The 10 biggest sales in LaLiga history, with Real Madrid, Atletico and Barcelona banking nine-figure sums

Spain’s LaLiga is known for collecting some of the finest talents in world football and it stands to reason that the record fees paid for players from the league can get up to world record levels.

The Madrid rivals have the most entries in this list with three each of the top 10 most valuable sales in LaLiga history being made by Real Madrid and Atletico.

Here we make our way through the top 10 biggest sales in LaLiga history.

10. Angel Di Maria – £59.7m

Angel Di Maria’s ill-fated transfer to Manchester United kicks us off and there is little doubt that the sum paid for the winger had a negative impact on his time at Old Trafford.

Di Maria was labelled a massive transfer flop for failing to become an instant Premier League hit and didn’t hang around to prove anyone wrong.

His spell at Manchester United is the biggest blot on an otherwise very good career but it is also what he might be best remembered for when all is said and done.

9. Arthur Melo – £60.8m

Arthur Melo built his reputation at Barcelona but has never been able to live up to the transfer fee attached to his move to Juventus from the Catalan giants, which was part of a controversial part-exchange deal with Miralem Pjanic.

Melo has been sent out on loan twice, including a disastrous spell at Liverpool and a more productive effort at Fiorentina last season.

Most evaluations of his current value are closer to the £10m mark than the monstrous £60.8m the Old Lady forked out.

8. Rodri – £62.8m

Manchester City have got plenty of mileage out of workhorse Rodri since they signed the former Atleti man in 2019.

He had to beg Pep Guardiola for a break last term as the coach couldn’t help but lean on his holding midfielder to cover for the more attacking players in the Man City fold.

Considering some of the fees Man City have paid this would amount to one of the better deals done in recent times for the club despite the expense and Atletico might even feel they let him go too cheaply.

GO DEEPER – The 10 most expensive Manchester City transfers of all time

7. Alexander Isak – £62.8m

Another player who has made a stellar transition to the Premier League despite carrying the weight of a monster fee is Alexander Isak.

Isak has only enhanced his reputation since arriving on Tyneside for £62.8m.

The sum shattered Real Sociedad’s club record by some distance but is still considered a fair fee for a top striker, but the fee could increase with a 10% sell-on clause attached to the deal that sent him to Newcastle.

6. Lucas Hernandez – £68m

Bayern Munich broke the Bundesliga transfer record when they signed Lucas Hernandez from Atletico in 2019 and though he was at the club during a trophy-laden spell he is deemed a flop by most analysts.

The German club sustained a staggering loss when they let him go to PSG in 2023 after four injury-plagued years in Bavaria.

Hernandez remains the most expensive defender ever sold by a La Liga club.

5. Casemiro – £70m

Casemiro started life at Old Trafford as a popular signing despite his £70m tag and astronomical wages but the general mood surrounding the player when it comes to fans is that he is past his best and that Man Utd wasted their money.

His spell at Real Madrid shows why he commanded a fee of £70m but he has failed to back that up in the Premier League.

Known for bringing steel and physicality to a creative and attacking Real Madrid team, Casemiro has struggled to keep up with the pace of the game in the Premier League as he ages.

4. Kepa Arrizabalaga – £71m

At the time of his move from Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea Kepa Arrizabalaga was the most expensive goalkeeper in the world but the Blues were still quite high on him for some time before the wheels fell off at Stamford Bridge.

If Chelsea cannot unload the keeper in the next 12 months they will see him depart on a free transfer.

Chelsea’s current asking price is an obstacle to a move back to Spain for the keeper who still appears to have a big chunk of his career ahead of him.

3. Cristiano Ronaldo – £105m

When Cristiano Ronaldo first joined Juventus in 2018 the club would pay Real Madrid £88m for him but that figure would balloon thanks to add-ons and it is estimated that they ended up paying more than £100m for the veteran.

He was the most expensive player over 30 ever brought into Serie A at the time and there were doubts about the fee to be sure.

However, Ronaldo defied expectations at Juventus, becoming a key player for the club on the field even if he ran into a pay dispute with top brass which soured his spell in Turin.

2. Antoine Griezmann – £107m

Antoine Griezmann was set up to fail by his monster fee to join Barcelona and it wouldn’t be that long before the club cut their losses and allowed him to return to Atletico Madrid.

Atleti paid back some of the initial asking price in a loan fee as they took him back to the club for two full seasons after he struggled to settle at the Nou Camp.

The club would pay just £17m to ensure that Griezmann returned from Barcelona in the 2023 summer window.

1. Neymar – £200m

Neymar has commanded a greater total of transfer fees than any other player in the history of the game with his recent move to the Saudi Pro League putting him back at the top of that list ahead of Romelu Lukaku.

His move to PSG remains the world record fee paid for any player and given the changes to how football is run in recent times that record could stand for some time.

All told PSG paid more than £200m for Neymar and as one might expect he failed to live up to that price tag on the pitch.

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