The most expensive defenders

In recent times, clubs have broken from the earlier norms of only spending the big bucks on forwards and we have seen top dollar spent to sign world class defenders and even goalkeepers. This season was not an exception and just like in the past two or three seasons, there has been at least one major signing in the defensive departments.

A department that was previously dominated by the likes of Giorgio Chiellini, Gerard Pique, Pepe and Sergio Ramos is now shifting as the legends slowly fade out. There are new sheriffs in town now, and here we take a look at some of the most expensive.

Harry Maguire: For the third straight season, England international Harry Maguire has stayed at the top of the chain as the most expensive defender of all time. Maguire sealed a big money move from Leicester City, costing Manchester United an astonishing €87.1m. He may not have won silverware at United since his arrival but he is a key member at the team and the fact that he dons the armband says all.

Virgil van Dijk: Dutch international Virgil van Dijk stayed at the top as the most expensive for a while, before Maguire sealed the move to United. Arriving from Southampton, Van Dijk cost Liverpool €84.5m. He is among the senior players at Liverpool at the moment and his top performances have seen Liverpool win both the Premier League and Champions League titles. He is so key to the team that they struggled last season as he spent the most of it injured. He presence is among the reasons Liverpool rates high in predictions on Wincomparator website ahead of the team’s matches.

Lucas Hernandez: Frenchman Lucas Hernandez is one of the few defenders in this list based out of England. He comes in third, after commanding a transfer fee of €80m to join Bayern Munich from Atletico Madrid in 2018. The defender has had his fair share of troubles with injury but has been available for most games this season. So far he has featured in 11 league games.

Matthijs de Ligt: The Juventus defender is the second Dutchman on this list, after Virgil van Dijk. He is also one of the youngest but top prospects in defence, having joined Juventus in 2019 from Ajax, after a fine season with the Dutch giants. He cost the Italian side €75m and his transfer will have future additions of €10.5m. He has one Serie A title and one Eredivisie title to his name.

Ruben Dias: The Portuguese defender is on his second season at Manchester City and has already won the Premier League, adding to three he won at his time in Benfica. Aged just 24, he is also a top young prospect and has been crucial for Manchester, who have found value in the €68m they paid Benfica for his services and the transfer deal came with add-ons of €3.6m. Dias has scored in each of the last six seasons, this season he already has a goal to his name.