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List of most expensive association football transfers

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The following is a list of most expensive association football transfers, which details the highest transfer fees ever paid for players and managers, as well as transfers which set new world transfer records. The first confirmed record transfer was of Willie Groves from West Bromwich Albion to Aston Villa for £100 in 1893[1] (equivalent to £11,000 in 2025), made just eight years after the introduction of professionalism by the Football Association in 1885.[2]

Neymar, who completed the most expensive transfer ever

The current transfer record was set by the transfer of Neymar from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for €222 million (£200 million) in August 2017,[3][4] while the current record for women was set by the transfer of Grace Geyoro from Paris Saint-Germain to London City Lionesses for €1.65 million (£1.43 million) in September 2025.[5][6]

Highest transfer records in association football

​The majority of transfers on the list involve clubs from the Big Five leagues, with Premier League clubs accounting for half of all player sales and purchases. Saudi Arabian clubs are the only non-Big Five purchasing clubs on the list, while the non-Big Five selling clubs include Ajax and Benfica. Overall, Real Madrid made the list eight times for player purchases, the most among all clubs.

Romelu Lukaku appears on this list three times for moves to Manchester United, Inter Milan, and Chelsea. Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo appear on the list twice. All of the players on the list are of European (UEFA), South American (CONMEBOL) or African (CAF) origin. There are currently no players from the remaining regions; North America (CONCACAF), Asia (AFC) and Oceania (OFC). Ten French players have made their name on the list, the most among all countries.

Most transfer fees listed are not officially disclosed by the trading clubs and are reported by reliable mainstream media. Different media outlets may report varying transfer fees. The transfer fees are ranked in Euro (€) and based on the exchange rate at the time of the transfer.

