The 10 most expensive Premier League transfers adjusted for inflation: Shearer, Pogba…
Former Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United stars are among the most expensive Premier League transfers of all time when adjusted for inflation.
Transfer fees have gone wild over the last 10 years, although Premier League clubs were still spending large sums of money in the nineties and early 2000s.
Using figures from the football financial expert Kieran Maguire, here are the 10 most expensive Premier League transfers when adjusted for football inflation.
Note: To qualify for this list, a player must have been the most expensive signing from their season. Only one signing per season has been included in this data.
10. Jack Grealish to Manchester City – £116.3milion
Grealish is the joint-third most expensive Premier League signing of all time, but when adjusted for inflation, he falls to 10th on the list.
Manchester City triggered his £100million release clause in the summer of 2021 and he’s since won seven trophies with the club.
Whether or not he was worth that sort of transfer fee is still up for debate.
9. Rio Ferdinand to Leeds United – £122.6million
Ferdinand became the world’s most expensive defender when Leeds signed him for £18million in November 2000.
Fast forward to 2025 and that £18million would now be worth a whopping £122.6million, which is considerably more than Liverpool paid for Virgil van Dijk.
While Leeds certainly pushed the boat out to sign Ferdinand, he quickly became an integral part of the team before he was eventually sold for a sizeable profit.
8. Paul Pogba to Manchester United – £123.7million
Upon rejoining Manchester United in the summer of 2016, Pogba became the most expensive player in the world and overtook Gareth Bale, who held the record at the time.
The Red Devils splashed a mouthwatering £89.3million sum on the Frenchman, which is the equivalent of £123.7million these days.
Pogba had his moments in a United shirt, but for the money United paid, there was always a sense that he could’ve achieved more.
7. Dwight Yorke to Manchester United – £126.9million
United signed Yorke for a reported fee of £12.6 million back in August 1998.
These days, that sort of transfer fee wouldn’t even sign you a top Championship striker, but back in 1998, it was enough to sign one of the most lethal finishers in the game.
Yorke’s adjusted for inflation price tag is £126.9million, making him the fifth most expensive striker in Premier League history.
Considering he scored 65 goals and won six trophies in four years with the club, United definitely got value for money.
6. Andriy Shevchenko to Chelsea – £133.8million
The Ukrainian Ballon d’Or winner became the most expensive signing in Premier League history upon his arrival at Chelsea in 2006.
Purchased for over £30million, that’s the equivalent of around £133.8million in today’s money.
Given that he only scored nine league goals in two years at Chelsea, it’s safe to say that they didn’t get great value for money with this one.
5. Fernando Torres to Chelsea – £138.3million
In a similar vein to Shevchenko, Chelsea fans never saw the best of Torres at Stamford Bridge.
He did score a handful of memorable goals for the Blues, but considering the money they paid, it wasn’t exactly the best deal.
“We were watching him every day in training and he wasn’t the same player, physically or mentally,” Jamie Carragher has since said when discussing Torres and his move to Chelsea.
“He started getting injuries in his second season at Liverpool but he still did really well, then in his third season he was not the same player.
“When we were getting the £50million for Torres we were like, ‘wow, they’re not getting the Torres we know’.”
READ: 6 world-class players who dramatically declined after leaving Liverpool
4. Rio Ferdinand to Manchester United – £152.1million
Making his second appearance on this list, Ferdinand’s move to United in 2002 would now be worth a whopping £152.1million.
At the time of the transfer, Ferdinand became the most expensive British player of all time and he was also the world’s most expensive defender.
Given he spent the next 12 years at Old Trafford and won countless trophies along the way, the club certainly won’t have any regrets over splashing the cash.
3. Stan Collymore to Liverpool – £155million
Upon signing for Liverpool in July 1995, Collymore shattered the English transfer record.
Back then, the Reds paid around £8.5million to sign him from Nottingham Forest which would be worth a whopping £155million these days.
Collymore went on to spend two seasons at Anfield, where he scored 35 goals in 81 appearances.
2. Juan Sebastian Veron to Manchester United – £156.5million
Veron’s transfer fee of £28.1million from 2001 would be worth £156.5million in today’s game.
The Argentine midfielder was a supremely talented player, although considering the money paid, United fans never really saw the best of him.
“He was an unbelievable player, great passer,” Rio Ferdinand said in 2020 when discussing Veron.
“The only thing I think that killed him was Roy Keane was probably a bit more of a dominant personality and was picking the ball up in his positions.
“But Seba was an amazing talent. I honestly think without Roy Keane there he might have flourished in a Man United shirt.
“I think Roy Keane was his problem. And it wasn’t Roy Keane’s fault, it’s just that his personality was bigger and more overpowering.”
1. Alan Shearer to Newcastle – £207.7million
When adjusted for inflation, Shearer is the most expensive player in Premier League history.
He became the most expensive player in the world in 1996 as he cost Newcastle £15million – the equivalent of a £207.7million transfer fee today.
Given the goals he scored and memories he made at his boyhood club, Newcastle fans will no doubt say that he was worth every penny.
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