Neymar, Pogba, Ronaldo: What are the biggest world-record transfers in football history?

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By Jack Saville

Published May 22, 2021

The transfer market has exploded in the past thirty years

The summer transfer window is looming on the horizon and reports linking Harry Kane with a move away from Spurs suggest that a mega-money deal could be in the offing.

Daniel Levy is reportedly expected to demand a £150m fee for his services, which would make him the most expensive English footballer in history.

It wouldn't, however, be enough to set a new transfer record.

The £200m Paris Saint-Germain paid to sign Neymar remains the world-record figure for a single transfer, and that's unlikely to be beaten in a turbulent post-pandemic market.

But the fact a £150m fee has been mooted for Kane proves just how inflated prices have become in recent years.

Just over thirty years ago, Juventus broke the world record by signing Roberto Baggio from Fiorentina in a £8m deal.

In the modern game £8m wouldn't even get you the weaker leg of a mediocre Premier League player.

The world-record has been eclipsed 16 times since then, rising by £192m in the process.

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Rather bizarrely, the record was broken three times in 1992 and twice in 1996, 2000 and 2009.

The players involved in these deals are some of the most high-profile in the history of the modern game, with Ronaldo Nazario, Alan Shearer, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Kaka all featuring.

There is, however, room for a flop in the shape of Denilson, who failed to deliver on the hype surrounding his development following his move to Real Betis in 1998 before eventually joining Bordeaux on a free transfer seven years later.

Here's every world-record breaking transfer since 1990 in ascending order from least to most expensive:

17. 1990: Roberto Baggio £8m (Fiorentina to Juventus)

16. 1992: Jean-Pierre Papin £12.5m (Marseille to AC Milan)

15. 1992: Gianluca Vialli £12.5m (Sampdoria to Juventus)

14. 1992: Gianluigi Lentini £13m (AC Milan to Torino)

13. 1996: Ronaldo £13.2m (PSV Eindhoven to Barcelona)

12. 1996: Alan Shearer £15m (Blackburn Rovers to Newcastle United)

11. 1997: Ronaldo £19.5m (Barcelona to Inter Milan)

10. 1998: Denilson £21.5m (Real Betis to Sao Paulo)

9. 1999: Christian Vieri £32.5m (Lazio to Inter Milan)

8. 2000: Hernan Crespo £35m (Parma to Lazio)

7. 2000: Luis Figo £37m (Barcelona to Real Madrid)