As of 31 August 2026
  Fee broke the world record at the time of the transfer
  Fee broke the record for a teenager at the time of the transfer
  Fee broke the national league record at the time of the transfer
  Fee broke the record for a South American player at the time of the transfer
  Fee broke the record for an African player at the time of the transfer
  Fee broke the record for a goalkeeper at the time of the transfer
  Fee broke the record for a defender at the time of the transfer
More information Rank, Player ...
Top 50 most expensive association football transfers
Rank Player From To Position Fee
(€ million)		 Fee
(£ million)		 Year Ref.
1 Brazil Neymar (1) Spain Barcelona France Paris Saint-Germain Forward 222[a] 200 2017 [3]
2 France Kylian Mbappé France Monaco France Paris Saint-Germain Forward 180 165.7 2017 [7]
3 Sweden Alexander Isak England Newcastle United England Liverpool Forward 144.5 125[b] 2025 [8]
4 England Morgan Rogers England Aston Villa England Chelsea Midfielder 137.3 117 2026 [9]
5 England Elliot Anderson England Nottingham Forest England Manchester City Midfielder 135.5 116 2026 [10]
6 Portugal João Félix Portugal Benfica Spain Atlético Madrid Forward 126 113 2019 [11]
7 Ivory Coast Yan Diomande Germany RB Leipzig Spain Real Madrid Forward 125[c] 107 2026 [12]
France Bradley Barcola France Paris Saint-Germain England Liverpool Forward 125[d] 106 2026 [13]
9 Argentina Enzo Fernández Portugal Benfica England Chelsea Midfielder 121 106.8 2023 [14]
10 France Antoine Griezmann Spain Atlético Madrid Spain Barcelona Forward 120[a] 107 2019 [15]
11 Brazil Philippe Coutinho England Liverpool Spain Barcelona Midfielder 118.4 105[e] 2018 [16]
12 England Jack Grealish England Aston Villa England Manchester City Midfielder 117.7 100 2021 [17]
13 Germany Florian Wirtz Germany Bayer Leverkusen England Liverpool Midfielder 117.5 100[f] 2025 [18]
14 England Declan Rice England West Ham United England Arsenal Midfielder 116.5 100[g] 2023 [19]
15 Ecuador Moisés Caicedo England Brighton & Hove Albion England Chelsea Midfielder 116.3 100[h] 2023 [20]
16 Belgium Romelu Lukaku (3) Italy Inter Milan England Chelsea Forward 115 97.5 2021 [21]
17 Italy Sandro Tonali England Newcastle United England Tottenham Hotspur Midfielder 108.1 92.5[i] 2026 [22]
18 France Ousmane Dembélé Germany Borussia Dortmund Spain Barcelona Forward 105[j] 96.8 2017 [23]
France Paul Pogba Italy Juventus England Manchester United Midfielder 105[k] 89.3 2016 [24]
20 England Jude Bellingham Germany Borussia Dortmund Spain Real Madrid Midfielder 103[l] 88.5 2023 [25]
21 Belgium Eden Hazard England Chelsea Spain Real Madrid Forward 100 89[m] 2019 [26]
Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo (2) Spain Real Madrid Italy Juventus Forward 100 88.3 2018 [27]
England Harry Kane England Tottenham Hotspur Germany Bayern Munich Forward 100[n] 86.4 2023 [28]
Wales Gareth Bale England Tottenham Hotspur Spain Real Madrid Forward 100 85.3 2013 [29]
25 Portugal Mateus Fernandes England West Ham United England Tottenham Hotspur Midfielder 99.3 85 2026 [30]
26 Morocco Ayyoub Bouaddi France Lille England Manchester City Midfielder 95[o] 81.4 2026 [31]
Brazil Antony Netherlands Ajax England Manchester United Forward 95[p] 81.3 2022 [32]
28 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo (1) England Manchester United Spain Real Madrid Forward 94 80 2009 [33]
29 Brazil Neymar (2) France Paris Saint-Germain Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal Forward 90 77.6 2023 [34]
Croatia Joško Gvardiol Germany RB Leipzig England Manchester City Defender 90 77 2023 [35]
Argentina Gonzalo Higuaín Italy Napoli Italy Juventus Forward 90[a] 75.3 2016 [36]
32 Brazil Savinho England Manchester City England Tottenham Hotspur Forward 87.7 75[q] 2026 [37]
33 Brazil Bruno Guimarães England Newcastle United England Arsenal Midfielder 87.5 75 2026 [38]
34 England Harry Maguire England Leicester City England Manchester United Defender 86.6 80 2019 [39]
35 England Jadon Sancho Germany Borussia Dortmund England Manchester United Midfielder 85 73[r] 2021 [40]
36 Belgium Romelu Lukaku (1) England Everton England Manchester United Forward 84.8 75[s] 2017 [41]
37 Netherlands Virgil van Dijk England Southampton England Liverpool Defender 84.4 75 2018 [42]
38 Uruguay Luis Suárez England Liverpool Spain Barcelona Forward 82.3 65 2014 [43]
39 France Wesley Fofana England Leicester City England Chelsea Defender 80.9 70[t] 2022 [44]
40 Belgium Romelu Lukaku (2) England Manchester United Italy Inter Milan Forward 80 74 2019 [45]
Ivory Coast Nicolas Pépé France Lille England Arsenal Midfielder 80 72 2019 [46]
Spain Kepa Arrizabalaga Spain Athletic Bilbao England Chelsea Goalkeeper 80[a] 71.6 2018 [47]
France Hugo Ekitike Germany Eintracht Frankfurt England Liverpool Forward 80 69[u] 2025 [48]
France Aurélien Tchouaméni France Monaco Spain Real Madrid Midfielder 80[v] 68.3 2022 [49]
France Lucas Hernandez Spain Atlético Madrid Germany Bayern Munich Defender 80[a] 68 2019 [50]
Colombia James Rodríguez France Monaco Spain Real Madrid Midfielder 80 63 2014 [51]
47 France Zinedine Zidane Italy Juventus Spain Real Madrid Midfielder 77.5 46.2 2001 [52]
48 Colombia Jhon Durán England Aston Villa Saudi Arabia Al-Nassr Forward 77 64.5[w] 2025 [53]
49 Slovenia Benjamin Šeško Germany RB Leipzig England Manchester United Forward 76.5[x] 66.3 2025 [54]
50 Cameroon Carlos Baleba England Brighton & Hove Albion England Manchester United Midfielder 76 65[y] 2026 [55]
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Notes
  1. [a]
    The player's buyout clause was activated in the transfer
  2. [b]
    Initial £125 million plus £5 million in possible add-ons
  3. [c]
    Initial €125 million plus €15 million in possible add-ons
  4. [d]
    Initial €125 million plus €20 million in possible add-ons
  5. [e]
    Initial £105 million plus £37 million in possible add-ons
  6. [f]
    Initial £100 million plus £16 million in possible add-ons
  7. [g]
    Initial £100 million plus £5 million in possible add-ons
  8. [h]
    Initial £100 million plus £15 million in possible add-ons
  9. [i]
    Initial £92.5 million plus £7.5 million in possible add-ons
  10. [j]
    Initial €105 million plus €40 million in possible add-ons
  11. [k]
    Initial €105 million plus €5 million in possible add-ons
  12. [l]
    Initial €103 million plus €30.9 million in possible add-ons
  13. [m]
    Initial £89 million plus £60 million in possible add-ons
  14. [n]
    Initial €100 million plus €10 million in possible add-ons
  15. [o]
    Initial €95 million plus €5 million in possible add-ons
  16. [p]
    Initial €95 million plus €5 million in possible add-ons
  17. [q]
    Initial £75 million plus £10 million in possible add-ons
  18. [r]
    Initial £73 million plus £5 million in possible add-ons
  19. [s]
    Initial £75 million plus £15 million in possible add-ons
  20. [t]
    Initial £70 million plus £5 million in possible add-ons
  21. [u]
    Initial £69 million plus £10 million in possible add-ons
  22. [v]
    Initial €80 million plus €20 million in possible add-ons
  23. [w]
    Initial £64.5 million plus £6.5 million in possible add-ons
  24. [x]
    Initial €76.5 million plus €8.5 million in possible add-ons
  25. [y]
    Initial £65 million plus £5 million in possible add-ons

