The Premier League very much looks like the richest league in world football; clubs seemingly have the ability to splash the cash to no end each and every summer, as talent around Europe.
The money involved in English football right now is bigger than ever, with an incredible inflation of prices. 13 years ago, £80 million got you Cristiano Ronaldo – one of the best players in the world. Now, it gets you Harry Maguire. The difference is staggering.
With that said, we’ve listed the 20 most expensive Premier League signings of all time, via TransferMarkt.
20) Mykhalo Mudryk to Chelsea: £62.1m
One of the most recent signings on this list.
Chelsea, led by their new owner, Todd Boehly, spent huge sums in the summer and Mudryk was one of the big-name acquisitions.
He appeared to be heading to Arsenal but the Blues intervened at the last minute to secure his signature.
So far, he’s only played three times in the Premier League but he’s got a huge price-tag to live up to.
19) Alexander Isak to Newcastle United: £62.1m
Isak is perhaps the cornerstone signing of this new Newcastle United team.
Having been bought out by hugely wealthy owners, the Magpies splashed the cash on the Sweden international.
He scored 44 goals in 131 appearances for Real Sociedad and is already on the goal trail in black and white.
Thus far, Isak has scored three times in 10 games for Eddie Howe’s high-flying side.
18) Casemiro to Manchester United: £62.7m
Snapped up from Real Madrid as United searched for a defensive midfielder who could prove transformative to the club.
And the Brazilian has already delivered.
In the Premier League, United have only lost once when Casemiro has started; he’s a truly elite midfield player.
Whether his transfer can inspire the club to silverware, though, remains to be seen.
17) Ruben Dias to Manchester City: £63.5m
One of the biggest hits you’ll find on this list.
Dias came in from Benfica and has gone on to make 112 appearances for the club, becoming a bedrock of Pep Guardiola’s defence.
The Portugal international has already won two Premier League titles, and is on the hunt for a third this season.
A superb defensive signing.
16) Angel Di Maria to Manchester United: £67.5m
Now at Juventus, having moved to the club from PSG in the summer, Di Maria was an undoubted flop at United.
Signed as a marquee acquisition, he made 32 appearances for the club and while he did involve himself in 16 goals – an involvement every other game – he fell off a cliff at the club.
He wanted to leave and was allowed to move on, at great loss to United’s finances.
Not a good signing in any way, but we’ll always have that gorgeous lobbed finish against Leicester City.
15) Kevin De Bruyne to Manchester City: £68.4m
One of the greatest signings of the Premier League era.
De Bruyne was heavily doubted by onlookers after arriving from Wolfsburg, having struggled at Chelsea.
How wrong they were. De Bruyne has won four Premier League titles at City and has scored 90 goals, while providing a staggering 139 assists, in 337 games for the club.
A bargain of a deal for City.
14) Kepa Arrizabalaga to Chelsea: £72m
Kepa is a rather odd one.
He became the most expensive goalkeeper in history when he made the move to Chelsea but he has been in and out of the team under different managers.
In total, he has made 145 appearances for the club and has kept 56 clean sheets.
He’s clearly a good player, but it is unclear if he is actually a better player than Edouard Mendy.
13) Nicolas Pepe to Arsenal: £72m
It’s not even an argument: Pepe is a huge flop.
Arsenal flexed their financial muscle to secure his signature from Lille but he struggled immensely during his time at the Gunners.
In 112 games, he scored just 27 goals, which simply isn’t a good enough return.
It’s no surprise he was loaned to Nice, simply to get him away from the first-team.
12) Kai Havertz to Chelsea: £72m
The Germany international is a superb player, clearly.
Havertz has made 122 appearances for the club and has scored 29 goals, while registering 15 assists.
Best deployed as a No.10, Havertz can unlock any defence with his silky passing and his turn of pace.
He’s yet to truly explode, but he is clearly a top player in waiting.
11) Darwin Nunez to Liverpool: £72m
The jury is firmly out on Nunez.
