Key Takeaways
- Four Premier League clubs have banked nine-digit fees for their players.
- Manchester City were one of five teams to set a new club record for player sales in the summer of 2024.
- Arsenal have never sold any player in the club's long history for more than £35m.
Player sales have become a fundamental part of football business models. Clubs are increasingly forced to sell expensive assets to avoid breaching the strict financial regulations which dominate the game's modern landscape.
In an age when sums are far more inflated than ever before, it is no surprise that some of the biggest deals in the history of the sport have come in recent years. As many as five Premier League clubs, including defending champions Manchester City, received a club-record transfer fee in the summer of 2024.
Not every top-flight team has been quite so economically savvy. Multiple Premier League clubs are yet to master the dark arts of the transfer window and boast relatively modest record sales from years gone by. Here's a closer look at each history-making deal across the division.
Every Premier League Club's Record Sale (Ranked) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rank | Club | Player | Year | Purchasing Club | Fee |
1 | Liverpool | Philippe Coutinho | 2018 | Barcelona | £142m |
2 | Brighton | Moises Caicedo | 2023 | Chelsea | £115m |
3 | West Ham | Declan Rice | 2023 | Arsenal | £105m |
4 | Aston Villa | Jack Grealish | 2021 | Manchester City | £100m |
5 | Everton | Romelu Lukaku | 2017 | Manchester United | £90m |
6 | Chelsea | Eden Hazard | 2019 | Real Madrid | £89m |
7 | Tottenham | Gareth Bale | 2013 | Real Madrid | £85.3m |
8 | Manchester City | Julian Alvarez | 2024 | Atletico Madrid | £81.5m |
9= | Leicester | Harry Maguire | 2019 | Manchester United | £80m |
9= | Manchester United | Cristiano Ronaldo | 2009 | Real Madrid | £80m |
11 | Southampton | Virgil van Dijk | 2018 | Liverpool | £75m |
12 | Bournemouth | Dominic Solanke | 2024 | Tottenham | £65m |
13 | Wolves | Pedro Neto | 2024 | Chelsea | £54m |
14= | Crystal Palace | Aaron Wan-Bissaka | 2019 | Manchester United | £50m |
14= | Fulham | Aleksandar Mitrovic | 2023 | Al-Hilal | £50m |
16 | Nottingham Forest | Brennan Johnson | 2023 | Tottenham | £45m |
17 | Brentford | Ivan Toney | 2024 | Al-Ahli | £40m |
18= | Arsenal | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | 2017 | Liverpool | £35m |
18= | Newcastle | Elliot Anderson | 2024 | Nottingham Forest | £35m |
20 | Ipswich | Tyrone Mings | 2015 | Bournemouth | £8m |
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20 Ipswich – £8m
Tyrone Mings to AFC Bournemouth (2015)
By far the lowest record sale on this list, Ipswich's highest income was from the departure of defender Tyrone Mings, who joined Bournemouth in June 2015. The Tractor Boys were a mid-table Championship side at the time, and the fee of £8m was a strong sum for a player the club had picked up from non-league minnows Chippenham Town for just £100,000 three years prior.
Mings' time with Bournemouth was blighted by serious knee injuries. It was only when he moved to Aston Villa in 2019 that he established himself as a solid Premier League centre-back, racking up over 100 appearances in the division while earning 18 England caps.
19 Newcastle – £35m
Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest (2024)
Elliot Anderson's summer 2024 move from Newcastle to Nottingham Forest came as the Magpies frantically attempted to comply with the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules. As an academy graduate, Anderson could be sold for 'pure profit'. Forest goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos moved the other way in a separate deal that appeased similar concerns at the City Ground.
In Anderson's limited time in the first team at St James' Park, he made 44 appearances and showed himself to be a promising prospect thanks to his energy and ability to play in several different roles. Newcastle boss Eddie Howe admitted that it was a deal which "didn't sit comfortable".
