12/13/2025

Van Dijk, Mendy and the most expensive defenders of all time

By n8rngtd.top

The Dutch defender tops the list after his record-breaking move to Liverpool, beating out a trio of Man City players

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    1Danilo

    The defender nearly made this list twice. He moved from Porto to Real Madrid after the 2014-15 season for €31.5 million, and after a less than stellar tenure there, he moved to Manchester City prior to 2017-18 for €30m. 

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    2David Luiz

    As impressive as appearing on this list twice is, Luiz could have made it three times. His €35 million transfer from PSG back to Chelsea in 2016 actually counted as a substantial drop in his value from just a few years before. 

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    3Mats Hummels

    Another returnee to his old team, Hummels became yet another player to join Bayern Munich directly from Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund when he made a €35 million move prior to the 2016-17 campaign. 

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    4Victor Lindelof

    Jose Mourinho may like to claim Manchester City spend striker money on defenders, but he's prone to big splashes on the back line as well, evidenced by his acquisition of Lindelof from Benfica prior to the 2017-18 season for €35 million.