The 10 most expensive January transfers of all time

Recent January windows have been fairly quiet from a transfer perspective, with most big clubs deciding against spending huge amounts of money to bolster their squad.

This is a stark contrast to the 2023 January window, which saw Chelsea splash €121 million on Enzo Fernandez and an initial €70m on Mykhailo Mudryk as their heavy early spending under new owners Clearlake Capital continued.

Although clubs rarely enjoy making big-money signings midway through the season, that doesn’t always stop the richest teams in the world from spending untold fortunes on players.

So, who are the 10 biggest January transfer windows in football history?

10. Bruno Fernandes – €65m (Sporting CP to Man Utd, 2020)

Bruno Fernandes moved to Udinese at the age of 19, but after returning to Portugal with Sporting CP, he emerged as one of Europe’s best attacking midfielders.

He registered 113 goal contributions in 137 matches for Sporting, which prompted Manchester United to spend €65m to sign him in January 2020.

Fernandes immediately hit the ground running with eight goals and seven assists in 14 Premier League appearances during his first half-season at Old Trafford, while he was named club captain by Erik ten Hag in 2023.

Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Club to Man City, 2018) and Goncalo Ramos (Benfica to PSG, 2024) also moved for €65m.

9. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – €70m (Napoli to PSG, 2025)

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia established himself as a devastating winger at Napoli and helped the club win their first Scudetto in over 30 years with an MVP season in 2023.

In summer 2024, PSG were prepared to shell out €200m on the Georgia international and his partner in crime Victor Osimhen, but Napoli rebuffed the offer because they did not want to lose both in the same window.

Kvaratskhelia stayed put, but his head had been turned. He handed in a transfer request for January and belatedly got his move, joining the Parisians for €70m and helping them win their first-ever Champions League that same season.

8. Mykhailo Mudryk – €70m (Shakhtar Donetsk to Chelsea, 2023)

Mykhailo Mudryk was one of Europe’s most exciting prospects during his time at Shakhtar Donetsk, although his move to Chelsea was heavily criticised amid the Blues’ lucrative spending under Clearlake Capital.

Mudryk notched 10 goals and eight assists in 18 games across the Ukrainian top flight and the Champions League in the first half of 2022-23, which attracted significant interest from Arsenal.

The Gunners were on the verge of agreeing a deal to sign Mudryk in January 2023, but Chelsea hijacked the deal and he moved to Stamford Bridge for an initial transfer fee of €70m.

7. Antoine Semenyo – €72m (Bournemouth to Man City, 2026)

The 2026 January transfer window was fairly understated in terms of expensive deals. Only one transfer cracked the €50m mark, and that was Antoine Semenyo’s €72m move to Man City.

After several impressive seasons at Bournemouth, it was time for the Ghana international to take the next step in his career. Although he had a €74m release clause, Man City managed to agree a slightly cheaper deal with the Cherries.

6. Omar Marmoush – €75m (Eintracht Frankfurt to Man City, 2025)

Egypt international Omar Marmoush enjoyed a sensational first half of 2024/25 at Eintracht Frankfurt, notching an utterly absurd 15 goals and 10 assists in 17 Bundesliga appearances.

These numbers convinced a struggling Man City side to match Frankfurt’s hefty asking price of €75m despite already boasting Erling Haaland. Although not necessarily a flop, Marmoush has struggled to live up to this huge price tag.

5. Jhon Duran – €77m (Aston Villa to Al-Nassr, 2025)

Young striker Jhon Duran impressed at Aston Villa during the 2024/25 season, but he grew increasingly frustrated that Ollie Watkins continued to start ahead of him.

Amid interest from the likes of Chelsea, Aston Villa initially insisted that Duran was not for sale. However, when Saudi side Al-Nassr offered an eye-watering €77m for the Colombian in January 2025, it was an offer too good to refuse.

The decision to head to Riyadh proved to be disastrous. Duran failed to settle – reportedly choosing to live in Bahrain instead – and he departed for Fenerbahce after just six months. His loan to Turkey was cut short in January 2026, and he moved to Zenit St. Petersburg instead.

4. Dusan Vlahovic – €83.5m (Fiorentina to Juventus, 2022)

Dusan Vlahovic scored 20 goals in 24 games during the first half of the 2021-22 campaign and his immense form at Fiorentina attracted the attention of virtually every elite club in Europe.

Arsenal and Chelsea were both interested in bringing the Serbian forward to the Premier League, but he moved across Italy to join Juventus instead, with the Turin outfit spending €83.5m to sign him on a permanent deal.

Vlahovic became Juve’s fourth most expensive signing of all time and Fiorentina’s record departure upon his arrival at the Allianz Stadium.

3. Virgil van Dijk – €84.7m (Southampton to Liverpool, 2018)

Virgil van Dijk was expected to join Liverpool in 2017, but the Reds were forced to end their interest in the Dutchman after being accused of “tapping him up” by Southampton.

However, Jurgen Klopp was determined to land the centre-back and Liverpool struck an €84.7m agreement in late December, with Van Dijk arriving at Anfield on 1 January 2018.

The Netherlands stalwart helped Liverpool win the Champions League during his first full season at the club, while he played a key role as the club won the Premier League title for the very first time the following year.

2. Enzo Fernandez – €121m (Benfica to Chelsea, 2023)

Enzo Fernandez was a huge prospect at River Plate, but he catapulted himself onto the biggest stage of all thanks to his short stint at Benfica and his form at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The midfielder was named as a substitute in Argentina’s opening two group stage games, but after scoring off the bench against Mexico, he became an indispensable player for Lionel Scaloni’s side.

Fernandez went on to win the Young Player of the Tournament award as Argentina lifted the trophy and after interest from Barcelona, Real Madrid and several others, he joined Chelsea for a whopping €121m.

1. Philippe Coutinho – €135m (Liverpool to Barcelona, 2018)

Philippe Coutinho is the most expensive signing in the history of the January transfer window.

After failing to sign him during the 2018 summer window, Barcelona were determined to land the Brazilian in January and they finalised an agreement with Liverpool after agreeing to pay a whopping €135m for the midfielder.

The Blaugrana were eager to bolster their first-team squad following a serious hamstring injury to Ousmane Dembele, but Coutinho’s time at Camp Nou didn’t go as planned and after two loan spells away, he joined Aston Villa on a permanent deal in 2022.

The 10 most expensive January transfers of all time