The 10 most expensive teenagers of all time, including two Man Utd transfers

Football clubs are always looking for the next big star and they are willing to invest large amounts of money on promising young talents.

While older players have a lot of experience and can make an immediate impact, they won’t help the team in the long term and they have no resale value.

Here, TEAMtalk have taken a look at the 10 most expensive teenagers of all time and how they fared after completing their big-money moves.

Note: We’ve taken into account any potential add-ons even if they weren’t all triggered, and the transfer fees are also in Pounds instead of Euros.

10= Romeo Lavia – £58m

Despite Southampton’s relegation from the Premier League in the 2022/23 season, Lavia still won a lot of plaudits for his performances at St Mary’s.

Liverpool were willing to pay £60million for the Belgium international, but he snubbed the Reds and expressed his desire to join Chelsea.

The Blues were then able to negotiate a slightly lower fee, paying Southampton an initial £53million and another £5million in potential add-ons.

But the midfielder has endured an injury-plagued start to his Stamford Bridge career and is yet to play the full 90 minutes in an official match for Chelsea.

10= Anthony Martial – £58m

Year: 2015

Once dubbed as the next Thierry Henry, Martial became the world’s most expensive teenager when he swapped Monaco for Manchester United in 2015.

He cost an initial £36million and a series of performance-related bonuses were also inserted into the deal, potentially taking the fee up to £58million.

The France international made an excellent first impression by scoring against Liverpool on his United debut and picked up the 2015 Golden Boy award.

But he failed to reach his full potential at Old Trafford, netting 90 goals in 317 appearances in all competitions before leaving on a free transfer at the end of the 2023/24 season.

8. Leny Yoro – £58.8m

Year: 2024

Nine years after the arrival of Martial, United targeted another French prodigy and agreed a deal to sign Yoro from Lille.

The defender had made 60 first-team appearances for his boyhood club and was named in the Ligue 1 Team of the Season in 2023/24.

Real Madrid had also been vying for his signature, but failed to match United’s offer, which was worth an initial £52.1million and another £6.7million in potential add-ons.

He has shown glimpses of his potential in his first two years at Old Trafford, but has also struggled with injury problems and is yet to establish himself as a first-choice centre-back.

7. Joao Neves – £59.3m

One of three Benfica academy graduates on this list, Neves made his first-team debut in January 2023 and quickly emerged as a key player at both club and international level.

Paris Saint-Germain forked out an initial £50.5million for the midfielder, and the fee could rise to £59.3million with performance-related add-ons.

The Portugal international has since played an integral role in PSG’s back-to-back Champions League titles, with the former being part of a continental treble.

“We did great last year with the players we signed, and Joao was one of them,” Luis Enrique said in 2025. “He is very young, but we didn’t have any doubts about him because of his intensity and quality on and off the ball.”

6. Renato Sanches – £63m

Year: 2016

To: Bayern Munich

Following an impressive breakthrough season at Benfica in 2015/16, Sanches joined Bayern Munich in a deal worth an initial £27.5million and another £35.5million in add-ons.

It looked like a very smart move after he won Euro 2016 with Portugal and picked up the Young Player of the Tournament award.

But the midfielder failed to make an impact in Munich and had a disastrous loan spell at Swansea City before joining Lille on a permanent deal in 2019.

“The beginning was difficult,” he said when reflecting on the move. “I went there alone, I was 18, and I thought I was ready to be alone, to face this challenge, but now I know I wasn’t.”

5. Matthijs De Ligt – £77.1m

Year: 2019

De Ligt shot to prominence in the 2018/19 season after captaining Ajax to a domestic double and the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Juventus fought off competition from Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona to sign the centre-back in a deal worth up to £77.1million.

He won the Serie A title in his debut season and the Coppa Italia in 2020/21, but he failed to replicate his Ajax form in a Juventus shirt and was sold to Bayern Munich in 2022.

“I was captain at Ajax and felt like I had to lead this team,” he said. “Of course, if you then go to a team that has such legends in defence and in goal, for a guy of 19 it might be a bit difficult at first to express yourself in the way you actually could.

“In a way, I was less myself but I learned a lot and tried to absorb things every day to become a better player and leader.”

4. Joao Felix – £112.9m

Eyebrows were raised when Atletico Madrid paid a club-record £112.9million for Felix, who had just one season of senior football under his belt.

Admittedly, it was a very impressive season from the then-19-year-old, helping Benfica win the Primeira Liga title with 15 goals and seven assists in 21 starts in 2018-19.

But he was ill-suited to Atletico’s style of play under Diego Simeone and was unable to produce his best form, registering just 34 goals and 18 assists in 131 appearances for the LaLiga side.

The Portugal international fell out with Simeone and had loan spells at Chelsea and Barcelona before rejoining the former in a £46.3million deal in 2024.

3. Jude Bellingham – £115m

Year: 2023

To: Real Madrid

Bellingham made two big-money moves as a teenager; first by leaving boyhood club Birmingham City for Borussia Dortmund in a £22.5million deal in 2020.

He spent three years in Dortmund before joining Real Madrid, who forked out an initial £88.5million and another £26.5million in potential add-ons.

The deal was officially announced by both clubs just two weeks before he celebrated his 20th birthday, allowing him to sneak into this list.

The midfielder won the LaLiga title and the Champions League in his debut season at the Bernabeu and is now regarded as one of the best players in the world.

2. Yan Diomande – £120m

Year: 2026

The most recent addition to the list, Diomande arrived at RB Leipzig last year as a relatively unknown quantity, but saw his stock rise rapidly during a brilliant debut season.

He was named the Bundesliga’s Young Player of the Season for 2025/26, having scored 12 goals and registered eight assists in the competition.

RB Leipzig were determined to keep the 19-year-old winger for another season and rejected £85.4million bids from both Liverpool and Real Madrid, as well as a £102.5million offer from Paris Saint-Germain.

But Madrid refused to give up and their second bid proved too good to turn down, with the LaLiga side agreeing to pay a total package worth £120million with add-ons.

1. Kylian Mbappe – £166m

Year: 2018

After helping Monaco win Ligue 1 and reach the Champions League semi-finals in 2016/17, Mbappe established himself as one of the most sought-after talents in world football.

He joined Paris Saint-Germain on an initial loan deal and that move was then made permanent for £166million, making him the most expensive teenager of all time and the second-most expensive signing.

The France international justified that fee and went on to become PSG’s all-time top goalscorer, netting 256 goals in 308 appearances in all competitions.

But his time at the Parc des Princes came to an acrimonious end, and he joined Real Madrid on a free transfer in the summer of 2024.