18 Arsenal – £35m
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to Liverpool (2017)
Arsenal's record sale is English midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who joined Liverpool in 2017 for a fee of £35m. The sum is one of the lowest record sales in the division, showing that the Gunners have had a glaring lack of success in selling players in the modern era.
Oxlade-Chamberlain's time with both Arsenal and the Reds was sadly derailed by injuries, and he never really got the chance to show his full potential on the pitch as a result, despite being tipped for greatness. One of the most injury-prone players of the modern age left Anfield at the end of his contract in 2023 and now plays for Besiktas in Turkey - when he's not in the treatment room.
17 Brentford – £40m
Ivan Toney to Al-Ahli (2024)
Ivan Toney's departure from Brentford had seemed inevitable for some time, but it was still a surprise when the club's all-time leading Premier League goalscorer became the latest big name to move to the Saudi League, joining Al-Ahli in a deal worth £40m in the summer of 2024. With the forward set to earn an estimated £400,000 a week after tax, the Northampton Town youth prospect will be making a real fortune in the Middle East and has earned the Bees a fair transfer fee in the process, albeit not quite the £100m price tag initially attached to the England international.
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16 Nottingham Forest – £45m
Brennan Johnson to Tottenham Hotspur (2023)
In another case of a club being forced to sell an academy graduate for pure profit to comply with the Premier League's PSR regulations, Brennan Johnson made the move from Nottingham Forest to Tottenham Hotspur for a fee of £45m in September 2023, after helping the Tricky Trees stay in the Premier League with eight goals during the 2022/23 campaign.
Johnson's transfer may have been lower had Forest forced through the deal with Spurs. In the event, the Midlands outfit waited until after the accounting deadline of 30th June, arguing they would receive a higher transfer fee for the player than if they had sold the Welshman before that date. The sum may have been more favourable, but it ultimately contributed to Forest's four-point deduction during the 2023/24 campaign.
15 Fulham – £50m
Aleksandar Mitrovic to Al-Hilal (2023)
Fulham's record sale is Aleksandar Mitrovic, who joined Saudi side Al-Hilal in August 2023 for a fee of £50m. Mitrovic's time at Craven Cottage saw him score an impressive 109 goals in 190 league appearances before his move.
His remarkable 2021-22 tally of 43 goals in the Championship fired the Cottagers back to the Premier League at the first attempt, and then a solid 14 goal season in 2022-23 helped the club to finish in 10th in their first year back in the top flight. Unfortunately for Fulham, the call of Al-Hilal was too strong for the Serbian striker to ignore, and he left the club, with Marco Silva very close to making the same move.
14 Crystal Palace – £50m
Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Manchester United (2019)
Crystal Palace academy graduate Aaron Wan-Bissaka joined Manchester United in the summer of 2019 for a fee of £50m, after an impressive season at Selhurst Park that had seen him become the club's first-choice right-back and claim Crystal Palace Player of the Year. The move to Old Trafford stalled his career somewhat.
Awkwardly forced into more attacking positions, the England under-21 international never rediscovered his best form, often finding himself out of the team due to injury or poor form. Wan-Bissaka joined West Ham in the summer of 2024 for a fee of £15m, representing a significant loss on the sum paid by the Red Devils.
13 Wolves – £54m
Pedro Neto to Chelsea (2024)
The latest in a long line of big-money departures from Wolves, Pedro Neto joined Chelsea in August 2024 for a fee of £54m, narrowly beating the £53m Manchester City paid for Matheus Nunes a year prior. Neto's time at Molineux was often plagued by injuries, and the Portuguese winger only managed over 30 league appearances once in club colours.
The 25-year-old took the number seven shirt which was still owned by Raheem Sterling upon his arrival at Stamford Bridge, showing how highly valued he was by new Blues boss Enzo Maresca. Unlike at Wolves, where he was the undisputed star, Neto is just one of numerous options in his position for Chelsea.
