The fee more than doubled the previous record, the €105 million Manchester United had paid Juventus for Paul Pogba a year earlier.
PSG weren’t finished either. In that same window, they agreed a deal to bring in a teenage Kylian Mbappé from Monaco on loan, with an obligation to make the move permanent for around €180 million the following year, assembling a front line that would define the club’s ambitions for years to come.
Barcelona’s response to losing one of the world’s biggest stars was a complete failure. Ousmane Dembélé arrived from Borussia Dortmund within weeks as the direct replacement, but injuries hampered the eventual Ballon d’Or winners time at the Camp Nou. The search didn’t end there.
Philippe Coutinho followed in January 2018 for a club-record fee, and Barcelona spent nearly two years chasing Antoine Griezmann before finally landing him from Atlético Madrid in 2019. None of it fully replaced what they’d lost.
Nearly a decade on, Neymar’s €222 million fee remains unbroken as the outright transfer record, even as clubs have pushed spending to new extremes elsewhere.
It stands as the moment modern football’s financial ceiling was rebuilt, and a deal Barcelona never quite recovered from.
Photo: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
