Top five most expensive British footballers right now

These players are talismanic figures for their respective sides.

Great Britain have produced many of top footballers over the years, some of whom have gone on to become legends of the game, right from George Best to David Beckham. This is down to their talent, quality and the fact that they have proven themselves in the Premier League. These days, the talented footballers often cost a fortune for clubs to buy, which has, time and again, seen these players feature as one of the most expensive footballers in the world.

The Premier League is arguably the most entertaining and competitive league in the world. It is the most followed league and so are the participant clubs who go hammer and tongs to survive and thrive in England's top-flight. Out of so many players, a few have made sure that their quality coerces clubs into spending the money that their services deserve or as deemed important by their parent clubs.

Here, we will be looking at the five most expensive British footballers right now!

5. Ben White - £50 million

Ben White became Arsenal's third-most expensive arrival of all time after the Gunners paid Brighton £50 million transfer fee to secure his services. The 23-year-old is also now the fifth most expensive British transfer in history. White signed a five-year contract with Arsenal and is an effective replacement for David Luiz.

He made 36 appearances for The Seagulls last season helping Graham Potter's side to a 16th place finish. White has been part of Brighton since 2016 but last season was his maiden appearance in the Premier League. He spent the season before on loan at Leeds United and was part of Marcelo Bielsa's side, which won the EFL Championship and made a glorious return to the Premier League.

4. Jadon Sancho - £76.50 million

After a long summer wait, Jadon Sanho has finally arrived at Manchester United. The England winger has signed a five-year contract with the club keeping him at Old Trafford until 2026. United paid Borussia Dortmund 76.50m pounds transfer fee to bring the talented 21-year-old.

Sancho is now the second most expensive player in United's history while he is also the third most expensive British signing. A former Manchester City academy graduate, Sancho moved to Borussia Dortmund at the tender age of 17 and established himself as one of the brightest young talents in world football.

He most recently played the EURO 2020 final with the England national team. In his four seasons at Dortmund, Sancho 50 goals and assisted 64 times. He represented the Bundesliga side in 137 games across competitions Sancho won the DFB-Pokal and DFL-Supercup title with Dortmund.

3. Harry Maguire - £80 million

The most expensive defender in history is Harry Maguire, who moved to Old Trafford in the summer of 2019. Manchester United shelled out a whopping £80 million on the former Leicester and Sheffield United centre-back to bring him to the home of the record Premier League holders.

Since coming to Manchester, Maguire has shown glimpses of his quality but has always been asked for more by the demanding English media and public, and for their credit, he has had a few periods of inconsistencies.

But Maguire put up more than creditable numbers in his debut season at the club. He played every minute of the Red Devils' Premier League season keeping 13 clean sheets and completing 2519 passes at an accuracy of 86.66%. Maguire was also made the captain of the club and led them to the Europa League final last season. He will hope to lead them into an era of success sooner rather than later to satiate the needs of the hungry Manchester United fans.

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2. Gareth Bale - £85 million

At the first spot in the list of most expensive British footballers, we have Gareth Bale who smashed the (then) world-record transfer fee in 2013, when he joined Spanish giants Real Madrid from Tottenham for a whopping £85 million, the highest fee ever paid for a British player. Of course, the astronomical figure set up huge expectations on the Welshman and with arguably the most demanding fanbase on the planet on his back, Bale had his task cut out.

But things rather turned out otherwise for Bale who struggled in his time at the Bernabeu with inconsistencies, injuries and troubles with the management and fans. But to his credit, Bale posted really good numbers scoring 105 times in 251 games in all competitions including 80 goals in 171 La Liga games.

For some reason, it did not work out for Bale in the Spanish capital but he won 16 trophies including two La Liga titles, four Champions League titles, three Club World Cup and two UEFA Super Cup trophies. Last season, he played at Tottenham on loan from Real Madrid. At Spurs, Bale scored 16 goals and assisted three times in 34 matches across all competition on his second return to the club.

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1. Jack Grealish - £100 million

Jack Grealish sealed a British transfer record £100 million move to Manchester City from Aston Villa. The 25-year-old left his boyhood club after making 213 appearances and scoring 32 goals since making his senior debut in 2014. He has signed a six-year deal with the Premier League champions, which will see him earn around £20 million per year.

The 100 million Pounds move is one of the biggest transfers in history and also makes the England international the most expensive British footballers surpassing the £85 million Real Madrid paid for Gareth Bale in 2013. It is also now the most expensive transfer in Premier League breaking the £93.25m Manchester United paid Juventus for Paul Pogba five years ago.

Grealish will wear the No. 10 jersey vacated by Sergio Aguero, who left the club as a free agent at the end of last season. According to reports, Grealish had a secret £100m release clause in his Aston Villa contract, which was triggered when City made a straight cash offer.

***This article was last updated on August 07, 2021

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