FC Barcelona has been known for being one of the clubs that invests the most money in the transfer market. In recent years, the club's board has made great successes, but it has also had great problems with the transactions it has made. We review the top 10 of the most expensive players who have ever played with the Blaugrana shirt.
1. Coutinho
Philippe Coutinho cost the Blaugrana club 160 million euros and arrived at the Camp Nou in the summer of 2017, when Ousmane Dembelé also landed in Barcelona in order to fill the gap left by Neymar. However, the Brazilian never showed the great level he had at Liverpool and was even loaned for a season to Bayern Munich, where he scored two goals against the Catalan club in the infamous 2-8 thrashing in the quarter-finals of the 2019/20 Champions League. He left the club in January 2022 and from then on he was never the same.
2. Ousmane Dembelé
Another of Barcelona's disappointments. The striker arrived at the culé team in the summer of 2017 from Borussia Dortmund, a team where he declared himself in rebellion with the aim of moving to the Ciudad Condal. The board paid 135 million euros for his transfer and he spent six seasons at the club, where he experienced very difficult times thanks to his injuries and behavioural problems. The Frenchman suffered from physical problems up to 15 times, missing more than 100 games, so his transfer was a total disappointment.
3. Antoine Griezmann
In July 2019, the Frenchman arrived at Barcelona from Atlético de Madrid for 120 million euros and a 5-season contract. However, the striker did not perform as expected at the Camp Nou. The player was always criticised for his performance and lack of goals, so in September 2021 he returned to the colchonero team on loan with a mandatory purchase option. There he returned to his best performance. In 2022 his departure from the culé team was made official, after the Madrid leaders decided to sign him until 2026.
4. Neymar
It was 88 million euros that the culé team paid Santos of Brazil for Neymar. The forward was one of the best Barcelona players during his time at the club, forming with Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez the historic 'MSN' that gave so many joys and titles, including a treble, to the fans of the Ciudad Condal. He was only in the club for four seasons, but it was enough to establish himself as a world star. However, his ambition got the better of him and he decided to sign for PSG in 2017. The Parisians paid 222 million euros for him, making him one of the best sales for the Blaugranas.
5. Frenkie De Jong
The Dutch midfielder was one of the biggest bets in the history of the culé team. After a dream season at Ajax under Erik ten Hag, De Jong arrived at Barcelona in the summer of 2019 for around 86 million euros. Since then, the player has performed well, but injuries have prevented him from establishing himself in the team. He could even leave this summer, if a club makes an interesting enough offer.
6. Luis Suárez
The Uruguayan striker is one of the best players in the club's recent history. Suárez arrived from Liverpool to Barcelona in 2014 for 81.72 million euros. He made a great partnership with Messi and Neymar, winning, among many titles, the treble in 2016. He scored 198 goals and provided 113 assists in 283 games with the Blaugrana shirt, which he wore for 6 seasons before leaving for Atlético de Madrid in 2020.
7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
This Swedish striker cost Barcelona 69.5 million euros in 2009, when he signed for five seasons after arriving from Inter Milan. At the time he was the most expensive signing for the culé team, although he only stayed for a little over a season. His last part of the 2009/2010 campaign was not good, which led to rumours of an exit, which became reality in August 2010, when he left Barcelona for 24 million euros to sign for AC Milan.
8. Miralem Pjanic
On June 29, 2020, the Catalan team made official the arrival of the Bosnian, who left Juventus for 60 million euros. However, his arrival at Barcelona was delayed due to him testing positive for Covid-19. He made his debut in September of that same year, but he did not have the confidence of his coach and was getting fewer and fewer minutes. He went on loan to Beşiktaş in 2021 for a year and in 2022 he reached an agreement with the Blaugrana board to terminate his contract and sign for Sharjah F.C of the United Arab Emirates.
9. Dani Olmo
The new bet of the Catalan team arrives in Barcelona for a transfer of 50 million euros plus bonuses, which would give a total of 60 million that the Bundesliga team was asking for. The new Euro champion signed a six-year contract until 2030 and is expected to make his debut on August 12 in the Joan Gamper Trophy.
10. Raphinha
The Brazilian striker arrived at Barcelona in 2022 from Leeds United in England for 58 million euros. Since then he has performed well, contributing 20 goals and 25 assists in 87 games played. Now he could be on the way out as he has no place in Hansi Flick's team, but nothing is yet certain.