Money and cultureTransfer fee
World football transfer record
€222,000,000
- Holder
- Neymar
What to remember
In August 2017, Paris Saint-Germain paid Barcelona €222,000,000, or £200 million, to sign Neymar. No football transfer fee has gone higher.
The Brazilian forward came through at Santos, where he made his professional debut in 2009. Known for his dribbling, passing and finishing, he was rated by Opta Sports among the top two players in Europe for five seasons in a row. He joined Barcelona in 2013, formed the MSN trio there with Messi and Suárez and won the Spanish league and the Champions League before his move to Paris.
The record has a long history. The first confirmed record transfer took Willie Groves from West Bromwich Albion to Aston Villa for £100 in 1893, equivalent to £11,000 in 2025, just eight years after the Football Association introduced professionalism in 1885. The women's game works on another scale: in September 2025, Grace Geyoro moved from Paris Saint-Germain to London City Lionesses for €1.65 million (£1.43 million).
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Sources and licences
- Value, holder and date: Wikipedia article “List of most expensive association football transfers” (revision used 1378892940). Data from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo: Bryan Berlin, Photo licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons). Remove this photo.
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