Top 10 most expensive player sales in Napoli’s history

Gli Azzurri have produced world-class talents for the past decade

Napoli, founded in 1926, are one of Italy's most historic clubs, with a trophy cabinet consisting of three Serie A titles, six Coppa Italia titles, two SuperCoppa Italiana titles, and one UEFA Champions League which was earlier known as UEFA Cup.

The club plays their home matches at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, a tribute to their greatest ever player. However, the Argentine legend is not among the club's 10 most expensive departures, a list which Kim Min-jae has joined recently.

Below, we will get into the details of Napoli's most expensive player sales:

10. Roberto Inglese- €21.8m

The 31-year-old striker was signed by Napoli in 2017, he spent two seasons at the club till 2019. his inclusion is perhaps the strangest on this list, as he actually never played for Napoli. He was signed from Chievo and was immediately loaned back to his old club, where he scored 12 times in 34 Serie A appearances, he spent the next two seasons on loan at Parma, and was eventually sold as a result of an obligation to buy.

9. Simone Verdi - €22m

Simone Verdi signed a five-year contract with Napoli, in 2018, having signed from Bologna for €25m. The Italian forward spent only one season at Napoli, he scored only four times and provided three assists throughout the entire 2018-19 season. The following season 31-year-old was sent on Loan to Torino, before it was made a permanent deal.

8. Fabian Ruiz - €23m

The 27-year-old Spaniard was signed from Real Betis after spending his U21 days in Spain. The midfielder spent 4 years at the club and is the most recent name to enter this list after leaving Napoli to join Paris Saint-Germain in 2023. He was one of numerous midfield acquisitions made by the Parisians during the same transfer window, but he has yet to become a mainstay in the starting XI of the French capital.

7. Allan - €23.6m

Allan, who has 10 caps for Brazil, began his career in his homeland with Vasco da Gama before moving to Italy in 2012 for three seasons with Udinese. He spent 5 years at Napoli, making 168 appearances for the club while scoring 11 goals during his tenure.

Carlo Ancelotti's ambitious Everton plan convinced him to leave the club. The 32-year-old joined Everton in September 2020 from Serie A side Napoli, going on to make 57 appearances for the Blues. A move he might regret making, he left Goodison park to join Al-Wahda in 2022.

6. Ezequiel Lavezzi - €30m 

Ezequiel Lavezzi's five years at Napoli were successful, both individually and collectively. One of Napoli's key players, 38-year-old Lavezzi was a member of the Serie A side's "Three Tenors," along with Edinson Cavani and Marek Hamsik.

Napoli won the Coppa Italia in the 2011-12 season, his last, he then decided to leave Napoli after they failed to qualify for the Champions League. He was sold to PSG in 2012 as the French club was looking to make a mark in the Champions League, he played alongside Ibrahimovic, the duo was very deadly together.

5. Kalidou Koulibaly - €40m

Koulibaly, who was also shown interest by Juventus and Manchester United, had just one year left on his Napoli contract when he decided to make a switch to the Premier League club Chelsea. The Senegalese defender penned a four-year deal at Chelsea. After spending on season at Chelsea, he made a move to Saudi League this summer after Al-Hilal made an offer that he could not refuse.

4. Kim Min-jae- €50M

Kim, 26, was an integral member of the Napoli squad that ended a 33-year wait for a Serie A title last season, he joined Napoli from Turkish side Fenerbahce in the summer of 2022. He was named the best defender in Serie A after making 35 league appearances in his debut campaign in Italy.

He has signed a five-year deal until 30 June 2028 at the Allianz Arena. Bayern had been looking to bolster its back line following Lucas Hernández's departure for Paris Saint-Germain and with Benjamin Pavard's future uncertain.

3. Jorginho - €57m

Jorginho was pivotal to Maurizio Sarri's side in Italy, in a deep-lying playmaker role, before the coach decided to bring the player to Stamford Bridge with him to Chelsea in 2018. Another of Chelsea's biggest signings in recent seasons, Jorginho swapped Naples for London. He joined Chelsea's arch rivals Arsenal in the winter transfer of the 2022-23 season linking up with Mikel Arteta, somebody who is looking to bring those Arsene Wenger days back at the Emirates Stadium.

2. Edinson Cavani - €64.5m

Edinson Cavani made the same move as Lavezzi, albeit a season later. This meant that Napoli lost their two best players to PSG in the space of a year. Cavani's goal record at Napoli was superb, scoring 52 times in 69 Serie A appearances.

PSG broke the transfer record in the French league by signing the Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani. The previous record belonged to Monaco, who paid Atletico Madrid an estimated €60m for the Colombia striker Radamel Falcao.

1. Gonzalo Higuain - €90m

Gonzalo Higuain's Real Madrid goal record is better than most people realise, and so it shouldn't be shocking that the Argentine achieved the same in Serie A. He scored 71 goals in 104 Serie A appearances, a similar rate to Cavani's but over an extra season.

Gonzalo Higuain ended his three-year spell at Napoli and sealed a move to Serie A champions Juventus for a fee of €90 million, making him the most expensive player in Italian football history- one which allowed the 35-year-old to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo again.