Top 10 Most Expensive Midfielders In The World

Who is the most expensive midfielder in the world? That’s a million Naira question there. But NaijNaira is going to answer it in a short while as you read along.

Midfielders in football may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. We’ve already dealt with the most expensive defenders in the World.

Now, central midfielders often go across boundaries, with mobility and passing ability, they are often referred to as deep-lying midfielders, play-makers, box-to-box midfielders, or holding midfielders.

There are also attacking midfielders with limited defensive assignments and they are the ones this article (most expensive midfielder) is actually focused on.

Let’s meet them.

Top 10 Most Valuable Midfielders In The World

10. Rodri Hernández – Atlético Madrid to Manchester City (€70M)

Rodri plays for Manchester City as a defensive midfielder in the Premier League. He started his career at Spanish club Villareal in 2015 and later moved to Atletico Madrid in 2018.

The Spanish International played there for three years before joining Manchester City in 2019 for a fee of €70M.

9. Arthur Melo – Barcelona to Juventus (€72M)

Arthur currently plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool on loan from Juventus. The Brazilian started his career at Brazilian club Gremio in 2015 before leaving for Barcelona in 2018.

He played for Barca for two years and then joined Juventus in 2020 for a massive fee reported to be around €72M.

8. James Rodríguez – Monaco to Real Madrid (€75M)

James plays as an attacking midfielder for Olympiacos in the Super League Greece. The 31-year-old started his career at Colombian club Envigado in 2006 before moving to Banfield in 2008.

He joined Porto in 2010 and played there for three years before leaving for Monaco in 2013. He played for the Dragões for just one year before joining Spanish side Real Madrid in 2014 for a fee of €75M making him the fourth-most expensive player in the world at the time.

7. Kevin De Bruyne – VfL Wolfsburg to Manchester City (€75M)

De Bruyne plies his trade as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City. Widely regarded as one of the best players in the world, Kevin started his career at Belgian club Genk in 2008 before moving to Chelsea in 2012.

He stayed at Chelsea for two years before moving to VfL Wolfsburg in 2014. He spent just one year there before he left for Manchester City in 2015 for a fee reported to be around €75M making him the second most expensive transfer in British football history at the time.

6. Frenkie de Jong – Ajax to Barcelona (€75M)

Frenkie plays his club football for Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga as a midfielder. He has frequently been ranked as one of the best midfielders in world football.

The 25-year-old started his career at Willem II in the Dutch Eredivisie in 2015 and moved to Ajax in 2016 where he played for three years before joining Barcelona in 2019 for a fee of €75M.

5. Zinedine Zidane – Juventus to Real Madrid (€76M)

Zidane is a former French professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, the 1998 World Cup winner started his career at French club Cannes in 1989 before moving to Bordeaux in 1992.

He played for Bordeaux for four years before joining Juventus in 1996. He played in Turin for 5 years and left for Real Madrid in 2001 for a fee of €76M a world record fee at the time.

4. Aurélien Tchouaméni – Monaco to Real Madrid (€80M)

Tchouaméni currently plays as a defensive midfielder for Spanish club Real Madrid in La Liga.

The 22-year-old started his career at Bordeaux in 2018 before moving to Monaco in 2020. He played for Monaco for 2 years before joining Real Madrid this summer for a fee of €80M.

3. Kai Havertz – Bayer Leverkusen to Chelsea (€84M)

Havertz plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea in the Premier League.

He started his career at Bayer Leverkusen in 2016 and played there for four years before joining Chelsea in 2020 for a fee of €84M making him Chelsea’s third-most expensive signing in their history.

2. Paul Pogba – Juventus to Manchester United (€105M)

Pogba currently plays his trade as a midfielder for Italian Serie A club Juventus. The Frenchman started his career at Manchester United in 2011 before moving to Juventus in 2012.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner played for Juventus for four years before moving back to Manchester United in 2016 for a then-world-record fee of €105M.

1. Philippe Coutinho – Liverpool to Barcelona (€145M)

Coutinho plays his club football for Premier League club Aston Villa as an attacking midfielder. The 30-year-old started his career at Inter Milan in 2008 and played there for five years before joining Liverpool in 2013.

The 2019 Copa America winner played at Anfield for five years before moving to Barcelona in 2018 for a fee of €145M making him the third most expensive player and the most expensive midfielder in the world.

This article was updated 1 week ago