Joao Felix has become the latest European star to join Saudi League following his move to Al-Nassr. Once touted as a young prodigy to watch out for when he began his career at Benfica, Felix hasn’t been able to nail down a spot for himself in Europe’s top leagues despite playing for the likes of Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, AC Milan, the former Premier League champions accepted his move to Al-Nassr.
After Atletico signed him for a record fee of £113m in 2019 from Benfica his stocks dipped when was acquired by Chelsea for just £47.2m in 2023. Mid-way through that season, he was sent on loan to Barcelona before returning to Chelsea for the 2024 season and spent the last season at Milan. And on Wednesday, ended up in Saudi league for £26m.
According to Transfermarkt, despite being just 25, the Portuguese has so far gone for £194.89m in transfers, making him the player with the fourth-highest career transfer fee. There are three players who are ahead of Felix in this list with Lionel Messi not even in the top-10. Here are the top three.
3) Cristiano Ronaldo (£213.28m)
Ahead of the 2003 season, when Alex Ferguson brought him to Manchester United fending off interest from rivals Arsenal, the English giants paid £16.4m for the then 18-year-old, who would hit his prime at Old Trafford. After spending seven seasons with the Red Devils, Real Madrid acquired him for a then world-record fee of £81.17m, with whom he reached his peak, winning three Champions League titles on the bounce. Then ahead of the 2019 season, Juventus came calling for the Portuguese and spent £101.03m for the 33-year-old before he returned to United in 2021 for £14.86m. Following his free transfer to Al-Nassr in 2022 where he signed a reported £175m-a-year deal, his five transfers have cost £213.28m.
2) Romelu Lukaku (£318.82m)
The Belgian forward has divided opinions, particularly in the Premier League where he had stints with West Brom, Chelsea, Everton, Manchester United. He has also left his footprints with Inter Milan, Roma and Napoli and with nine transfers.
Like Felix, his fees once skyrocketed before it fall flat in recent times. After his splendid season with West Brom, Everton paid £3.02m for a season-long loan before making him a permanent in 2014 for £30.53m. In 2017, United spent £73.14m to acquire his services before Inter put an end to his mixed stay at Old Trafford for £63.90m in 2019. Chelsea then raised eye-brows two seasons later, when they brought him back to the Premier League for £97.57m. With the forward struggling for form and place, he was sent on loan to Inter and Roma for a combined fee in the region of £11.80, Napoli finally bought him for £25.90 that takes his overall tally to £318.82m.
1 Neymar (£345.39m)
Leading the list with £345.39m is the former Brazilian forward, who has managed a humongous sum with just three transfers. After catching the imagination of the world during his time at Santos in Brazil, it didn’t take long for Neymar to set the stage on fire. After a dramatic transfer battle during the peak years of El-Clasico rivalry, Barcelona landed him to Camp Nou for £75.99m in 2013, where he formed one of the most lethal front three the world has seen. With Messi and Luis Suares for company, they were nicknamed ‘MSN’ as they landed a famous treble against all-odds. During his four-year stint with Catalan giants, he won 8 titles before PSG lured him to Paris, where he would be the sole lead. The prospect of not being the shadows of Messi played a part too, but PSG had to pay a whopping £189.97m for their prized asset. Unfortunately for Neymar, he could never replicate the success and form he enjoyed at Barca as PSG struggled to lay hands on Champions League despite uniting him with Messi and Kylian Mbappe also for company. After six years, Al-Hilal landed him for £77.71m before he decided to head home to Santos to finish his playing career.
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Below the top four are 5) Ousmane Dembele – £189.97m, 6) Alvaro Morata – £179.60m, 7) Antoine Griezmann – £177.88m, 8) Matthijs de Ligt – £170.54, 9) Matheus Cunha – £165.96m, 10) Philippe Coutinho – £155.69m.
