10 most expensive Portuguese footballers of all time

Portuguese footballers have played starring roles at some of Europe's top clubs in recent years and several of the country's top talents have been traded for enormous transfer fees.

In 2000, Luis Figo moved from Barcelona to Real Madrid for a world-record fee of €60m, but the brilliant winger only just makes the cut in our list of the top 10 most expensive Portuguese players of all time.

1. Joao Felix - Benfica to Atletico Madrid - €127.2m

Cristiano Ronaldo has smashed most records during his extraordinary career, but he has to settle for second place on the list of Portugal's most expensive players.

Benfica received a whopping €127.2m when they sold youth-team product Joao Felix to Atletico Madrid in July 2019.

Felix had made less than 30 league appearances for Benfica when Atleti made him the fourth-most expensive player in history - behind Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Philippe Coutinho.

It proved to be a shrewd deal for the Lisbon Eagles as Felix struggled to live up to his price tag in Madrid. He had loan spells at Chelsea and Barcelona before making a permanent move to Stamford Bridge in August 2024. 

2. Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid to Juventus - €117m

Two of the three biggest transfer deals for a Portuguese player involved Ronaldo, who joined Real Madrid from Manchester United for a world-record €94m in 2009.

The forward repaid Real's faith in him with 450 goals in 438 appearances over the next nine seasons, winning La Liga twice and the UEFA Champions League four times.

In the summer of 2018, the Madrid giants sold Ronaldo to Juventus for €117m, the highest fee ever paid for a player over the age of 30 and his goals fired the Old Lady to the Serie A title in 2018/19 and 2019/20.

3. Ruben Dias - Benfica to Manchester City - €71.6m

Benfica are renowned for nurturing young talent and, like Felix, centre-back Ruben Dias was a product of their youth system.

His superb performances for his boyhood club caught the eye of Manchester City, who paid more than €70m for Dias in September 2020, with fellow defender Nicolas Otamendi moving to Lisbon as part of the deal.

Dias won the Premier League in each of his first four seasons at City and also helped them claim their maiden UEFA Champions League title in 2022/23. 

4. Goncalo Ramos - Benfica to Paris Saint-Germain - €65m

Striker Goncalo Ramos provided another huge boost to Benfica's finances when he moved to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2023, shortly after his 22nd birthday.

Ramos had scored 19 league goals in his final season in Lisbon, but his most high-profile career highlight was a hat-trick in Portugal's 6-1 rout of Switzerland in the 2022 World Cup round of 16.

5. Bruno Fernandes - Sporting to Manchester United - €65m

Having signed Ronaldo from Sporting in 2003, Manchester United raided the Lisbon club again in January 2020 to bring attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes to Old Trafford.

Fernandes has become a stalwart of the club, closing in on 200 Premier League appearances for the Red Devils and becoming captain in the summer of 2023.  

6. Joao Cancelo - Juventus to Manchester City - €65m

Usually the biggest transfer fees are reserved for goalscorers and playmakers, but Manchester City's deal for Juventus right-back Joao Cancelo was valued at €65m, with Danilo heading to Turin as part-exchange.

The all-action Cancelo impressed in his first couple of seasons at City, but then fell out of favour, spending time on loan at Bayern Munich and Barcelona before moving to the Saudi Pro League in 2024.   

7. Matheus Nunes - Wolves to Manchester City - €62m

Yet another Portuguese player drawn to Manchester was versatile midfielder Matheus Nunes, who joined the Citizens from Wolves in August 2023.

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Nunes made his Portugal debut in 2021 and played for Wolves alongside compatriots Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho and Pedro Neto during the 2022/23 Premier League campaign.

8. Pedro Neto - Wolves to Chelsea - €60m

Wolves have benefited from their smart Portuguese scouting network and they made a handsome profit on Pedro Neto when they sold him to Chelsea in the summer of 2024.

The dynamic winger, who came through the ranks at Braga before spending one season at Lazio, contributed nine assists in just 18 Premier League starts in his final campaign at Molineux. 

9. Otavio - Porto to Al-Nassr - €60m

The spending power of Saudi Pro League clubs was on display when Al-Nassr signed Otavio for €60m in August 2023.

The Brazilian-born midfielder won his first senior cap for Portugal in 2021 and spent nine years at FC Porto, who received a club-record transfer fee when Otavio joined Ronaldo at Al-Nassr.  

10. Luis Figo - Barcelona to Real Madrid - €60m

Few transfers in football history have been as acrimonious as Luis Figo's move from Barcelona to El Clasico rivals Real Madrid in the summer of 2000.

Figo's signing kickstarted Real's 'Galacticos' era and he hung up his boots in 2009 after winning a host of trophies at club level and earning 127 caps for Portugal.

(All transfers in Euros. Source: Transfermarkt.co.uk)