Signed at huge expense for the Reds, he’s yet to truly find his feet, and he’s been more famous for missing chances than burying them at Anfield.
Nunez has scored 10 goals in 27 games but just five of them have come in the Premier League.
The Reds need him to start scoring goals at a clinical rate very quickly.
10) Wesley Fofana to Chelsea: £72.4m
This is another one where it’s really hard to judge if this is a good or bad signing.
Fofana developed into a superb centre-back at Leicester City and they received a huge fee for him from the Blues.
However, he’s played just six times for the club due to a serious knee injury.
It remains to be seen if he will get the chances he needs at Stamford Bridge under Graham Potter.
9) Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool: £76.19m
One of the most undisputed successes on this list.
Liverpool spent big to sign Van Dijk from Southampton and he proved transformative as Jurgen Klopp’s side entered a golden era.
He’s won the Premier League and the Champions League and is clearly one of the best defenders in the world.
His form since his serious injury has been less than world-class, but he is a truly elite centre-back.
8) Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United: £76.23m
Lukaku’s first entry onto this list.
The Belgium international was meant to fix United’s centre-forward woes for a decade, but it just didn’t quite work.
In 96 games, he did score 42 goals but he always felt like an awkward fit for United’s playing style, and he was eventually moved on.
A disappointing signing at a time when United really needed a major success.
7) Jadon Sancho to Manchester United: £76.50m
This is another one where the jury remains out.
Sancho has not managed to replicate the form he showed at Borussia Dortmund at United yet.
In 55 games, he’s been involved in a grand total of 13 goals, which is coming very close to flop territory.
Under Erik Ten Hag, though, he could receive a new lease of life. He needs to.
6) Harry Maguire to Manchester United: £78.3m
Can we say now that this didn’t work?
United paid a huge sum to Leicester City – the Foxes really are very good at extracting big fees for their best players – and Maguire is now the club captain.
However, he doesn’t really seem fancied by Erik Ten Hag at all, and has been dropped.
Thus far this season, he’s made just five Premier League starts. For the investment, it’s not good enough.
5) Antony to Manchester United: £84.3m
Signed in the summer from Ajax, Antony has gone on to make 23 appearances for the club.
The Brazil international has scored three Premier League goals but it’s far too early to make any sort of judgement on the transfer.
Still, United clearly believe in him, having paid an immense figure to secure him from the Dutch club.
Under Ten Hag, he may well become the next great United right winger, or, as the evidence on this list suggests, he might well be offloaded in a summer or two.
4) Paul Pogba to Manchester United: £94.50m
This was meant to be the big one.
Pogba was meant to come in and fix United’s midfield for years.
Instead, his spell was marred by rows with managers, injuries, and a lack of silverware.
The Frenchman was subsequently offloaded to another one of his former clubs, Juventus, in the summer.
3) Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea: £101.70m
We did say that Lukaku would appear again.
Lukaku came back to Chelsea ahead of the 2021/22 season, having previously played for their academy.
He scored eight Premier League goals in 26 games and was shipped back to Inter Milan in the summer.
One of the biggest Premier League flops you’re going to find.
2) Jack Grealish to Manchester City: £105.75m
City had to pay through the nose to get Grealish into the club from Aston Villa.
The winger and attacking midfielder has clearly adapted to life under Pep Guardiola and has been involved in six goals thus far this season in the Premier League, including what could prove to be a vital strike against Arsenal in a top-of-the-table clash.
He’s also already won the Premier League, and Guardiola clearly thinks highly of him.
Still, it’s hard not to be wistful for the time when he was absolutely destroying teams single-handedly at Villa.
1) Enzo Fernandez to Chelsea: £107.4m
The most recent signing on the list is also at the top of it.
Chelsea spent an immense figure to sign Fernandez from Benfica.
It should be said here that the Portuguese club bought the Argentina international for around €18m, or just over £15m.
That means Benfica made a profit of £91.5m after he played 29 times for the club. We can’t help but think his performances for Argentina, as they won the World Cup in Qatar, contributed to the hugely inflated fee.
He’s got a lot to live up to.