Any football transfer window gets the rumour mills spinning of which star player will jump ship to another club. It’s common to see players not just move clubs, but also switch leagues. Rumours lead to popular transfer betting markets at betting sites such as those listed at himalayanadventure.com which also features the best of online casinos in India.
Well, some of the biggest early transfers of the 2023 summer involved German internationals. After a treble-winning season with Manchester City, Ilkay Gündogan went on a free transfer to Barcelona. Kai Havertz meanwhile switched from Chelsea to Arsenal in the Premier League for €70.00m.
The money that is thrown around in transfer fees has naturally increased with time. But which players born in Berlin have attracted the biggest transfer fees of all time?
The Most Expensive Football Players From Berlin
Antonio Rüdiger
Despite not playing for a club from his home city, Antonio Rüdiger is Berlin’s most expensive export. But it wasn’t his big 2022 summer move to Real Madrid that puts him top of the list. It was when English Premier League side Chelsea paid €35.00m for him in 2017 to bring him over from Roma.
A smart piece of transfer action from Real Madrid in 2022, saw them get Rüdiger, who wanted away from Chelsea, on a free transfer. But still, that €35.00m means that the defender is the most expensive player ever from Berlin.
Top Transfer Fee: €35.00m
Total Transfer Fees: €48.00m
Jerome Boateng
One of Berlin’s most successful players ever is Jerome Boateng, who won nine Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich. The 2014 World Cup winner got his first professional contract with Hertha Berlin, who signed him in 2007 for €175k.
He wound his way from there through Hamburger SV, to Manchester City to Bayern Munich, before moving to Ligue 1 side Lyon in 2021. Remarkably, Boateng’s highest transfer fee was just €13.50m when Man City sold him to Bayern Munich.
Top Transfer Fee: €13.50m
Total Transfer Fees: €27.10m
Kevin-Prince Boateng
Kevin-Prince Boateng was a well-travelled player, it is fair to say. The former Hertha Berlin youth product played in Italy, Spain, England, Portugal and France during his career. After coming full circle, Boateng hung up his boots in the summer of 2023 back at Hertha Berlin.
Despite interest in the attacking player ranging from AC Milan to Barcelona, most of his transfers were on loan or free transfers. The most paid for Kevin-Prince Boateng was €10.50m when he switched from Genoa to AC Milan in 2011, but he has cost more in transfer fees in total than his brother Jerome.
Top Transfer Fee: €10.50m
Total Transfer Fees: €44.20m
Nico Schulz
Borussia Dortmund’s Nico Schulz is on the list of most expensive Berliners. The defender cost BVB a cool €25.50m from Hoffenheim in the summer of 2019. Schulz has carved out his career within the Bundesliga only, earning silverware during his time at Dortmund in the German Cup and German Super Cup. Schulz has also earned some limited recognition at the international level along the way.
Top Transfer Fee: €25.50m
Total Transfer Fees: €32.50m
Maximilian Philipp
Another former Hertha Berlin youth player Maximilian Philipp completed an inter-Bundesliga loan in the summer of 2023 to return to Wolfsburg from Werder Bremen. Maximilian, who has featured for clubs like Borussia Dortmund and Dynamo Moscow was the subject of a big €20.00m transfer from SC Freiburg to Borussia Dortmund in 2017. It was a little above his market value at the time but it gets him on the list.
Top Transfer Fee: €20.00m
Total Transfer Fees: €49.50m
Berlin Club Transfer Records
Those are the top five on the list of Berlin’s most expensive players. For context, it is interesting to look back at the club transfer records of Hertha Berlin and Union Berlin. Union Berlin ended the previous campaign by earning a tremendous fourth-place finish to secure UEFA Champions League football.
Remarkably the highest transfer fee ever paid by the club is €8.55m. That was the price for both Taio Awoyinyi from Liverpool in 2021 and then Josip Juranovic from Celtic in January 2023. So Union Berlin’s management of money has not gotten in the way of their ambition.
It was a different story however for Hertha Berlin in last season’s Bundesliga. To the dismay of fans, they slipped from the top flight after a stay of 10 years. Hertha’s club record fee paid was for Lucas Tousart from Lyon for €25.00m in 2020.
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