Liverpool’s swoop to buy Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for an initial £116million set a new British transfer record in June 2025.
Arne Slot’s reigning Premier League champions have been determined to improve from a position of strength with no expense spared.
A widely reported pursuit of Newcastle striker Alexander Isak could see them surpass the Wirtz fee if the deal goes through.
Despite Alisson and Virgil van Dijk being the most expensive goalkeeper and defender in history respectively when they moved to Anfield, Liverpool have not traditionally troubled the upper reaches of this list.
So how does their current splurge compare to the biggest outlays from Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United?
Most expensive Premier League transfers in history
Florian Wirtz became the Premier League’s most expensive transfer and the value of his move will increase over time if performance-related add-ons are met.
As of summer 2025, he only edges into top spot ahead of Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo, who moved to Stamford Bridge in a deal worth £115m ($147m) in August 2023.
At this point, it’s worth noting that we will rank the signings in order of fees paid in pounds sterling, given that’s the currency of the league. Fluctuating exchange rates mean the dollar value of Caicedo’s transfer in 2023 was more than Wirtz’s in 2025.
Caicedo’s Chelsea team-mate Enzo Fernandez, Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice and Manchester City winger Jack Grealish are the only other players to have cost £100m or more in Premier League history.
List of most expensive Premier League transfers in history
| Date | Player | From | To | Transfer Fee |
| Jun. 2025 | Florian Wirtz | Bayer Leverkusen | Liverpool | £116m ($135m) |
| Aug. 2023 | Moises Caicedo | Brighton | Chelsea | £115m ($147m) |
| Jan. 2023 | Enzo Fernandez | Benfica | Chelsea | £106.8m ($135.8m) |
| Jul. 2024 | Declan Rice | West Ham United | Arsenal | £105m ($137.5m) |
| Aug. 2021 | Jack Grealish | Aston Villa | Man City | £100m ($127m) |
| Aug. 2021 | Romelu Lukaku | Inter Milan | Chelsea | £97.5m ($123.8m) |
| Aug. 2016 | Paul Pogba | Juventus | Man United | £93.25m ($118.5m) |
| Jul. 2017 | Romelu Lukaku | Everton | Man United | £90m ($114.3m) |
| Sep. 2020 | Kai Havertz | Bayer Leverkusen | Chelsea | £90m ($114.3m) |
| Jan. 2023 | Mykhailo Mudryk | Shakhtar Donetsk | Chelsea | £88.5m ($112.4m) |
| Aug, 2022 | Antony | Ajax | Man United | £86m ($109.2m) |
| Jun. 2022 | Darwin Nunez | Benfica | Liverpool | £85m ($108m) |
Most expensive transfers in football history
The world’s most expensive transfer list includes a heavy Premier League influence, but deals for £100m or more have occurred in continental Europe just as frequently.
Brazil international Neymar remains the most expensive transfer in history following his 2017 move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for £198m/$252m.
Most expensive transfers in football history
| Date | Player | Transferring from | Transferring to | Fee |
| Aug. 2017 | Neymar | Barcelona | PSG | £198m ($252m) |
| Aug. 2017 | Kylian Mbappe | AS Monaco | PSG | £163.3m ($207.5m) |
| Jun. 2025 | Florian Wirtz | Bayer Leverkusen | Liverpool | £116m ($135m) |
| Aug. 2023 | Moises Caicedo | Brighton | Chelsea | £115m ($147m) |
| Jul. 2019 | Joao Felix | Benfica | Atletico Madrid | £113m ($143.5m) |
| Jan. 2023 | Enzo Fernandez | Benfica | Chelsea | £106.8m ($135.8m) |
| Jul. 2019 | Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid | Barcelona | £106m ($136.1m) |
| Jan. 2018 | Philippe Coutinho | Liverpool | Barcelona | £105m ($133.5m) |
| Jul. 2023 | Declan Rice | West Ham | Arsenal | £105m ($137.5m) |
| Aug. 2021 | Jack Grealish | Aston Villa | Manchester City | £100m ($127.2m) |
