---
title: "The Top 5 Record-Breaking Football Transfers in 2018"
canonical: "https://readliverpoolfc.com/articles/the-top-5-record-breaking-football-transfers-in-2018/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Ste Hoare"
section: "Articles"
published: "2019-06-17T09:43:56Z"
modified: "2026-09-22T13:36:06Z"
---

# The Top 5 Record-Breaking Football Transfers in 2018

Last year, Liverpool FC spent £75 million (€84.5 million) on Dutch international Virgil van Dijk’s transfer to the team. The 27-year-old centre back left Southampton after three years with the team and left it for a world-record transfer fee for a defender, even if it didn’t make it to the list of the [most expensive player transfers](https://blog.spinpalace.com/top-7-most-expensive-player-transfers/) in history. While the pile of money The Reds spent on him is massive, it was only enough for him to be the fourth most expensive transferred player in the world last year. Here are the other four that made it to the top 5.

### 5. Kepa Arrizabalaga

Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga left Athletic Bilbao for Premier League team Chelsea last year for a transfer fee of €80 million / £71.6 million, making him the world’s most expensive goalkeeper to date. The previous record was held by Alisson, leaving AS Roma for Liverpool, for just a few weeks.

### 4. Virgil van Dijk

As we mentioned above, van Dijk left Southampton for Liverpool last January for a transfer fee of €84.5 million / £75 million, making him the fourth most expensive player in 2018 and the most expensive defender ever.

### 3. Christiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid for Juventus last year for a €100 million / £88.5 million last year. This was the first time an Italian team paid this much for a player, so his transfer is once again a record, even if it’s a smaller one. The 34-year-old forward has a long and fruitful career behind him, filled with goals, trophies, and world records: he holds the most Ballon d’Or awards (5), the most World Soccer Player of the Year awards (5), the record for scoring the most FIFA Club World Cup final goals (4, shared with Messi), and many others. Back in 2009, he left Manchester United for Real Madrid for a world record-breaking transfer fee of £80 million (€94 million). Last year’s fee was only enough for the third place in our list.

### 2. Philippe Coutinho

Coutinho left Liverpool after five seasons with the team, signing with Barcelona for a fee of €120 million / £106 million. This transfer fee makes him the third most expensive footballer ever after Neymar (who holds the absolute world record today with a fee of £198 million) and Mbappé (see below). This was definitely the highest amount Barcelona ever paid for a player.

### 1. Kylian Mbappé

Finally, here’s last year’s most expensive player: Kylian Mbappé, the most expensive teenager ever signed by a club (€180 million / £158 million). Mbappé went senior early, at the age of 16, playing for Monaco’s B team at first but quickly advancing to the first team. There are many world records tied to his name: he is the most expensive teenage footballer (he was 19 at the time of his transfer), the youngest French player ever to score in a World Cup, and the second teenager ever to score in a World Cup (Brazilian football legend Pelé was the first). Considering the fortune Paris Saint-Germain paid to sign him, it seems obvious that the French team expects him to develop his skills even further – one day, he may even become the most expensive football player of all time.