Top 10 most expensive transfers of FC Barcelona

The Blaugrana have done some questionable business in recent times.

FC Barcelona is one of the biggest clubs in the world. Barcelona have to their name 26 La Liga titles and 5 Champions League titles among numerous other accolades. They are the only Spanish club to have won the treble and the Catalan club has managed to do it on two occasions.  

Some of the biggest names in the world of football has worn the famous stripes of FC Barcelona. Some of them molded in their own academy while others had to be brought in for large sums of money. Despite some financial woes in recent years, Barcelona are still very active In the transfer market. Here is a look at the most expensive Barcelona transfers of all time:

10. Ferran Torres (€55m from Manchester City)

Ferran Torres’ Manchester City stint didn’t last long. He joined the Blue half of Manchester in 2020. But when Barcelona needed some major changes to their squad after the departure of Messi and their poor start to the season in 2021-22, Torres was the person the Catalan club turned to, in the January transfer window of 2022. There were many arrivals for Barcelona during that particular transfer window, most of them free. However, they had to churn out €55m to Manchester City for the services of the Spaniard.

9. Raphinha (€58m from Leeds United)

The current transfer window has seen some big money signings for FC Barcelona.  One of them includes Brazilian forward Raphinha, who has joined from Premier League club Leeds United.  The winger was the top scorer for Leeds last season and attracted eyeballs from across Europe. The likes of Chelsea were also interested but the Brazilian decided to join the Spanish club. Raphinha cost Barcelona €58m.

8. Miralem Pjanic (€60m from Juventus)

In his four year stay with Juventus, Pjanic won the league four times, playing an important role in all those titles. On June 2020, Barcelona announced the signing of Pjanic from Juventus with the move set to take place at the end of the season. Barcelona paid Juventus €60m to sign the midfielder. Pjanic played for Barcelona in the 2020-21 season but failed to impress. This led to him being loaned out to Besiktas in the 2021-22 season. So far, the midfielder has failed to live up to his high price tag.

7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (€69.5m from Inter Milan)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has represented some of the biggest clubs across Europe and FC Barcelona is one of them. Ibrahimovic cost Barcelona €69.5m when he joined from Inter in the summer of 2009. Initially he signed a contract of five years but things started to deteriorate between him and the-then Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola.  This resulted in him being loaned out to Milan in the very next season. Zlatan then signed for Paris Saint-Germain in 2012.

6. Luis Suarez (€81.72m from Liverpool)

2013-14 was a phenomenal season for Luis Suarez. He ended up as the top scorer of the Premier League and almost won the league with Liverpool. Inarguably one of the best strikers of that time, it didn’t take much time for offers to pour in for the Uruguayan. Barcelona managed to sign the striker in the summer of 2014 for a sum of €81.72m despite Suarez facing an eight-match ban at that time due to his antics during the World Cup. The investment was worth it for Barcelona as they went on to win the treble that very season with Suarez scoring 25 goals and providing 20 assists.

5. Frenkie De Jong (€86m from Ajax)

Ajax’s incredible run in the 2018-19 Champions League season where they reached the semi-finals brought many new talents to the focus of the world stage. Most of the youngsters of that team were sold by Ajax for huge sums of money and one of those youngsters was Frenkie De Jong.  The midfielder moved to Barcelona in the summer of 2019 after the Catalan Club announced his arrival in January that year. The move cost Barcelona €86m. Since then, he has been an integral part of the club. However there has been some issues related to Frenkie’s situation in recent times as reports suggest that Barcelona has been unable to pay his wages. With other clubs interested, it remains to be seen if Frenkie continues to be a Barcelona player at the end of this transfer window.

4. Neymar (€88m from Santos FC)

Neymar had made a big name for himself even before moving to Europe. His reputation was based on his brilliant performances for Santos and Brazil. Barcelona were interested in the youngster and in the summer of 2013, made an offer to Santos for Neymar. The offer was accepted and Neymar was a Barcelona player by August 2013. His transfer fee however remains a thing of controversy with neither party disclosing the total amount. Neymar turned out to be a good investment for Barcelona as he won several trophies with the Catalan club. He was later sold to PSG in deal that cost the French club more than €200m.

3. Antoine Griezmann (€120m from Atletico Madrid)

Griezmann was one of the biggest names in the second half of the 2010s in the footballing world. He was a key member of the Atletico Madrid squad and won several trophies with them. He also won the World Cup with France in 2018. In the summer of 2019, FC Barcelona approached Atletico for the services of their star man. Griezmann joined Barcelona in July 2019 for a sum of €120m. Despite putting up a decent performance for Barcelona, he couldn’t match his levels from Atletico Madrid. Griezmann was loaned back to Atletico Madrid in the 2021-22  season.

2. Philippe Coutinho (€135m from Liverpool)

When Barcelona signed a star Liverpool player in 2015 for a big sum, it worked wonders for them. When they tried to replicate the same in 2018, things didn’t turn out well for the Catalan club. Coutinho was Liverpool’s star after the departure of Luis Suarez, carrying the club on his own at times. However after his big-money move to Barcelona, he couldn’t have the same impact. His stint in Barcelona turned out to be a disaster which included several loan moves and was eventually sold off to Aston Villa recently.

1. Ousmane Dembele (€140m from Borussia Dortmund)

Dembele had already made a big name for himself as a teenager while playing for Borussia Dortmund. In the 2016-17 season, he was included in the Bundesliga team of the season. Many big clubs were eager to sign him and eventually it was Barcelona who managed to get his services after paying a huge sum of €140m. This made Ousmane Dembele the most expensive player to sign for Barcelona. His career since has been hit and miss, impressing when he is on the pitch but missing most of the action because of his frequent injuries.

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