Who is the most expensive Premier League player of all time?

Premier League trophy
The Premier League is one of the richest in the world (Image credit: PA)

The Premier League is arguably the most successful modern league in the world, and although it cannot claim the most expensive transfer ever, there has certainly been plenty of cash coming into, but mainly out of, clubs on English shores.

With the same amount of money in your back pocket, you could opt to purchase the most expensive player in Premier League history, or you could pick up over 15 million copies of FourFourTwo magazine from your local newsagents – we know which we’d recommend.

Trevor Francis became Britain’s first-ever £1m player in 1979 and, just over 40 years later, Jack Grealish went for a hundred times that amount. Somehow, transfer fees are still growing…

Who is the most expensive Premier League player of all time?

Enzo Fernandez holds a Chelsea shirt after signing from Benfica in 2023

Enzo Fernandez holding up his new club's shirt following his big-money January move (Image credit: Getty Images)

The most expensive player ever signed by a Premier League club is Enzo Fernandez, who was signed by Chelsea for a whopping £106.8m on deadline day of the January transfer window in 2023, from Portuguese side Benfica.

While that’s a mind-boggling amount of money, it looks like loose change compared to the club’s overall spend since new Blues owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took charge of the club; well into the billions in just a couple of years.

Who held the Premier League all-time transfer record before Enzo?

Manchester City midfielder Jack Grealish holding a shirt printed with his name and number in the club shot

Jack Grealish was the previous holder of the most expensive Premier League player record (Image credit: Getty)

The £100m barrier has only been broken four times in the English top flight, and Chelsea put two of those on the board in 2023, with Moises Caicedo’s £100m plus £15m in add-ons potentially making him even more expensive than Enzo for the west London club in the future.

The previous record holder was Manchester City’s move for Jack Grealish, with the Sky Blues activating his £100m release clause at Aston Villa to take him to the Etihad Stadium.

Prior to that, the record lay on the other side of town, when Manchester United re-bought Paul Pogba from Juventus for a fee believed to be around £89m.

There has only been one other time a Premier League club has crossed the £100m line, but that came after Enzo’s move, with Declan Rice’s switch from West Ham United to Arsenal.

The full list of the top 10 most expensive Premier League players of all time

Declan Rice poses with his Arsenal shirt (number 41) after signing for the Gunners from West Ham in the summer of 2023.

Declan Rice signed for Arsenal in 2023 for a fee of around £100m (Image credit: Getty Images)
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RankPricePlayerFromToNationalityYear
1£106.8mEnzo FernandezBenficaChelseaArgentina2023
2£100mJack GrealishAston VillaManchester CityEngland2021
3£100mDeclan RiceWest Ham UnitedArsenalEngland2023
4£100mMoises CaicedoBrighton & Hove AlbionChelseaEcuador2023
5£97.5mRomelu LukakuInter MilanChelseaBelgium2021
6£89mPaul PogbaJuventusManchester UnitedFrance2016
7£82mAntonyAjaxManchester UnitedBrazil2022
8£80mHarry MaguireLeicester CityManchester UnitedEngland2019
9£77mJosko GvardiolRB LeipzigManchester CityCroatia2023
10£75mRomelu LukakuEvertonManchester UnitedBelgium2017