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12 Bournemouth – £65m
Dominic Solanke to Tottenham Hotspur (2024)
A graduate of the Chelsea academy, Dominic Solanke joined the Cherries in 2019 after a difficult spell with Liverpool in which he scored just once in 21 league appearances. Having helped Bournemouth return to the top flight in 2021-22 by scoring 29 goals in the club's Championship promotion campaign, Solanke truly established himself as a Premier League quality striker in 2023-24, racking up 19 league goals to earn himself a £65m move to Tottenham Hotspur. This represented a record sale for the south coast side, beating the £40m Bournemouth managed to squeeze out of Manchester City for Dutch centre-back Nathan Ake in 2020.
11 Southampton – £75m
Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool (2018)
Briefly the world's most expensive defender following his £75m move from Southampton to Liverpool, Virgil van Dijk has established himself to be one of the greatest defenders in the Premier League's history during his time at Anfield. The fee was initially met with some scepticism by fans and pundits alike, but the Dutchman has proven to be worth every penny with his superb displays for the Reds, being a crucial part in the club's success under Jurgen Klopp. Van Dijk also finished second in the voting for the 2019 Ballon d'Or, and Liverpool's form without him after his ACL injury in 2020-21 fell off a cliff, such is his impact in the backline at the club.
10 Manchester United – £80m
Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid (2009)
Undoubtedly one of the greatest players of all time, it was Cristiano Ronaldo's first stint as a Manchester United player that began his journey to the legendary figure we recognise today. Ronaldo joined Real Madrid in 2009 in a deal worth £80m, a world-record figure at the time, and one that was extremely noteworthy as Los Blancos had only set the existing high watermark with the purchase of Kaka from AC Milan a matter of days earlier.
Ronaldo's spell at Madrid was, of course, remarkable, scoring over a goal a game in La Liga, and adding four further Ballon d'Or trophies to the one he achieved as a United player in 2008. Incredibly, Ronaldo's move to Juventus in 2018 was more expensive than the deal struck with United, despite him being 33 years of age, showing that his quality levels had only increased despite his years.
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9 Leicester – £80m
Harry Maguire to Manchester United (2019)
Leicester's sale of Harry Maguire to Manchester United in July 2019 was a world-record transfer fee for a defender at the time. The move followed an excellent season with the Foxes when he helped the club to ninth place in the Premier League table, as well as being a mainstay in the England squad that made the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup.
Maguire's time at Manchester United has been difficult, with criticism over his performances for the club that eventually saw him lose his place as first-choice centre back under Erik ten Hag, and lose the captain's armband to Bruno Fernandes at Old Trafford. An upturn in form in the 2023-24 season, however, saw him regain his place in the side, although he missed Euro 2024 through injury.
8 Manchester City – £81.5m
Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid (2024)
Always playing second-fiddle to Erling Haaland during his time at Manchester City, Julian Alvarez finally got his chance to be the leading man by joining Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2024 for a fee of £81.5m. During his time at the Etihad, Alvarez managed 20 goals in 67 league appearances, albeit often being deputised outside his familiar position as a striker. Alvarez also became the first - and so far only - player to ever win the World Cup and a European treble in the same season as a Manchester City player during an all-conquering 2022/23 campaign.
7 Tottenham – £85.3m
Gareth Bale to Real Madrid (2013)
Arguably the best British footballer of all time, Gareth Bale moved from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid in 2013 for a fee of £85.3m, beating the sum Madrid paid for Cristiano Ronaldo four years earlier. Bale's time in the Spanish capital was mixed, with highlights including helping the club to win five Champions Leagues, including a brace in the 2018 final win over Liverpool, when he scored one of the most memorable goals of all time with a sensational overhead kick. The proud Welshman was affected by consistent injury and fell out with the hierarchy at the Bernabeu, eventually returning to Spurs on a season-long loan, before retiring at the age of 33 following a year with Los Angeles FC.
6 Chelsea – £89m
Eden Hazard to Real Madrid (2019)
One of the most naturally gifted players the Premier League has ever seen thanks to his dribbling ability and low centre of gravity, Eden Hazard made himself into a modern Chelsea legend during his time at Stamford Bridge. The Belgian spent seven years in west London, making 352 appearances and scoring more than a century of goals as the Blues won every available domestic honour before his ill-fated move to Real Madrid in 2019. Constant injury problems, poor form and the strength of Madrid's squad meant Hazard never showed his true ability in Spain, before retiring at the age of 32 in 2019.
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5 Everton – £90m
Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United (2017)
A member of the exclusive club of Premier League players to have scored 100 goals in the competition, Romelu Lukaku's best years in the Premier League were inarguably in Everton colours. It was at Goodison Park that he established himself as one of the world's leading forwards.
Despite the Toffees having mixed fortunes on the pitch in the Belgian's time at the club, Lukaku scored 68 league goals in 141 games before a £75m move to Manchester United. Since leaving Everton, Lukaku has had difficult spells in England with United and Chelsea respectively, but has had some success in Serie A with Inter Milan, Roma and now Napoli.
4 Aston Villa – £100m
Jack Grealish to Manchester City (2021)
Boyhood Aston Villa fan and former club captain Jack Grealish made the move from the Midlands to Manchester City in 2021 for a huge fee of £100m, making it one of the biggest deals in the history of the league. Known for his ability to beat a man and draw a foul during his time at Villa Park, he helped the Villans return to the top flight in 2019 and then was a major part of helping the club stay in the league on the final day of the following season.
The jury is out on Grealish's performances at City. The change of system from his time at Villa Park to Pep Guardiola's strictly choreographed routines, in the eyes of many, has stifled the Englishman's abilities.
3 West Ham – £105m
Declan Rice to Arsenal (2023)
Academy graduate Declan Rice left West Ham for a fee of £105m in July 2023, just weeks after helping the Hammers to win the Europa Conference League by beating Fiorentina 2-1 in the final. Rice proved himself to be one of the best up-and-coming talents at London Stadium, learning from club icon, Mark Noble before taking on the role as captain prior to his departure.
The England international only built on his prodigious progress during his debut season with the Gunners. After gazumping Manchester City in a bidding war which undoubtedly inflated Rice's price tag, Arsenal narrowly missed out on the Premier League title in the midfielder's first campaign, but Rice did land himself a spot in the 2023/24 PFA Team of the Year.
2 Brighton – £115m
Moises Caicedo to Chelsea (2023)
Ecuadorian midfielder Moises Caicedo joined Chelsea in a high-profile move in August 2023 following a battle for his signature between Arsenal, Liverpool and the Blues - which no doubt raised his fee. Caicedo initially joined Brighton in 2021, and only played 45 league games for the Seagulls before his big-money move to Stamford Bridge, in which time he established himself as one of the leading up-and-coming midfield talents in world football. Despite a difficult start to life in the capital, Caicedo bounced back with strong form towards the end of his debut campaign with the club, and scored a 50-yard screamer on the final day of the season.
1 Liverpool – £142m
Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona (2018)
The largest transfer fee to involve an English club in football history, Philippe Coutinho's move to Barcelona in January 2018 was a catalyst for Liverpool to bring in players that were eventually crucial to helping Jurgen Klopp's side taste both domestic and continental success. In stark contrast, both Barcelona and Coutinho's fortunes dwindled in the wake of the move.
The Reds spent the money they received on players such as Virgil van Dijk and Alisson, who revolutionised the defensive line at Anfield, while Coutinho never found his feet at Camp Nou. The Brazilian was shipped out on loan to Bayern Munich - scoring twice in a humiliating 8-2 Champions League win over his parent club - before joining Aston Villa, where injury limited him to just 41 league appearances in total. He now plays for Vasco da Gama, on loan from Villa, in his home nation of Brazil.
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Transfer values were obtained from news reports of the transfers at the time, and include any potential add-ons.