Florian Wirtz joins list of most expensive soccer signings in history

Florian Wirtz became one of the most expensive players in soccer history when the Germany playmaker joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen on Friday for a fee of up to 116 million pounds ($156 million).

Neymar: $262 million (222 million euros)

Paris Saint-Germain shattered the world-record transfer fee by signing the Brazil superstar from Barcelona in August 2017. It was more than double the outlay of Manchester United to sign Paul Pogba from Juventus for $116 million a year earlier. It remains the record transfer fee.

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Kylian Mbappé: $216 million (180 million euros)

A few weeks after buying Neymar, PSG also secured a loan deal for Mbappé — then the rising star of French soccer playing for Monaco — that included the option to make the move permanent in 2018. PSG did so, making it an outlay of nearly $500 million on two players.

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Philippe Coutinho: $192 million (160 million euros)

Flush with cash after selling Neymar a year earlier, Barcelona spent most of it in a deal to buy Brazil playmaker Coutinho from Liverpool for a Spanish record fee.

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Moises Caicedo: $146 million (115 million pounds)

The Ecuador midfielder's move was previously the most expensive deal by a British club, with Chelsea buying him from Brighton in August 2023.

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Joao Felix: $140 million (126 million euros)

Atletico Madrid triggered a buyout clause in Félix’s contract to sign the Portugal forward from Benfica in August 2019.

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Jude Bellingham: $139 million (128.5 million euros)

The England star got his big move to Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund in June 2023, for an initial up-front fee of 103 million euros plus add-ons linked to performance.

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Antoine Griezmann: $134 million (120 million euros)

Atletico could afford to sign Félix after selling France forward Griezmann to Barcelona for a similar fee a few weeks earlier.

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Neymar: $98 million (90 million euros)

Outside from Europe, the biggest transfer deal also involved Neymar when he joined Al Hilal, a team in the Saudi Pro League, from Paris Saint-Germain in August 2023. That came at the height of Saudi Arabia’s push to sign high-end soccer talent to ignite the oil-rich state’s domestic league.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer