Top 10 Most Expensive La Liga Transfers of All Time - Ranked

The Spanish La Liga is widely regarded as one of the most compeitive league in the European top five leagues. Home to the world's biggest clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla. The Spanish top flight has had the most influential and global icons over the course of history – Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Alfredo di Stefano, Xavi and Iniesta are just a few notables in a countless list of greats. Not only have these juggernauts of Spanish football dominated the La Liga, but they have also exerted their dominance in Europe.

Numerous superb footballers arrived as most expensive La Liga transfers, even though the English Premier League are stealing the spotlight in terms of splashing substantial money on transfers. Several wealthy Spanish outfits are not far behind in making most expensive La Liga transfer exercises, due to their financial strength in the market, especially in the past decade. In this article, we will explore who are the top 10 most expensive La Liga transfers in depth.

List of Most Expensive Transfers in the History of La Liga

The table below shows most expensive transfers in the history of La Liga. The Catalan giants Barcelona top the chart with five players on the list of most expensive La Liga transfers.

Note: The transfer fee mentioned above in the table is taken from TransferMarket.

Who is the Most Expensive La Liga Transfer Ever?

The Spanish top-tier league has witnessed record-breaking arrivals and departures in recent history. Oussmane Dembele's move to Camp Nou, and Eden Hazard's much-talked-about transfer to the Spanish capital to become a galactico. Big hit incomings such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and more.

10. Frenkie de Jong (€86 million)

The Dutchman Frenkie de Jong is undoubtedly one of the finest midfielders in the world, known for his vision, passing and ability to dictate the flow of the game. He rose to prominence under Erik Ten Hag, playing for Ajax courtesy of an incredible 2018-19 campaign on an individual and a team level. Frenkie made a staggering 52 appearances for the Eredivisie side across competitions with four goal contributions.

The midfielder played a key role in Ajax's stellar Champions League run. The Dutch giants made it to the semi-finals of the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League, defeating Real Madrid 5-3 on aggregate in the round of 16. He caught the eye of Barcelona, who secured Frenkie de Jong's signature in the summer of 2019 on a five-year term. He set foot at Camp Nou as one of the most expensive La Liga transfers.

9. Neymar (€88 million)

Another hit transfer for Barcelona, who became one of the most expensive La Liga transfers, is Brazil's all-time top scorer Neymar Jr. The forward is the third-highest Brazilian goal scorer for the Blaugrana. Neymar had taken the world by storm with his performances for the Brazilian giants Santos in his homeland. He had scored 20 goals in 33 appearances till then since his debut for Brazil in 2010.

He established himself as one of the most desired talents in world football, who was blessed with a natural ability to dribble past players. Also possessed a touch of scoring, vision and creativity. He made 23 appearances across competitions for Santos in the 2012-13 season, scoring 13 goals and providing eight assists. In 2013, at the age of 21, Barcelona scooped the Brazilian attacker on five year deal, and the transfer fee rose upto €88 million.

8. Cristiano Ronaldo (€94 million)

One of the most long-drawn transfer sagas in English football back in the day. As the La Liga giants Real Madrid were linked to Manchester United's ace Cristiano Ronaldo for nearly a season before they finally presented in front of a packed Santiago Bernabeu as a Galáctico. This historic deal went down as the world-record for a transfer at the time, reportedly around a €94 million transfer fee. Currently, the Portuguese icon is 8th in the list of most expensive La Liga transfers.

The Al Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo was coming off the back of an incredible 2008-09 season with the Premier League giants. The forward played 53 times and scored 26 goals and provided 12 assists for the Red Devils across competitions. In the English league, he bagged 31 goals in 34 Premier League games, a record figure, which is bound to have caught Los Blancos's attention.

7. Gareth Bale (€101 million)

Regarded as one of the best players to ever play for Tottenham Hotspur, the Welsh icon Gareth Bale was made the most expensive British transfer following a massive €101 million move to Madrid. Bale was coming off the back of an incredible 2012-13 season with North London outfit Tottenham Hotspur after making his transition from a full back to a winger. With Los Blancos, he enjoyed the most successful period of his club career, lifting 21 trophies.

Ahead of his move to Real Madrid, Gareth played 44 matches for Spurs in that campaign and netted 26 goals and provided 10 assists in all competitions for the Lilywhites. This caught Real Madrid’s eye as they broke the world transfer record yet again in September 2013 by bringing the British sensation on board to bolster their star-studded squad. It was a career-changing move for the winger; he played 258 games and netted 106 goals.

