The Most Expensive Defenders in Football History

Today, the amounts spent on the transfer of players can hardly be described as impressive; they are typical for football today. Originally, such hefty charges were only linked with the aggressive players, who used to be popular for their tricks and goalscorer trademarks. That being said, more and more recently, defenders, having gained significant investments as clubs have learned about the importance of initial transformations in defense and attack construction.

Who Is the Most Expensive Defender in Football?

The honours’ of being termed as the world’s most costly defender also go to the Croatian promising talent Joško Gvardiol who came to Manchester City at the beginning of the new 2023/24 season period. Manchester City, managed by Pep Guardiola, bought Gvardiol from RB Leipzig at a record-breaking €90 million, according to the website known as Transfermarkt. This historic deal paved way for a new record for defenders in the sporting field.

Gvardiol’s transfer fee topped the previous mark set by the English team’s Harry Maguire by just $2m. For €87m, Maguire transferred to Old Trafford from Leicester City during the 2019/20 season, a record that lasted for over four years until Gvardiol was signed at the Etihad.

The History of the Most Expensive Defender Transfers

Studying the chronology of record-breaking transfers of defenders makes it possible to conclude that these players are increasingly valued in the course of the game. Prior to the Maguire transfer sagas to Manchester United, Liverpool FC had the record with the signing of Virgil van Dijk.

Van Djik signed for Liverpool in the 2017/18 season after the reds shelled out €84.65 million to Southampton for his services. Van Dijk’s transfer fee left broke the previous record by more than €27 million, which was set in the previous year when the English club Manchester City signed French left-back Benjamin Mendy for €57.5 million from AS Monaco.

Going back in history, the previous record for the defender transfer was holding by Rio Ferdinand. But Manchester united signed Ferdinand from Leeds United in the 2002/03 football season for a world record fee of €46 million, a record that stood until 2015. Ten years later it was surpassed in 2014 when Paris Saint-Germain signed the Brazilian defender David Luiz from CHE for a fee of € 49.5 million.

In Modern football, defenders are crucial not only for preserving the outcomes of games but also building the plays from the goal. Players who used to be considered purely defensive now occupy central positions; the focus is on the defender as the key figure in forming attacks more than the goalkeeper as the main figure in protecting the goal.

The Top 20 Most Expensive Defenders in Football History

After dissecting the development of record-breaking defender transfers and identifying Joško Gvardiol as the current record holder for the most expensive defender of all time, the subsequent list ensembles the top twenty costliest defenders ever.

	Player	Season	Club Joined	Club Left	Transfer Fee
1	Josko Gvardiol	2023/24	Man City	Rb Leipzig	€90 Million
2	Harry Maguire	2019/20	Man United	Leicester City	€87 Million
3	Matthjis De Ligt	2019/20	Juventus	Ajax	€85.50 Million
4	Virgil Van Dijk	2017/18	Liverpool	Southampton	€84.65 Million
5	Wesley Fofana	2022/23	Chelsea	Leicester City	€80.40 Million
6	Lucas Hernandez	2019/20	Bayern Munich	Atletico Madrid	€80 Million
7	Ruben Dias	2020/21	Man City	Benfica	€71.60 Million
8	Achraf Hakimi	2021/22	Paris Sg	Inter Milan	€68 Million
9	Matthjis De Ligt	2022/23	Bayern Munich	Juventus	€67 Million
10	Marc Cucurella	2022/23	Chelsea	Brighton	€65.30 Million
11	Joao Cancelo	2019/20	Man City	Juventus	€65 Million
12	Aymeric Laporte	2017/18	Man City	Athletic Bilbao	€65 Million
13	Ben White	2021/22	Arsenal	Brighton	€58.50 Million
14	Benjamin Mendy	2017/18	Man City	Monaco	€57.50 Million
15	Lisandro Martinez	2022/23	Man United	Ajax	€57.37 Million
16	John Stones	2016/17	Man City	Everton	€55.60 Million
17	Aaron Wan-Bissaka	2019/20	Man United	Crystal Palace	€55 Million
18	Kyle Walker	2017/18	Man City	Tottenham Hotspur	€52.70 Million
19	Cristian Romero	2022/23	Tottenham Hotspur	Atalanta	€52 Million
20	Ben Chilwell	2020/21	Chelsea	Leicester City	€50.20 Million