Biggest transfer losses of all time: PSG lost £265m on just two players

In the modern era, inflation has taken football transfer fees to extortionate lengths.

The record fee paid for a player remains Neymar's transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for £189m in 2017, but there have been plenty of other big deals that have not quite worked out as the buying club would have hoped.

In this article, we count down the five biggest transfer losses of all time, while also feel free to check out the most overvalued players from transfer window 2026 so far.

Biggest transfer losses of all time: The top five

5) Paul Pogba (Manchester United to free agent) – £89m loss

Having left Manchester United for free originally, Paul Pogba was re-signed by the club in 2016 for £89m from Juventus.

He remains the Red Devils' club-record signing, but it did not quite work out for him at Old Trafford.

Indeed, Pogba failed to win the Premier League or Champions League during his return, and ultimately left on a free transfer again, when he was picked up by former club Juventus.

4) Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona to Aston Villa) – £91m loss

When Barcelona signed Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool for £115m in 2017, there was a lot of hype around him and how he could link up with Lionel Messi and co.

However, he ultimately failed to live up to that, recording just 39 goal contributions in 106 appearances for the Catalan giants.

Coutinho was loaned out to Bayern Munich and Aston Villa, and was sold to the latter at a £91m loss.

3) Eden Hazard (Real Madrid to retired) – £102m loss

Similar to Coutinho, there was a lot of hype around Madrid when one of the Premier League's star players Eden Hazard joined them for £102m in 2019.

However, he could not replicate his form for Chelsea and managed only four goals in 54 appearances for Los Blancos.

It was not entirely his fault of course, as Hazard suffered multiple injury problems that unfortunately caused him to retire, so Real ended up making a £102m loss.

2) Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain to Al Hilal) – £112m loss

Neymar's £189m transfer to Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona in 2017 remains the most expensive of all time.

However, while he won multiple domestic trophies at the Parc des Princes, he failed to win the Champions League with PSG.

With the club going down a new path that has ultimately brought success, Neymar was sold to Al Hilal in 2023 for £77m, representing a £112m loss for PSG.

1) Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain to free agent) – £153m

Kylian Mbappe represents the biggest transfer loss of all time as Paris Saint-Germain ultimately let him go for free after paying £153m to sign him from Monaco in 2017.

Real Madrid picked him up in 2024 and he remains there, although the success of his move must be questioned with them failing to win LaLiga or the Champions League during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Mbappe won multiple domestic trophies at PSG and gained the reputation of being one of if not the best player in the world, but like his former teammate Neymar, he could not deliver them the Champions League, and he has still not won it as a player.