Statistics

More information Country, Players ...
Country Players Selling clubs Purchasing clubs
France France1072
England England82328
Belgium Belgium400
Brazil Brazil600
Argentina Argentina200
Germany Germany182
Netherlands Netherlands110
Portugal Portugal420
Colombia Colombia200
Ivory Coast Ivory Coast200
Uruguay Uruguay100
Spain Spain1513
Italy Italy143
Cameroon Cameroon100
Croatia Croatia100
Ecuador Ecuador100
Morocco Morocco100
Slovenia Slovenia100
Sweden Sweden100
Wales Wales100
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia002
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Most expensive player by confederation

More information Confederation, Player ...
Confederation Player From To Position Fee
(€ million)		 Fee
(£ million)		 Year Ref.
CONMEBOL Brazil Neymar Spain Barcelona France Paris Saint-Germain Forward 222[a] 200 2017 [3][4]
UEFA France Kylian Mbappé France Monaco France Paris Saint-Germain Forward 180 165.7 2018 [7]
CAF Ivory Coast Yan Diomande Germany RB Leipzig Spain Real Madrid Forward 125[b] 107 2026 [12]
CONCACAF United States Christian Pulisic Germany Borussia Dortmund England Chelsea Midfielder 64 57.6 2019 [56]
AFC South Korea Kim Min-jae Italy Napoli Germany Bayern Munich Defender 50[a] 43 2023 [57]
OFC New Zealand Chris Wood England Burnley England Newcastle United Forward 30 25 2022 [58]
Close
  1. [a]
    The player's buyout clause was activated in the transfer
  2. [b]
    Initial €125 million plus €15 million in possible add-ons

