The 10 Most Expensive Centre Backs Of All Time
To recruit a top-class centre back in 2024, you need serious cash. Partly, that's down to the continuous development of this defensive role, which now includes much more of a focus on possession and ball control. However, it's also a reflection of the broader inflation of the European and global transfer markets; in recent years, top flight clubs across the world have begun shelling out huge amounts of money for the best centre backs around.
In this article, we'll be running you through a list of the top 10 most expensive centre backs of all time. Some of these players are currently bossing it at the very top of the Premier League and other major European leagues, while others have faded from view slightly. But before we get into the central defenders who have commanded the biggest price tags ever, we're going to briefly explain what the centre back role entails and how it has developed in recent years.
The Evolution Of The Centre Back In Soccer
The job of the centre back in soccer used to be simple: keep the opposition from scoring, by whatever means necessary. Physicality, aerial prowess and strong tackling were the most essential skills in a defender's arsenal, and central defenders (also known as centre-backs or centre-halfs) had more license to handle their opponents with aggression, and a little bending of the rules.
While defenders still need to be physically strong, this position has developed massively over the last couple of decades, and today there are a number of other demands that make centre back one of the most high-pressure positions on the soccer field.
The wide-sweeping influence of possession-based football tactics, pioneered by coaches like Johan Cruyff then pushed to the masses by Pep Guardiola and his disciples, has had a major impact on how central defenders operate. Tough tackling and powerful heading is no longer enough; now, centre-backs need to also be able to build up possession from the back, playing a range of passes and typically touching the ball more than any other position on the pitch.
On top of this, speed and dynamism has also become more important, and the physical profile of a top central defender has become a little more varied, with Manchester United's impressive Argentina international Lisandro Martinez (who stands at just 5ft 8in) being a prime example of this.
As the role of the central defender has changed, those players who tick all the boxes (height, physicality, speed, composure, passing ability, ball control skills and more) have become extremely highly prized, as you'll see in the next section of this article.
The Top 10 Most Expensive Centre Backs Of All Time
Below, you'll find a list of the top 10 most expensive centre backs that have ever played the beautiful game.
#10. Benjamin White - €58.5m
Mikel Arteta has transformed Arsenal into a consistent title-challenging team, with attacking stars like Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard grabbing headlines and pushing Manchester City all the way for two seasons running. But top defenders like Benjamin White — who signed for £50m from serial talent developers Brighton & Hove Albion in 2021 — have played an equally crucial role in this success.
White may have been converted into a right-back by Arteta, but he has still played a huge amount of professional games in central defence, hence he comes in at number 10 in this list of the most expensive centre-back signings of all time.
#9. Aymeric Laporte - €65m
At Euro 2024, Aymeric Laporte showed that his move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr has not led to a drop-off in form, as he guided his nation Spain to European Championship glory following some dazzling displays en route to the final. Laporte's pedigree is shown by his place in the list of the most expensive centre-backs of all time; his move from Athletic Club to Manchester City in 2017 cost the Cityzens a whopping €65m.
#8. Matthijs De Ligt - €67m
De Ligt's three-year spell at Juventus may have included a Serie A title triumph and a Supercoppa Italia win, but in general it was not deemed a huge success. As a result, he would've been grateful for a fresh start when Bayern Munich decided to splash €67m on the then 22-year-old in the summer of 2022. He won the double for Bayern the following season, but has since had to fight for his place in the first team, with other talented centre-backs like Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-Jae giving him a run for his money.
#7. Ruben Dias - €71.6m
One of the most eye-catching things about Manchester City's 2020/21 Premier League triumph was the steel and grit at the heart of their defence. Here, England stalwart John Stones was joined by Portuguese international Ruben Dias to form a super sturdy central defensive partnership that became the foundation of a flair-filled championship-winning team. But Dias wasn't cheap; the well-rounded centre-back cost City over €70m, making him the seventh-most-expensive central defender in history.
#6. Lucas Hernandez - €80m
At Euro 2024, France left-back Theo Hernandez played a crucial role in his team's run to the semi-finals, grabbing attention mainly for his flying attacking play. His older brother Lucas, however, is a little more versatile and certainly more defensive-minded, having played at the top level as both a centre-back and a left-back.
The Frenchman's 2019 move from Atletico Madrid to German giants Bayern Munich made him one of the most expensive defenders in the history of the game, with his €80m transfer fee the second-biggest sale in Atletico's history (beaten only by Antoine Griezmann).
#5. Wesley Fofana - €80.4m
Since American business tycoon Todd Boehly arrived at Chelsea in the summer of 2022, the Blues have consistently been splashing serious cash. The club's August 2022 move for Leicester City's dynamic young centre-back Wesley Fofana was one of several deals Chelsea pulled off by using a contract loophole in which they would spread the transfer payment over a lengthy period of time (for Fofana, it was a seven-year contract).
So far, the French defender has spent long spells on the sidelines due to injury and as a result, he's failed to make an impact on the first team. However, at just 23 years old, he's got a long time left to stamp his authority on the Premier League with Chelsea.
#4. Virgil Van Dijk - €84.65m
Virgil Van Dijk has spent several years at the very top of the European game, commanding Liverpool's back line and diminishing the threat of countless talented opponents during Champions League and Premier League-winning seasons, and seemingly never breaking a sweat whilst doing so.
He has consistently performed so well for Liverpool that the huge transfer fee the club paid for him in January 2018 (€84.65m) is rarely a topic of conversation anymore. A titan of the Klopp era who will remain one of Liverpool's best ever defenders for many years to come, he took the side to the next level and showed why he commanded such a large fee in the first place.
#3. Mathias de Ligt - €85.5m
The only player to appear twice in this list — having tempted two different clubs to splash the cash on him on two separate occasions — Dutchman Matthijs de Ligt makes the top three for his €85.5m move from Ajax to Juventus in the summer of 2019. De Ligt was in demand that summer after playing a central role in Ajax's dramatic 2018/19 Champions League run, where they ultimately lost narrowly to Spurs in the semi-finals.
He chose to join Serie A heavyweights Juventus, but after only three years he was on the move again, switching to Bundesliga side Bayern in a search for a more settled long-term home.
#2. Harry Maguire - €87m
Harry Maguire's time at Manchester United has been a rollercoaster ride. When he signed from Leicester for a whopping €87m in the summer of 2019, he was full of confidence after two stellar Premier League seasons and an impressive show at the World Cup in 2018. However, the baggage that came with that massive fee soon started to show, and his form has dipped up and down over the last few years.
Maguire has won an FA Cup and a League Cup with the Red Devils, and his impressive comeback during the 2023/24 season is a testament to his strength of character; however, many fans would question whether the 9th most expensive Premier League signing of all time was worth all that cash.
#1. Josko Gvardiol - €90m
When the talented young Croatian international Josko Gvardiol signed for Manchester City for €90m last summer, Harry Maguire's record was broken and the prodigious young defender became the most expensive defender in history. Not only would this make them one of the most valuable teams in world football, but City would become even more defensively solid as a result of Gvardiol's arrival, keeping 9 clean sheets and conceding just 23 goals in his 28 Premier League appearances during 2023/24 (a foundation that would help win them a fourth successive title).
Gvardiol is still only 22 years old and already has bags of experience in the Bundesliga, the Premier League, the World Cup and the Euros (for Croatia), so right now, his €90m price tag looks like a worthwhile investment in the future. Who knows what he could go on to accomplish in the game?
If you'd like to find out more about some of the priciest players in the history of the game, check out our guide to the most expensive Premier League signings ever.