The biggest release clauses in football have been revealed, and it’s little surprise to see the big boys of Barcelona and Real Madrid dominate.
There are one or two surprises here, however, none more so than the man currently occupying first place with an absolutely mammoth asking price required to get him out of Real Madrid.
MORE: Real Madrid interested in signing Bundesliga striker with €75m release clause
Read on to find out where Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Philippe Coutinho and co. rank when it comes to the biggest release clauses in football…
£296.5m – Joao Felix
A real wonderkid, Joao Felix has already moved for big money after joining Atletico Madrid this summer, and you wouldn’t bet against someone paying vast sums for him again in the future.
£338.9m – Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele, Arthur, Frenkie de Jong
Philippe Coutinho has a very high buy-out clause, but is currently being linked with the likes of Liverpool for a great deal less than that.
After struggling at Barcelona and on loan at Bayern Munich, the Brazil international can reportedly move for just £77million this summer.
It’s also hard to imagine anyone paying quite that much for Ousmane Dembele and Arthur…
£423.6m – Gerard Pique, Gareth Bale, Sergi Roberto, Sergio Busquets, Toni Kroos, Dani Ceballos
Some very high release clauses here for players who surely won’t be moving for anything like that kind of money any time soon.
Arsenal loanee Dani Ceballos is a surprise name in there considering he’s struggling to even make the Gunners’ first XI right now, with Real Madrid sure to lower his asking price significantly when he returns to the Bernabeu at the end of this season.
£593m – Lionel Messi, Isco, Marco Asensio, Vinicius Junior
The greatest footballer of all time, but Lionel Messi is only joint fourth on our list of the biggest release clauses in football.
He’s joined by some other big names like Real Madrid stars Isco and Marco Asensio, plus Brazilian youngster Vinicius Junior.
£635.4m – Luka Modric, Brahim Diaz
Fair play, Luka Modric is the only player who’s been able to break the Messi-Ronaldo stronghold on the Ballon d’Or, so he’s probably worthy of a big release clause.
We’re not sure about Manchester City reject Brahim Diaz, though…
£677.8m – Antoine Griezmann
A big-money signing for Barcelona this summer, Antoine Griezmann is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world, so a high buy-out clause makes sense for the Frenchman.
To think Manchester United could’ve signed him for just £100m a few years ago…
£847.2m – Karim Benzema
A surprise name in first place – Karim Benzema. The Frenchman continues to play a key role for Real Madrid, but we’re not sure this hefty buy-out clause really reflects his standing in world football.