World football transfer record

The first player to ever be transferred for a fee of over £100 was Scottish striker Willie Groves when he together with Jack Reynolds (£50) made the switch from West Bromwich Albion to Aston Villa in 1893,[2] eight years after the legalisation of professionalism in the sport. It took just another twelve years for the figure to become £1,000, when Sunderland striker Alf Common moved to Middlesbrough.[59][60] It was not until 1928 that the first five-figure transfer took place. David Jack of Bolton Wanderers was the subject of interest from Arsenal, and in order to negotiate the fee down, Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman got the Bolton representatives drunk.[61][62] Subsequently, David Jack was transferred for a world record fee when Arsenal paid £10,890 to Bolton for his services, after Bolton had asked for £13,000, which was double the previous record made when Sunderland signed Burnley's Bob Kelly a fee of for £6,500.[60]

Diego Maradona and Ronaldo (pictured) were twice transferred for world record fees.[63]

The first player from outside Great Britain to break the record was Bernabé Ferreyra, a player known as La Fiera for his powerful shot. His 1932 transfer from Tigre to River Plate cost £23k,[62] and the record would last for 17 years (the longest the record has lasted) until it was broken by Manchester United's sale of Johnny Morris to Derby County for £24k in March 1949. The record was broken seven further times between 1949 and 1961, when Luis Suárez Miramontes was sold by Barcelona to Inter Milan for £152k, becoming the first ever player sold for more than £100k.[60] In 1968, Pietro Anastasi became the first £500k player when Juventus purchased him from Varese,[62] which was followed seven years later with Giuseppe Savoldi becoming the first million pound player when he transferred from Bologna to Napoli.[60][62]

After Alf Common and David Jack, the third player to twice be transferred for world record fees is Diego Maradona.[60][62] His transfers from Boca Juniors to Barcelona for £3m, and then to Napoli for £5m, both broke the record in 1982 and 1984 respectively. In the space of 61 days in 1992,[62] three transfers broke the record,[60] all by Italian clubs: Jean-Pierre Papin transferred from Marseille to A.C. Milan, becoming the first ever £10m player.[62] Almost immediately, rivals Juventus topped that with the signing of Gianluca Vialli for a fee of £12m from Sampdoria. Milan then completed the signing of Gianluigi Lentini for a fee of £13m which stood as the record for three years.

The 1996 transfer of Alan Shearer from Blackburn Rovers to Newcastle United, for a fee of £15m,[64] kickstarted a year-by-year succession of record breaking transfers: Ronaldo moved the following year to Inter Milan from Barcelona for a fee of £17m,[65] which was followed in 1998 by the shock transfer of his fellow countryman Denílson from São Paulo to Real Betis for a fee of approximately £21m.[60][62][66] In 1999 and 2000, Italian clubs returned to their record-breaking ways, with Christian Vieri transferring from Lazio to Inter Milan for £28m,[67] while Hernán Crespo's transfer from Parma to Lazio ensured he became the first player to cost more than £30m.[60][68] The transfer prompted the BBC to ask "has the world gone mad"?[69] It took two weeks for the record to be broken when Luís Figo made a controversial £37m move from Barcelona to rivals Real Madrid.[60][70] A year later, Real increased the record again with a signing of Zinedine Zidane for £48m.[71]

Zidane's record stood for 8 years, the longest since the 1940s. Real Madrid continued with the Galácticos policy by buying Kaká from Milan for €67m (£56m),[72] which was the world record in pound sterling. However, both world record in euro and in pound sterling were broken by Real themselves when signing Cristiano Ronaldo for £80m (€94m) from Manchester United in the same transfer window,[60][73] Four years later Real Madrid broke the record again after completed the signing of Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013. Although Real initially insisted that the transfer cost €91.59m, slightly less than the Ronaldo fee, the deal was widely reported to be around €100m (around £85.1m).[74][75] Documents leaked in 2016 by Football Leaks revealed that instalments brought the final Bale fee up to a total of €100,759,418.[60][76] In 2016, Manchester United eventually took the record away from Real Madrid, signing French midfielder Paul Pogba for €105m (£89m),[77] four years after having released him to Juventus for training compensation.

