2 days ago
7
All 20 revealed
©TM/IMAGO
The Premier League has always been a stage for football’s most eye-watering transfer fees. From the moment English football entered its modern era in the 1992/93 season, each decade has had its defining deal: the one that re-framed the boundaries of what clubs were willing to spend. What started with Blackburn Rovers breaking the record with a €4.5 million layout has evolved into a market where €100m barely raises an eyebrow. Every new record has told a story - of ambition, inflation, and sometimes regret - reflecting how the game’s economics have changed alongside its stars. Since July of 1992, 20 players have moved for fees that have broken the Premier League record. Here’s the full timeline of every player, and the clubs who decided that the price was worth paying.
Every Premier League record transfer
All the way back in July 1992, Blackburn spent €4.5m to sign striker Alan Shearer from Southampton - a decision that certainly went on to be justified. Two years later, Newcastle broke the record when they brought in centre-back Darren Peacock for €5m from QPR. Chris Sutton then toppled the record himself the same year when Blackburn paid Norwich €7.5m for his services. A year later in 1995, Manchester United paid Newcastle €9.6m to make striker Andy Cole the latest Premier League record signing, before Liverpool usurped that fee when they paid Nottingham Forest €13m in the same year to bring in Stan Collymore.
Shearer would become the division's record signing once again in 1996, when his boyhood club Newcastle splashed out €18m to bring him home from Blackburn. Two years later, Man United broke the record again when they paid Aston Villa €19.3m for striker Dwight Yorke. That record would stand for two years, until in 2000, Chelsea paid Atlético Madrid €22.5m for powerful striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. In that same summer, Leeds usurped that fee when they paid West Ham €26m to sign centre-half Rio Ferdinand.
In 2001, Man United made Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy the most expensive Premier League player after paying PSV €28.5m for his services, but the Red Devils weren't content with that - breaking the record again in the same year when they paid Lazio €42.6m for Juan Sebastián Verón. A year later, Ferdinand took the thrown again, when Man United paid Leeds €46m to bring the Englishman to Old Trafford. That record would then stand for the next 11 years until Chelsea brought in Liverpool striker Fernando Torres for €58.5m.
Three years later, Man United splashed out €75m to bring in Argentine Ángel Di María from Real Madrid. In 2015, Kevin De Bruyne became the division's record signing when Manchester City paid Wolfsburg €76m for the Belgian. A year later and Manchester United became the first team to pass the €100m mark when they paid Juventus €105m to bring Paul Pogba back to Old Trafford. The Frenchman had left on a free transfer after progressing through the youth tanks at the club. That record stood until 2021, when Man City paid Aston Villa €117.5m for Jack Grealish.
In 2023, Chelsea spent a whopping €121m on midfielder Enzo Fernández from Benfica to make the Argentine the Premier League record signing. Cue Liverpool this summer, who weren't content on breaking the record just once. The Reds laid out €125m to bring in German playmaker Florian Wirtz at the start of the summer from Bayer Leverkusen, before completing a deadline day deal to sign Newcastle striker Alexander Isak for €145m. How long will the Swede last as the Premier League's record signing?