6. Antoine Griezmann (€120million)

In 2009, the French phenomenon Antoine Griezmann arrived in Spain, joining the ranks of Real Sociedad youth and a year later, the forward made his La Liga debut in 2010. A highly talented and versatile forward, Griezmann became one of the highly rated names in Spanish football following his spell at the San Sebastian club. He became a fan favourite for Rojiblancos during his five-year stay in the first stint at Madrid outfit Atletico Madrid.

However, a controversial move to Catalonia made the 2018 World Cup winner one of the most expensive La Liga transfers. Antoine was coming off the back of an incredible 2018-19 campaign for Atleti. In 48 appearances across competitions, the Frenchman netted 21 times and also provided 10 assists. Equipped with tremendous playing skills, he was touted as the perfect fit in a disrupted Barcelona set-up. Though it turned out to be an underwhelming stint for him.

5. Eden Hazard (€120.80 million)

Surpassing Antoine Griezmann on the list of most expensive transfers in the history of La Liga, Eden Hazard finds himself in 5th place. Courtesy of a significant €120 million move to the Spanish capital from the English capital to join Real Madrid from Chelsea. Hazard is widely acclaimed as one of the best wingers in Premier League history, owing to immensely successful stint at Stamford Bridge, claiming 6 major titles.

The Belgian's move to Real Madrid was compared to Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival a decade ago. Eden was 28 at the time, riding on the back of an impressive 2018-19 season with the Blues. For Chelsea, he made 52 appearances across competitions, netting 21 times and also bagging 17 assists in all competitions. Hazard was one of the prime attacking talents at the time, which prompted Real Madrid to secure his services. Unfortunately, the transfer was miserable for both parties.

4. Jude Bellingham (€127 million)

The latest addition amongst the most expensive La Liga transfers is Jude Bellingham, following a blockbuster move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2023 from Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund. He was on the radar of several top European clubs thanks to a standout 2022-23 season for Dortmund. Belligham was an influential player for the German club in a total of 42 outings and recorded 21 goal contributions, nearly guiding them to the title.

The English sensation chose Santiago Bernabeu as his next club destination, it marked as a new step in his career. Florentino Perez and Real Madrid acted quickly to get the deal done, splashing a huge sum of 127 million euros to acquire his services. The ex-Dortmund midfielder justified his 100 million price tag, leading the Los Blancos to clinch La Liga and UEFA Champions League in the 2023-24 season.

3. Joao Felix (€127.20 million)

Once hailed as a promising attacker in Europe, Portuguese magician Joao Felix is plying his trade in the Saudi Pro League for Al Nassr alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. At the age of 19, the forward became one of the most expensive La Liga transfers ever when Atletico Madrid paid a hefty transfer fee of €127.20 million to make Felix the only teenager to feature in this list of top 10 most expensive La Liga transfers.

In 2018-19, he performed exceptionally in the SL Benfica shirt, putting up 20 goal contributions and 11 assists after playing 43 matches. The teenage sensation attracted a host of suitors with his quickness, ball control and smooth reflexes, skills and dribblings. While still in his developmental stage at the time, the size of the fee throws light on the kind of demand there was for a player of Felix’s calibre, but the results were disappointing.

2. Philippe Coutinho (€135 million)

One most expensive La Liga transfers ever, Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho was known for his stunning dribbles, dead-ball ability, passing, vision and scoring goals from wide channels. The Brazilian was cherished by the Liverpool fans during his spell in Merseyside. He swiftly established himself as a reliable figure under Jurgen Klopp at Anfield, racking up 200 appearances and 98 goals in total.

Ahead of his arrival at Barcelona, Coutinho delivered a spectacular individual season, bagging 14 goals and providing 9 assists in 36 appearances across all competitions. Seeing his enormous potential, the Bluagrana jumped into the race to sign him and made a huge offer which any club would find hard to turn down. The attacking midfielder won four major trophies: two La Liga titles, the Copa Del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.

1. Ousmane Dembele (€148 million)

The 2025 Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele tops the list as the most expensive La Liga transfer via a record-breaking deal worth €148 million in 2017. The Frenchman has marked himself amongst the best players in the world after his exploits with European champions PSG, leading them to a sextuple. Dembele holds the record for the most expensive La Liga transfers and expensive Barcelona transfer.

The talented winger broke onto the scene with his incredible performances for Dortmund in the 2016-17 season, providing a staggering 21 assists and finding the back of the net 10 times in all competitions in 49 outings for the Black & Yellow. The Spanish side pounced on oppurtunity sign the French talent, offering him a long term five year long contract after the club missed out on signing Philippe Coutinho in the same transfer window.