Barcelona’s well-known monetary difficulties within the early 2020s spelled an finish to their big-money spending – no less than in the meanwhile.
However a take a look at their costliest ever signings may additionally recommend one more reason they’re much less keen to place down nine-figure charges for gamers as a result of their checklist of all-time greatest signings comprises some actually notable flops.
Here is a take a look at the ten greatest signings Barcelona has ever made, beginning on the high…
Who’s the most costly Barcelona participant of all time?
And we now have a tie! At the very least, in case you go on the spend in Euros reasonably than the conversion to kilos sterling on the time, which solely appears wise, since Euros is the forex Barcelona could have used.
Each Philippe Coutinho’s signing from Liverpool in 2018 and Antoine Griezmann’s arrival from Atletico Madrid the next 12 months set Barcelona again a cool €120m – miles greater than the sort of cash they’d been in a position to spend over the previous few extra straitened years. These charges imply each gamers rank among the many costliest gamers of all time.
Neither participant precisely set the world alight throughout their time on the membership. Griezmann lasted simply two-and-a-bit seasons, scoring 35 objectives in all competitions, earlier than being returned to Atletico (first on mortgage, then completely) and discovering higher type once more.
Coutinho was an outright flop regardless of wanting promising in his first half-season on the membership. Inside a number of months of his arrival he confronted scathing criticism from followers, and was despatched out on mortgage to Bayern Munich in 2019, then to Aston Villa in January 2022, earlier than making his transfer to Villa Park everlasting that summer season.
Who held the all time document switch price for a Barcelona participant earlier than Coutinho and Griezmann?
That honour belongs to Barcelona’s solely different €100m+ signing, Ousmane Dembele, who got here in from Borussia Dortmund for €105m in 2017. The winger spent six seasons at Barcelona earlier than strolling the well-trodden path to PSG in 2023 for roughly half the cash.
Barca had obtained greater than their a reimbursement from one other former document holder by delivery him out to Paris, although.
Neymar was a club-record signing for Barcelona at €88.2m in 2013, however they bought the Brazilian for almost 3 times that quantity in 2017, only a few months after placing in a scintillating Champions League show towards PSG that’s ranked at no.38 in FourFourTwo’s checklist of the best particular person performances of all time. The €222m PSG paid stays the best switch price ever paid within the historical past of soccer.
And earlier than Neymar? Zlatan Ibrahimovic, is one other massive-money signing who by no means checked out house on the Nou Camp after shifting from Inter in 2009. A fall-out with Pep Guardiola meant he solely lasted a 12 months at Barca earlier than being despatched out to AC Milan.
| Rank | Price | Participant | From | Yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= | €120m | Philippe Coutinho | Liverpool | 2018 |
| 1= | €120m | Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid | 2019 |
| 3 | €105m | Ousmane Dembele | Borussia Dortmund | 2017 |
| 4 | €88.2m | Neymar | Santos | 2013 |
| 5 | €82.3m | Luis Suarez | Liverpool | 2014 |
| 6 | €75m | Frenkie de Jong | Ajax | 2019 |
| 7 | €69.5m | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | Inter | 2009 |
| 8 | €60m | Miralem Pjanic | Juventus | 2020 |
| 9 | €58m | Raphinha | Leeds United | 2022 |
| 10 | €55m | Ferran Torres | Manchester Metropolis | 2022 |
