The English Premier League is among the biggest football leagues in the world game. It has a worldwide audience of hundreds of millions. The popularity of the English top flight has contributed to the member clubs having major funds to spend on strengthening their squads due to investment and TV revenue.
The Premier League is usually the biggest spending of Europe’s top leagues. However, which players have been the most expensive in the league? Here are the top ten most expensive players in Premier League history:
Enzo Fernandez (Benfica to Chelsea for a fee of £106.8m)
Fresh from a starring role in Argentina’s 2022 World Cup triumph, the talented midfielder joined Chelsea from Benfica in the 2023 January transfer window. Many clubs were linked with a move for Fernandez, but it was the Blues who paid the British transfer record fee of £106.8million to secure his services.
Fernandez made an underwhelming start to his Chelsea career, but the Blues’ overall struggles in the second half of the season certainly didn’t help the midfielder settle at the club from south west London.
Jack Grealish (Aston Villa to Aston Villa for a fee of £100m)
The England international made the then-record £100m switch from hometown club Aston Villa to City in the summer of 2021 on the back of his best season in claret and blue.
After a slow start to his Citizens career, Grealish’s form improved for the Citizens in the 2022/23 season, in which he helped City achieve the treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League. Grealish had also won the Premier League title with City in his debut campaign.
Romelu Lukaku (Inter to Chelsea for a fee of £97m)
Having represented Chelsea in the early years of his career, the Belgium international returned to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2021 from Inter for an eye-watering fee of £97m. Over two years, Lukaku’s prolific goalscoring form for the Nerazzurri earned him the move back to the capital club.
However, it was not to be a dream return to his former club for the big striker, as he scored just ten goals in all competitions and started just 16 games in the Premier League. In the summer of 2022, Lukaku returned to Inter in a season-long loan deal.
Paul Pogba (Juventus to Manchester United for a fee of £89m)
The French midfielder started his professional career at Manchester United before moving to Juventus to seek out more first-team football in aid of developing his career. The switch worked out well for Pogba, who flourished in Turin.
His displays were enough to convince United to shell out £89m in the summer of 2016 to resign the midfield star. Unfortunately for everybody involved, the midfielder struggled for any consistency during his second spell in Manchester. In the summer of 2022, Pogba re-joined Juventus, once again, as a free agent on the expiry of his Red Devils contract.
Mykhailo Mudryk (Shakhtar Donetsk to Chelsea for a fee of £89m)
The highly-rated young Ukrainian winger joined Chelsea in the Blues’ 2023 January transfer splurge. Mudryk was hot property after impressing for Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. While many clubs ran the rule over Mudryk, Chelsea snapped up the youngster for £85m.
Like most of his teammates at Chelsea in the second half of the 2022/23 season, Mudryk struggled to perform, although there were flashes of his undoubted ability.
Antony (Ajax to Manchester United for a fee of £82m)
The Brazilian international joined Manchester United in the summer of 2022 for a fee of £82m after catching the eye at Dutch giants Ajax. The winger endured a somewhat underwhelming debut campaign with the Red Devils, scoring four goals and producing two assists in 25 top-flight appearances for Erik Ten Hag’s team.
Harry Maguire (Leicester City to Manchester United for a fee of £78m)
The England international centre-back made his name at Leicester City as a ball-playing centre-back. His performances for the Foxes were enough to persuade United to shell out around £78m to sign the former Hull star in the summer of 2019.
After a strong debut campaign at Old Trafford, Maguire has enjoyed mixed fortunes in his Red Devils career.
Romelu Lukaku (Everton to Manchester United for a fee of £75m)
Lukaku’s second entry on our list. The Belgium international was highly prolific at Everton before making a £75m move to their north west neighbours Manchester United in the summer of 2017. The striker spent two years with the Red Devils, making 96 appearances in all competitions, scoring a respectable 42 goals.
Despite what looked like relatively respectable numbers, Lukaku’s time at Old Trafford was perceived as disappointing, and he moved to Italian giants Inter for a fee of around £70m in the summer of 2019.
Virgil van Dijk (Southampton to Liverpool for a fee of £75m)
The Dutch centre-back is one of the few success stories on our list. Van Dijk joined Liverpool in the summer of 2018 from Southampton for £75m. It proved to be a shrewd signing on the part of the Reds, as the former Celtic centre-back played a crucial role in Liverpool winning both the Champions League and Premier League titles.
During his time on Merseyside, he established himself as one of the best centre-backs not just in the Premier League but the European game. Such was his success at Liverpool that the defender finished as the runner-up for the 2019 Ballon d’Or.
Jadon Sancho (Dortmund to Dortmund for a fee of £75m)
The England international winger burst onto the scene as a youngster at Dortmund, scoring goals and displaying his dazzling skills for BVB. In the summer of 2021, the in-demand youngster made a £75m move to Manchester United.
During his opening two seasons in Manchester, Sancho struggled to match his stellar displays at Dortmund. The winger managed just 12 goals in 72 appearances in all competitions in seasons 2021/22 and 2022/23.