The last 12 months have witnessed record sums lavished on football's biggest buys. Goal.com ranks the top 10 global deals by overall cost to the buying club.
Figures are based on initial fee to the selling club, payments over the course of each player's contract, signing-on and agent fees, bonuses, transfer costs and local tax laws.
James Rodriguez — Porto to Monaco (€83.7m)
The sums involved in James Rodriguez’s move from Porto to Monaco might not have been immediately evident to most football fans given everything else that went on in the principality last summer, but the young Colombian’s transfer was one of the 10 most costly deals of 2013.
With Radamel Falcao's arrival catching so much attention, the 22-year-old winger went almost under the radar to some extent when he arrived at the Stade Louis II alongside Joao Moutinho.
Yet his 45 million euro transfer fee tells only half of the story behind his phenomenal switch to Dmitry Rybolovlev’s outfit. A 6 million euro net annual salary will cost Monaco 34.2 million euros after tax over the course of his five-year contract, while a signing-on fee of around 1.5 million euros and agents’ fees amounting to approximately 3 million euros bring the total cost of the deal to almost 84 million euros.
The Monegasques showed with James’s signing that they are willing to pay top dollar, no matter how young or unproven he may be.
Gonzalo Higuain — Real Madrid to Napoli (€88.3m)
In 2012-13, Edinson Cavani earned almost double the amount of any of his Napoli teammates, with a net salary of 4.5 million euros. So when the Uruguayan moved to Paris Saint-Germain this summer, the Partenopei saved a huge chunk of future wages as well as making 64.5 million euros on the transfer fee.
The majority of that money was used to bring in Gonzalo Higuain from Real Madrid in a bid to plug the sizable gap left by the man who had scored over 100 goals in his three years in Campania. The Spaniards’ 37 million euro price tag was quickly met by Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis, who then went about brokering a sensible deal with the player.
Higuain’s five-year contract at the San Paolo could earn him as much as 6 million euros per annum if he meets all of the bonus targets included in the negotiations, on which the club would pay as much as 16.8 million euros in taxes. Add in a 1.5 million euro signing-on fee and 3 million euros in commission to agents, and it is a near-90 million euro deal which saw Napoli get its replacement for Cavani.
Marquinhos — Roma to PSG (€94.8m)
Marquinhos’ move to Paris Saint-Germain is perhaps the first to leap off the page in the Goal Transfer List. The French side spent a huge sum of money on the Brazilian despite his significant inexperience compared to his contemporaries in the top 10.
At just 19, Marquinhos had only 44 career appearances under his belt when PSG made its move and just 30 since his 4.5 million euro switch from Corinthians to Roma in 2012. Yet his initial 31.4 million euro transfer fee could rise to 35 million depending on bonuses, while the player’s salary is also heavily incentive-based to reflect the fact the club sees him as a star of the future.
His 5 million euro net wage is nothing to be sniffed at and he could well earn as much as 10 million extra in bonuses in the next five years. The contract liability to the club could therefore be more than 55 million euros, and with a 1.75 million euro signing-on fee and 2.5 million in agents’ commission, the figures are phenomenal considering the player’s lack of experience.
Marouane Fellaini — Everton to Manchester United (€97m)
The transfer of Marouane Fellaini was one of the more drawn-out affairs over the summer, as Manchester United ended up paying almost 100 million euros to get its man.
Everton held out for what it considered to be the right price and was praised come deadline day after making 32 million euros from the Belgian’s sale.
On top of the initial transfer fee, David Moyes’ side has committed to a five-year 7.74 million euro net annual salary, at a cost of almost 58.8 million euros after tax. The best part of 6 million euros also left the Old Trafford coffers to pay off agents’ fees and Fellaini’s signing-on bonus.
So while the 26-year-old was the Premier League champions’ only big-name purchase of the summer, the costs involved in bringing in Fellaini mean United still ended up spending big in 2013.
Mario Gotze — Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich (€114.2m)
Mario Gotze’s summer transfer from Borussia Dortmund made news of seismic proportions in Germany and by the end of his Bayern Munich contract it may well have made a huge dent in the European champions’ bank account.
After meeting the 21-year-old’s exit clause with BVB, Bayern continued to state its intent with the checkbook. Gotze was signed to a 10 million euro-a-year contract after tax, on which the club will pay around 20.2 million in taxes over the four-year term of his initial deal.
And it doesn’t stop there. Gotze and his agent earned 7 million euros in fees between them on agreeing the deal with Bayern, while the Germany international is set pick up 10 million euros in variable bonuses between now and the summer of 2017.
The deal in its entirety could top out at 114.2 million euros by the time Gotze’s contract reaches its expiry date, but FC Hollywood will be expecting its star man to have more than justified the outlay by then.