A year after the Pogba transfer, however, there was a major jump in the record fee. Paris Saint-Germain matched the €222m buyout fee of Barcelona's Neymar, converted to a reported £198m by different sources,[4] or £200m[3] more than double the previous record. This was the first time that the record fee was paid by a French club.

Overall, the majority of these record-breaking transfers have involved clubs under UEFA’s jurisdiction. England leads across all categories—producing the most record-breaking players, while its clubs have set the record the most times for both sales and purchases. Barcelona has broken the record for the highest transfer fee received five times, while Real Madrid and Inter Milan have broken the record for the highest transfer fee paid for a player five times.

Historical progression

The transfer fees fluctuate due to exchange rate variations and are based on the exchange rate at the time of the transfer.

More information Year, Player ...
Year Player From To Fee (£)
1893Scotland Willie GrovesEngland West Bromwich AlbionEngland Aston Villa100[2]
1896 England Fred Wheldon England Small Heath England Aston Villa 350–500[78]
1903 England Ben Green England Barnsley England Small Heath 500[79]
1904England Alf Common (1)England Sheffield UnitedEngland Sunderland520[80]
1904Scotland Andy McCombieEngland SunderlandEngland Newcastle United700[81]
1905England Alf Common (2)England SunderlandEngland Middlesbrough1,000[82]
1913England Daniel SheaEngland West Ham UnitedEngland Blackburn Rovers2,000[83]
1913England Tommy BarberEngland Bolton WanderersEngland Aston Villa2,000[84]
1914England Percy DawsonScotland Heart of MidlothianEngland Blackburn Rovers2,500[85]
1920England David Jack (1)England Plymouth ArgyleEngland Bolton Wanderers3,500[86]
1921Scotland Tom HamiltonScotland KilmarnockEngland Preston North End4,600[87]
1922England Syd PuddefootEngland West Ham UnitedScotland Falkirk5,000[88]
1922England Warney CresswellEngland South ShieldsEngland Sunderland5,500[89]
1925England Bob KellyEngland BurnleyEngland Sunderland6,500[90]
1928England David Jack (2)England Bolton WanderersEngland Arsenal10,890[91]
1932Argentina Bernabé FerreyraArgentina TigreArgentina River Plate23,000[91]
1949England Johnny MorrisEngland Manchester UnitedEngland Derby County24,000[90]
1949England Eddie QuigleyEngland Sheffield WednesdayEngland Preston North End26,500[90]
1950Wales Trevor FordEngland Aston VillaEngland Sunderland30,000[90]
1951England Jackie SewellEngland Notts CountyEngland Sheffield Wednesday34,500[90]
1952Sweden Hans JeppsonItaly AtalantaItaly Napoli52,000[91]
1954Uruguay Juan SchiaffinoUruguay PeñarolItaly Milan72,000[91]
1957Argentina Omar SivoriArgentina River PlateItaly Juventus93,000[91]
1961Spain Luis SuárezSpain BarcelonaItaly Inter Milan152,000[91]
1963Italy Angelo SormaniItaly MantovaItaly Roma250,000[91]
1967Denmark Harald NielsenItaly BolognaItaly Inter Milan300,000[92]
1968Italy Pietro AnastasiItaly VareseItaly Juventus500,000[91]
1973Netherlands Johan CruyffNetherlands AjaxSpain Barcelona922,000[91]
1975Italy Giuseppe SavoldiItaly BolognaItaly Napoli1,200,000[91]
1976Italy Paolo RossiItaly JuventusItaly Vicenza1,750,000[91]
1982Argentina Diego Maradona (1)Argentina Boca JuniorsSpain Barcelona3,000,000[91]
1984Argentina Diego Maradona (2)Spain BarcelonaItaly Napoli5,000,000[91]
1987Netherlands Ruud GullitNetherlands PSV EindhovenItaly Milan6,000,000[91]
1987Belgium Enzo ScifoBelgium AnderlechtItaly Inter Milan7,600,000[93]
1990Italy Roberto BaggioItaly FiorentinaItaly Juventus8,000,000[91]
1992France Jean-Pierre PapinFrance MarseilleItaly Milan10,000,000[91]
1992Italy Gianluca VialliItaly SampdoriaItaly Juventus12,000,000[91]
1992Italy Gianluigi LentiniItaly TorinoItaly Milan13,000,000[91]
1996Brazil Ronaldo (1)Netherlands PSV EindhovenSpain Barcelona13,200,000[91]
1996England Alan ShearerEngland Blackburn RoversEngland Newcastle United15,000,000[94]
1997Brazil Ronaldo (2)Spain BarcelonaItaly Inter Milan19,500,000[91]
1998Brazil DenílsonBrazil São PauloSpain Real Betis21,500,000[95][96]
1999Italy Christian VieriItaly LazioItaly Inter Milan32,000,000[97]
2000Argentina Hernán CrespoItaly ParmaItaly Lazio35,500,000[97]
2000Portugal Luís FigoSpain BarcelonaSpain Real Madrid37,000,000[97]
2001France Zinedine ZidaneItaly JuventusSpain Real Madrid46,600,000[97]
2009Brazil KakáItaly MilanSpain Real Madrid56,000,000[98]
2009Portugal Cristiano RonaldoEngland Manchester UnitedSpain Real Madrid80,000,000[99]
2013Wales Gareth BaleEngland Tottenham HotspurSpain Real Madrid86,000,000[100]
2016France Paul PogbaItaly JuventusEngland Manchester United89,000,000[101]
2017Brazil NeymarSpain BarcelonaFrance Paris Saint-Germain200,000,000[3][4]
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Number of record players by country

