Manchester United is preparing to invest £50 million in Andrey Santos, a sum that, in the inflated reality of the transfer market, has become commonplace for merely “decent” players in the Premier League. While top clubs splurge astronomical amounts on athletes like Elliot Anderson, Sandro Tonali, Alexander Isak, and Florian Wirtz, there are prestigious teams that continue to register no signings above the £50 million mark.
Borussia Dortmund, a regular presence in the Champions League and known for its policy of buying low and selling high, has never spent more than €35 million on a player, a figure paid for Ousmane Dembélé. Interestingly, Dembélé would also become their biggest sale when he left for Barcelona. Even the signing of Jobe Bellingham, potentially boosted by additional clauses, can only reach a maximum of €38 million (£32 million).
In Italy, Roma has been constrained by an agreement with UEFA that imposed financial restrictions, similar to what was recently applied to Newcastle. This has led the club to focus on free players, such as Paulo Dybala in 2022, while keeping Patrik Schick as their most expensive signing, for around £39 million in 2017. Schick's poor performance — just five goals in 46 appearances in Serie A — may have also contributed to the reluctance to invest large sums.
In the French landscape, the vast majority of significant spending in Ligue 1 belongs to PSG. However, Monaco, which was once known for assembling teams filled with stars, has never exceeded £50 million on a single signing, even after earning €180 million from the sale of Kylian Mbappé in 2018. James Rodríguez (€45 million) and Radamel Falcao (€43 million), both in 2013, were the club's largest investments.
Investing heavily in football, Saudi clubs have been making exorbitant transfer deals, but Al-Ahli remains below the £50 million threshold. Galeno leads the club's acquisitions ranking at £41 million, slightly ahead of Ivan Toney's £40 million transfer, both in 2024. In contrast, rivals such as Al-Nassr, Al Hilal, and Al-Ittihad have already far surpassed that mark.
In China, the peak of the Chinese Super League is in the past, but Guangzhou Evergrande, national champions for seven consecutive years between 2011 and 2017, is surprising for never having invested more than £50 million in a player. The maximum amount reached was £44 million paid for Paulinho's return in 2018, after he had already set an Asian record with Jackson Martínez (£32 million) in 2015.
Wolverhampton, after years of showing ambition in the market, has never invested £50 million in a single player—Matheus Cunha was the most expensive at £44 million, later sold to Manchester United in 2025. In France, Lyon holds the record with £27 million spent on Moussa Niakhate, while Marseille did not exceed €32 million for Vitinha, who lasted only a year at the club.
Sevilla, another club known for buying low and selling high, never exceeded €25 million for Jules Koundé in 2019. Lazio, which set a world record by signing Hernán Crespo for £35.5 million in 2000, still maintains that figure as its maximum to this day.
In Russia, Zenit St. Petersburg — responsible for eight of the ten most expensive transfers in the local Premier League — set its highest investment at Malcom (£41 million) in 2019. Fenerbahçe, despite trying to strengthen significantly, has never reached £50 million, with its record having been set by the signing of Matteo Guendouzi, soon to be surpassed by Mason Greenwood, but still below that threshold.
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In Spain, only Valencia broke the dominance of the million-euro transfers by Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atlético Madrid, by signing Gonçalo Guedes for around £36 million in 2018. In Portuguese football, Benfica is used to selling high but rarely invests fortunes: Orkun Kokcu leads the club's acquisitions, for around £22 million in 2023.
Finally, Bayer Leverkusen, responsible for breaking Bayern's hegemony in the Bundesliga, built the championship-winning squad without ever investing £50 million in a player. Malik Tillman and Jarell Quansah, both for around £35 million, were the most expensive signings in recent times.
These examples demonstrate that, even in modern football, there are historic and financially stable clubs that resist the temptation of galactic transfers, opting for more sustainable market strategies that are sometimes surprisingly effective.
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