Who is the most expensive Spanish player of all time?

Rodri
Rodri - the Ballon d'Or winner is one of the most expensive Spanish players (Image credit: Getty Images)

Spanish clubs are responsible for of the biggest transfer fees in history.

Barcelona paid £140million for Philippe Coutinho back in 2018, while Atletico Madrid parted with over £100million for Joao Felix a year later. Then you've got Real Madrid, responsible for breaking the world record on multiple occasions back in the Galaticos era.

But what about the Spanish players themselves? Even some of their recent greats have not moved for the biggest money. Keep that in mind when scrolling, as a couple of surprise names pop-up.

Who is the most expensive Spanish player of all-time?

Kepa Arrizabalaga File Photo

(Image credit: Glyn Kirk)

It's perhaps a surprise to see this name at number one, but the most expensive transfer fee for a Spanish player is the £71.6million (€80million) Chelsea paid Athletic Bilbao for Kepa Arrizabalaga in 2018.

It was at the time - and still is to this day - also a world record fee for a goalkeeper. It's safe to say it hasn't really worked out at Stamford Bridge for the Spaniard, who is still best remembered for refusing to be substituted in the 2019 League Cup final defeat to Manchester City.

Tellingly, Kepa who is currently on loan at Bournemouth, was not named in FourFourTwo's top 10 goalkeepers ranking earlier this year, let alone Spain's Euros squad. Then again, goalies normally peak in their early thirties, so maybe Kepa will eventually become the best in the world after all.

Who held the all-time record transfer fee for a Spanish player before Kepa?

Diego Costa

Diego Costa moved for big money when leaving Chelsea

A year before Kepa headed from Spain to west London, another player made a similar move to become the most expensive Spanish player of all-time.

Alvaro Morata signed for Chelsea from Real Madrid in July 2017, for just over £60million, smashing the then record fee. Morata would only last a season-and-a-half before returning to La Liga on loan with Atletico Madrid, but did contribute 16 Premier League goals before departing.

When combining his transfer fees from each move together, Morata has moved more money than any other Spanish player.

The Premier League is actually responsible for the vast majority of players in the top ten. Recent Ballon d'Or winner Rodri is one of the pricier Spanish players in history.

He was worth £63million back in 2019 when first joining City from Atletico, although that proved to be a bargain. Just imagine how much he'd go for in today's market?

The full list of the top 10 most expensive Spanish players of all-time

Swipe to scroll horizontally
RankPricePlayerFromToYear
1£71.6mKepaAtletico MadridChelsea2018
2£63mAlvaro Morata Real Madrid Chelsea2017
3£62mRodriAtletico MadridManchester City2019
4£60m (+2m in add-ons)Marc Cucurella BrightonChelsea2022
5£58mAlvaro Morata ChelseaAtletico Madrid2019
6£57mAymeric LaporteAthletic BilbaoManchester City2018
7£50mDiego CostaChelseaAtletico Madrid2017
8£50mFernando TorresLiverpoolChelsea2011
9£46.3mFerran TorresManchester CityBarcelona2021
10£39mGaizka MendietaValenciaLazio2001
Row 11 - Cell 0 Row 11 - Cell 1 Row 11 - Cell 2 Row 11 - Cell 3 Row 11 - Cell 4 Row 11 - Cell 5
Jack Lacey-Hatton
Freelance writer

Jack has worked as a sports reporter full-time since 2021. He previously worked as the Chief Women’s Football Writer at the Mirror, covering the England Women’s national team and the Women’s Super League. Jack has reported on a number of major sporting events in recent years including the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on the ground in Australia. When not writing on football, he can often be spotted playing the game somewhere in west London.