More information Country, Player records ...
Country Player records Record selling Record buying
England England162020
Italy Italy81419
Argentina Argentina531
Brazil Brazil510
France France311
Scotland Scotland321
Netherlands Netherlands230
Wales Wales200
Portugal Portugal200
Spain Spain159
Belgium Belgium110
Uruguay Uruguay110
Denmark Denmark100
Sweden Sweden100
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Managers

While players are often purchased for high fees, the fee to release a manager from their contract is a lot less.[102][103][104] Usually described as a "compensation fee", the amount paid to the manager's current club is based around several factors including the total salary for the current length of his contract, as well as potential bonuses and sponsorship deals, and additional fees if the club also need to pay compensation to hire a new manager.[102]

The transfer fees fluctuate due to exchange rate variations and are based on the exchange rate at the time of the transfer.

More information Rank, Manager ...
Rank Manager From To Transfer fee Year Ref.
€ million £ million
1 Germany Julian Nagelsmann Germany RB Leipzig Germany Bayern Munich 25 21.7 2021 [105]
2 England Graham Potter England Brighton & Hove Albion England Chelsea 23 20 2022 [106]
3 Italy Enzo Maresca (2) England Chelsea England Manchester City 19.7 17 2026 [107]
4 Portugal André Villas-Boas Portugal Porto England Chelsea 15 13.3 2011 [108][109]
Portugal Jose Mourinho Portugal Benfica Spain Real Madrid 15 12.9 2026 [110]
6 Belgium Vincent Kompany England Burnley Germany Bayern Munich 12 10.2 2024 [111]
7 Denmark Thomas Frank England Brentford England Tottenham Hotspur 11.9 10 2025 [112]
8 Italy Enzo Maresca (1) England Leicester City England Chelsea 11.8 10 2024 [113]
9 Germany Matthias Jaissle Saudi Arabia Al-Ahli England Newcastle United 11.1 9.5 2026 [114]
10 Netherlands Arne Slot Netherlands Feyenoord England Liverpool 11 9.4 2024 [115]
Portugal Ruben Amorim Portugal Sporting CP England Manchester United 11 9.3 2024 [116]
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Women

Main article: List of most expensive women's association football transfers

This list only includes transfers where a fee amount is reported publicly. The transfer fees are ranked in Pound (£) and based on the exchange rate at the time of the transfer. Fees are in thousands.

