The summer of 2017 saw the record for most expensive transfer ever being broken as Neymar joined Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona. It was one of only two signings in the top 10 that wasn’t made by a Premier League club, with Manchester City making the biggest impact. Three of their signings are in the top 10, and city rivals Manchester United appear twice, both their purchases from other Premier League clubs.
10. Nemanja Matic, Chelsea to Manchester United: €43.7 million
After 151 appearances for Chelsea in four seasons, Matic made a surprise move to Manchester United, re-joining forces with Jose Mourinho, who paid £40.2 million to sign him. Matic, a two-time champion with Chelsea, is off to a terrific start with the Red Devils, helping them to three clean sheets to kick off the season with.
9. Gylfi Sigurdsson, Swansea to Everton: €48.3 million
After 3 seasons with 30 goals in his second tenure at the Premier League’s only Welsh club, the Icelandic star moved not too far away, joining Everton for £44.5 million. The attacking midfielder has yet to score for Everton in the league, but has picked up one goal in the Europa League.
8. Bernardo Silva, Monaco to Manchester City: €48.8 million
Part of the mass exodus from Monaco to richer clubs, Silva was purchased for £45 million. He has made 3 appearances for a total of 94 minutes under Pep Guardiola since joining City.
7. Kyle Walker, Tottenham to Manchester City: €49.8 million
Another Man City signing, Walker made the trip from North London for a fee of £45.9 million. He has played twice for City in the league, already earning himself one sending off (double yellow card), although most think it was an unfair decision at the time.
6. Alexandre Lacazette, Lyon to Arsenal: €51.8 million
After scoring within the first minute of his debut for Arsenal, Lacazette has since been held scoreless at Stoke (an Arsenal tradition) and came off the bench in the drubbing vs Liverpool. Arsene Wenger paid £47.7 million to land him after he scored 129 goals in 275 matches for Lyon.
5. Benjamin Mendy, Monaco to Manchester City: €56.2 million
The third of the Man City signings in the top 10 and the most expensive of them, Mendy is another former Monaco player, who has so far played once, 90 minutes, taking over left back. He cost just under £52 million to sign after only one season at Monaco.
4. Alvaro Morata, Real Madrid to Chelsea: €60.6 million
Morata’s return to the La Liga was a successful one, scoring 15 league goals in 26 matches, but a short-lived one as well. Chelsea paid £55.8 million to sign the Spanish forward, who has already provided 2 goals and 2 assists for his new club.
3. Romelu Lukaku, Everton to Manchester United: €82.7 million
Lukaku played under Jose Mourinho before, sold by the Portuguese manager from Chelsea to Everton in 2014. He scored 63 league goals for Everton in four seasons, earning him a new “call-up” to a Mourinho side, who paid £76.2 million to bring him to the United squad. Lukaku has been quite clinical at Old Trafford, scoring 3 goals in 3 matches so far, in addition to his UEFA Supercup goal.
2. Ousmane Dembele, Dortmund to Barcelona: €102.6 million
Soon to make his debut for Barcelona, Dembele made life difficult for Dortmund the moment he got word of Los Cules interest in him. The 20 year-old scored 6 goals to go with his 13 assists for Dortmund last season, his only season for Die Schwarzgelben.
1. Neymar, Barcelona to PSG: €217 million
Neymar is off to a flying start in Paris, scoring 3 goals to go with 3 assist through his first 3 matches, in a transfer that isn’t just the most expensive of all-time, but is also a lot more meaningful than just a player switching between elite clubs in Europe.
Other signings worth mentioning: Leonardo Bonucci leaving Juventus for AC Milan, costing €41 million, the most expensive signing in the Serie A this summer. Bayern Munich adding Corentin Tolisso from Lyon for €40.5 million was the Bundesliga’s most expensive signing this summer.