Mesut Ozil — Real Madrid to Arsenal (€117.6m)
The size of Mesut Ozil's transfer to Arsenal from Real Madrid on summer deadline day came as a huge shock to most football fans as Gunners manager Arsene Wenger has a history of being prudent in the market.
The 50 million euro transfer fee shattered Arsenal's club record and was the third biggest sum paid by a British team, only surpassed by Fernando Torres' move to Chelsea from Liverpool and Carlos Tevez's switch to Manchester City in 2009.
But Ozil's fee only accounted for just over 40 percent of the total cost of the operation. The German's net salary for his five-year contract adds up to 40.5 million euros, with the tax and payments on this salary increasing the outlay by another 21.06 million.
When the signing-on fee of 2.03 million euros and agent fees of 4.02 million are brought into the equation, Arsenal will actually fork out 117.6 million euros should Ozil stay at the Emirates until 2018.
Neymar — Santos to Barcelona (€124m)
Neymar's well-publicized transfer from Santos to Barcelona certainly goes down as the most complicated major transfer of the year, with a whole host of variables accounting for the final cost.
The basic transfer fee was only 17.1 million euros, but when all the other pieces of the transfer jigsaw are placed together, the total adds up to 124 million euros.
Barcelona announced in June that the club had paid 57 million euros to Santos plus three companies — DIS, Teisa and N&N — for Neymar. Given that DIS and Teisa - third-party investors - and Santos are believed to have shared the 17.1 million euro fee, it has been suggested that the remainder was paid to N&N, the agency affiliated to Neymar's father.
Barcelona also handed Neymar a five-year contract with a net salary of 35 million euros — this figure jumping to 52.98 million after taxes and payments. The Brazilian collected a 1.75 million euro signing-on fee while administration fees were 171,000 euros.
Bonuses attached to the deal increase the costs for Barcelona, with a 2 million euro add-on for a Ballon d'Or nomination, 4 million euros for two friendly matches — one of which Barca immediately paid Santos to avoid, 4 million euros for the purchase options on three Santos players and 2 million euros in other costs.
Edinson Cavani — Napoli to PSG (€148.5m)
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis played his financial cards right in selling star striker Edinson Cavani to PSG in the summer. Not only did he replace the Uruguayan with another top-class forward in Gonzalo Higuain, he made a staggering 64.5 million euros on Cavani's transfer fee.
Some critics have questioned whether the 26-year-old striker was really worth the investment with Zlatan Ibrahimovic also present in the French capital and Cavani certainly has a lot of paying back to do on the pitch.
His net salary of 10 million euros a season will cost PSG 50 million euros over the course of his five-year contract, with the Parisians forfeiting an extra 26.5 million euros in taxes and statutory payments.
Cavani's signing-on fee of 2.5 million euros and agents' fees of 5 million euros mean that the total cost of his transfer from Napoli could reach 148.5 million euros.
Radamel Falcao — Atletico Madrid to Monaco (€150.3m)
Radamel Falcao's stunning transfer from Atletico Madrid to Monaco this summer signaled the birth of another nouveau-riche superpower. Bankrolled by the billions of Dmitry Rybolovlev, the signing of the Colombian for a transfer fee of 60 million euros was the second costliest operation of the year.
Falcao had seemed certain to leave Atletico after two goal-filled years in order to join one of the biggest clubs in Europe, with Chelsea and Real Madrid among the frontrunners. The 27-year-old's decision to move to a club which had only just been promoted from the second tier of French football led to inevitable cries that he was influenced by money.
With a net salary of 70 million euros, divided over five years, Falcao will become a very rich man in Monaco — particularly due to the low tax rates in the principality, which allowed the club to offer him such a huge salary in the knowledge that only 9.8 million euros extra would be expended on tax.
Commission to agents of 7 million euros and a 3.5 million euro signing-on fee for the striker take the total cost of the deal past the 150 million euro mark.
Gareth Bale — Tottenham to Real Madrid (€198.8m)
The costliest operation of 2013 by some distance is Gareth Bale's blockbuster move from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid.
The two clubs were locked in protracted negotiations for much of the summer and, when Daniel Levy and Florentino Perez finally did business, they are believed to have agreed on a world-record transfer fee of 100 million euros, although this figure has not been publicly confirmed by either club.
But that incredible sum only made up just over 50 percent of the total cost for the Welshman. The 24-year-old's net salary over the six years of his contract is 60 million euros, with Los Blancos having to shell out an extra 30.81 million in taxes after the closure of the 'Beckham Law' loophole in Spain.
With Madrid also paying a signing-on fee of 3 million euros and commission to agents of 5 million euros, the total cost was only just shy of 200 million euros. Despite this, Perez still described the deal as "cheap", implying that the club would more than make its money back commercially.