As of 29 July 2026
  Fee broke the women's world football transfer record at the time of the transfer
  Fee broke the national league record at the time of the transfer
  Fee broke the women's record for a South American player at the time of the transfer

‡ In player transfers between the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and other leagues after summer 2024, the NWSL as a single-entity organization conducts the transaction and pays or receives any fees, rather than member clubs conducting the deal directly. There are various ways for teams to purchase credits from the league. Such transfers into the league are subject to FIFA transfer regulations.

More information Rank, Player ...
Rank Player From To Position Transfer fee Year Ref(s).
£ thousand € thousand $ thousand
1 France Grace Geyoro France Paris Saint-Germain England London City Lionesses Midfielder 1,430[I 1] 1,650 1,923 2025 [5][6]
2 United States Alyssa Thompson United States Angel City England Chelsea Forward <1,430[I 2] <1,650 <1,923 2025 [118][6]
3 Sweden Felicia Schröder Sweden BK Häcken Spain Real Madrid Forward 1,294 1,500[I 3] 1,714 2026 [120][121]
Brazil Kerolin England Manchester City Spain Barcelona Forward 1,280 1,500[I 4] 1,700 2026 [122][123]
5 Mexico Lizbeth Ovalle ‡ Mexico Tigres United States Orlando Pride Forward 1,111 1,285 1,500[I 5] 2025 [124]
6 Canada Olivia Smith England Liverpool England Arsenal Forward 1,000 1,160 1,360 2025 [125]
7 United States Naomi Girma United States San Diego Wave England Chelsea Defender 883 1,050 1,100 2025 [126]
8 France Melvine Malard England Manchester United England Chelsea Forward 850[I 6] 1,000[I 6] 1,138 2026 [129]
9 Brazil Tarciane United States Houston Dash France Lyonnes Defender 797 960[I 7] 979 2025 [131][132]
10 Paraguay Claudia Martínez ‡ Paraguay Club Olimpia United States Washington Spirit Forward 703 805 950 2026 [133]
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  1. [1]
    Originally reported in French sources as a world record fee[5] of £1.43 million, London City stated the next day that it was not a record but "around the £1m mark". London City also spent around £430,000 on Lucía Corrales in the same window.[117] When FIFA's 2025 report on international transfers was released at the end of the year, Geyoro was listed as the most expensive transfer, necessitating it as a world record fee.[6]
  2. [2]
    Thompson's transfer, which was confirmed shortly before Geyoro's, was a Chelsea record fee; "at least on-par" with Smith's previous record fee (which as a domestic fee would not be listed by FIFA); and described as just short of Ovalle's then-world record but able to become a new world record with bonuses[118] that would take Thompson's fee up to around $2 million.[119] At the end of 2025, FIFA confirmed Thompson's transfer as the second most expensive international transfer behind Geyoro's and above Ovalle's.[6]
  3. [3]
    Häcken declined to disclose the transfer fee but said that it would be a world record based on the reported fee for Ovalle's August 2025 record. The fee was otherwise reported as €1.5 million.[120] As Ovalle was listed by FIFA as the third most expensive women's transfer of 2025,[6] Schröder's transfer exceeding that could be a new record, or second or third. Based on reporting of Geyoro's record,[5] the reported €1.5 million for Schröder would be second or third behind that.
  4. [4]
    Around €1.2 million base fee and performance-based variables up to around €1.5 million total.
  5. [5]
    Mexican reports suggested the fee could rise to $2 million, though sources in the United States and elsewhere confirmed its ceiling at $1.5 million.
  6. [6]
    Typically reported as £850k, some sources suggested £750k;[127] the fee was equated to over €1 million,[128] which also aligns with the higher amount.
  7. [7]
    Reported as a Houston Dash club record sale and "among the highest in NWSL history", it had previously been reported as equivalent to $830,000 and almost a world record with potential bonuses (up to €960,000).[130] By the end of the season, the bonuses were reportedly met.

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