Top 10 Most Expensive January Transfers

By: Toni

Posted: February 5, 2019

Updated: February 5, 2019

3 of the 10 are Brazilian players
Total top 10 transfers come to €716.5 (£644.45)
Philippe Coutinho’s transfer accounts for nearly 20% of the top 10

Check out the top 10 most expensive January transfers that were completed by the biggest clubs in the world. When you think of the most expensive players, what’s the first thing that pops in your mind? Neymar, Mbappe, Pogba, Bale and Ronaldo, among lots of others, is what you generally think of, and rightfully so. Those players are on the all-time most expensive players list, but there’s an alternate, sub-list for the most expensive players that transferred to other clubs during the January transfer window, some of which are included on the all-time list as well. Take a look at the priciest top 10 players from the winter window below! (All figures for the January transfers are derived from Transfermarkt.)

10. Alex Teixeira – €50m (£45m)

Shakhtar Donetsk to Jiangsu Suning, 2016

After winning everything there was to win in Ukraine with Shakhtar, the talented Brazilian seemed to be on course to the Premier League with Liverpool showing the greatest interest in the 2016 January transfer window, per online sportsbooks in UK. But Jurgen Klopp’s bid was quickly rejected, as the Ukrainian side decided to get maximum value for their asset which amounted to €50m (£45m) from Jiangsu Suning from the splurging Chinese Super League. Since then he’s been a regular starter, but is yet to win a trophy with the club.

9. Fernando Torres – €58.5m (£52.65m)

Liverpool to Chelsea, 2011

Nearly a decade ago, Torres was a household name in the Premier League whose ‘sweet-boy’ looks were only surpassed by his lethal feet, as he struck the net countless times for Liverpool. But that all changed when he handed in a transfer request, and Chelsea came calling for his signature just six months after the striker had won the World Cup with Spain. The price tag that Liverpool demanded for their prolific goalscorer was over £50m – a British transfer record at the time. Unfortunately, things didn’t go so well for him at Chelsea, despite winning the Champions League in 2012 and some other trophies, as he constantly struggled to find his form and was never again the fearsome player he was while at Anfield.

8. Oscar – €60m (£54m)

Chelsea to Shanghai SIPG, 2017

Oscar transferred to Chelsea in the summer of 2012 after they won the Champions League, and it didn’t take him long to become a fan favourite for his scintillating performances that saw them several important trophies during his time with the London side: 2 Premier League titles, the Europa League and the Football League Cup. He was hailed as one of the Premier League’s most promising midfielders for his uncanny abilities on the ball, so when he accepted a move to China midway through the 2016/17 campaign it came as a massive shock to everyone. He might be counting the cash from Shanghai SIPG – which amounts to between €250,000 and €300,000 per week, depending on various online sportsbook news – but he missed the chance to be a true great in English football.

7. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – €63.75m (£57.38m)

Dortmund to Arsenal, 2018

Before moving to Arsenal in the January transfer window of 2018, everyone knew of Aubameyang’s amazing goalscoring skills that saw him score 141 goals in only 213 appearances for Dortmund in the Bundesliga. He was also the top goalscorer of the German top flight in 2016/17 with 31 strikes, which enabled him to finish above Bayern’s powerful striker Robert Lewandowksi. So it’s no surprise that he’s tearing up the Premier League week-in and week-out after switching to Arsenal in a club-record transfer of €63.75m (£57.38m), a little over 12 months ago.

6. Christian Pulisic – €64m (£57.6m)

Dortmund to Chelsea, 2019

Dortmund seem to be a powerhouse in bringing in players on the cheap and selling them on for a significant profit some years later. They’ve done so with Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich, 2013), Ilkay Gundogan (Man City, 2016), Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona, 2017), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal, 2018) and many others. And American youngster Christian Pulisic is no exception to that rule, following BVB’s acceptance of Chelsea’s massive €64m (£57.6m) offer for the 20-year-old midfielder, who’s set to officially move to Stamford Bridge in the summer, so we’re yet to see whether he can make it in English football.

5. Aymeric Laporte – €65m (£58.5m)

Athletic Bilbao to Manchester City, 2018

Man City boss Pep Guardiola has long been an admirer of the imposing defender. When certain key players were out injured in the historic 2017/18 Premier League season that saw them win the title with a jaw-dropping 100 points, Guardiola spared no expense (or, better said, Man City’s oil-rich owners) in getting Laporte’s signature from Athletic Bilbao. According to providers of internet betting in UK, the 2018 January transfer move made him one of the most expensive defenders in the world, but has missed out on being included in France’s squad that won the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

4. Diego Costa – €66m (£59.4m)

Chelsea to Atletico Madrid, 2018

Diego Costa is one of the most controversial players that have ever graced the game. When called up to represent his native Brazil at the 2014 World Cup (which was played in Brazil), he said, ‘no’ and instead opted to play for his adopted country Spain. When he transferred from Atletico Madrid to Chelsea in 2014, he was often involved in on-field fights with other players, causing many incidents along the way. Despite getting paid more than €150,000 per week with the London side, he claimed he felt like a ‘prisoner’ under Chelsea’s manager Antonio Conte, which led to him being transferred back to Atletico Madrid in the 2018 January transfer window for an even greater fee than they sold him for.

3. Frenkie de Jong – €75m (£67.5m)

Ajax to Barcelona, 2019

With the Dutch midfielder still being in his early 20s, it’s hard to know whether he will justify his huge January transfer fee that stands at €75m (£67.5m), following Barcelona’s acquisition of the youngster from Ajax. Football has a long history of players that have failed to replicate their great performances in another club following a big-money move. Will de Jong join that ‘club’ instead?

2. Virgil van Dijk – €78.8m (£70.9)

Southampton to Liverpool, 2018

Van Dijk is probably one of the best-ever buys in the history of January transfers. Marquee signings are normally reserved for the summer, so players that are bought in the winter window are generally deemed as backups for players are out injured or suspended during that period.

Many frowned at the huge price tag that Liverpool paid Southampton for the Dutchman, but they almost immediately realised the reasons for it, per online sportsbooks in UK. If he continues delivering superb performances at this rate, he’ll probably go down as one of the best defenders that has graced the Premier League in the modern era.

1. Philippe Coutinho – €135m (£121.5m)

Liverpool to Barcelona, 2018

Brazilian players are often victims of the so-called ‘Brazilian Factor’ – they experience a huge rise to superstardom overnight in South America, come to Europe, dominate for a few seasons with super ease, collect loads of silverware, and then suddenly they lose all those skills that made them who they are, again overnight. That seems to be the case with Coutinho, who was bought by Barcelona in the 2018 January transfer window with a view to replace his compatriot Neymar, who had transferred to PSG in summer of 2017. After a pretty solid first half season with the Catalan giants (a dream club for many Brazilians), the forward’s performances slowly started to dwindle following his return from the 2018 World Cup. It’s yet to be seen if he’ll manage to live up to his massive billing which was €135m (£121.5m), but could go as high as €166m (£146m) with performance-related bonuses. He now sits third on the all-time list, behind Neymar and Mbappe.