't surpassed for eight years - until Los Blancos decided to splash the cash on Ronaldo.

Eight years after the Portuguese's €90m move to Madrid, PSG saw fit to sign Neymar for more than double that fee.

So the list above begs another question; which player will be the next to break the transfer world record?

Neymar & Kylian Mbappe

Right now, Neymar's PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe and Erling Braut Haaland are the only two who have a realistic chance of joining the exclusive club.

Although given the financial implications of the Covid-19 pandemic, we can't see it happening anytime soon...