The 10 most expensive Dutch players of all time

Updated: 27 Jun 2026 19:36 BST |
6 min read

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The Netherlands have produced some of the best footballers in history, with the likes of Johan Cruyff, Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten turning out for Oranje.

They no longer boast the riches of talent that were seen in the late 1900s, but the Dutch remain a fierce footballing nation.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through the 10 most expensive Dutch players of all time.

10. Nathan Ake – €45.3m (Bournemouth to Man City, 2020)

Nathan Ake made just 17 first-team appearances for Chelsea and the Blues opted to sell him to Bournemouth in 2017.

Three years later, the Dutchman’s impressive form was rewarded with a move to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

Ake left Bournemouth having racked up 121 appearances for the club, and he won four Premier League titles in a row at the Etihad and a Champions League in 2023.

9. Xavi Simons – €50m (PSG to RB Leipzig, 2025)

Xavi Simons was regarded as a huge wonderkid in Barcelona’s La Masia academy, but he departed for PSG after feeling that he would struggle to break into the Catalans’ side. It was a similar story in Paris, however, and it was only on loan at PSV where the attacker really exploded.

Having impressed in the Netherlands, he joined RB Leipzig on a two-year loan in 2023 and continued his sparkling form initially. He couldn’t match his previous exploits in his second season, but Leipzig had nevertheless seen enough to convince them to make his deal permanent for a club-record-shattering €50m in January 2025.

The idea was to quickly sell him on for a profit, and they achieved this the following summer.

8. Tijjani Reijnders – €54.9m (AC Milan to Man City, 2025)

Tijjani Reijnders was one of Serie A’s standout midfielders in 2024/25, which prompted Man City to shell out close to €55m. The dynamic midfielder was signed to partner Rodri, who was struggling to hit his previous physical and footballing heights after recovering from an ACL injury.

Reijnders began his spell at the Etihad like a house on fire, but his form quickly tailed off, and he increasingly found himself relegated to the bench, so much so that his long-term future at the club was plunged into doubt mere months after joining.

7. Teun Koopmeiners – €58.4m (Atalanta to Juventus, 2024)

Teun Koopmeiners joined this list when he swapped Atalanta for Juventus in 2024.

The Dutchman made his name at boyhood club AZ Alkmaar, before joining Serie A side Atalanta in 2021. Koopmeiners racked up 29 goals in 129 games for the Bergamo outfit and he played a key role as they won the 2024 Europa League final.

However, he never managed to recapture that form and struggled in Turin.

6. Jan Paul van Hecke – €60m (Brighton to Tottenham, 2026)

Jan Paul van Hecke became a very good Premier League defender during his six years at Brighton, the first two of which were spent out on loan at various clubs.

Heading into the 2026 summer transfer window, Van Hecke wanted to take the next step in his career and informed Brighton that he would not extend his contract, which was due to expire the following year.

After some back-and-forth, Tottenham agreed a €60m deal to sign the centre-back.

5. Xavi Simons – €65m (RB Leipzig to Tottenham, 2025)

Xavi Simons features twice on this list as he was sold by RB Leipzig shortly after his loan from PSG was made permanent in January 2025. He saw out the remainder of the season with the Bundesliga side but made it abundantly clear that he wanted to take the next step that summer.

Chelsea looked the most likely destination for Simons. They spent weeks negotiating with Leipzig, but they never actually closed the deal, leading to frustration from both the player and the German club. This allowed Tottenham to swoop in and wrap up a €65m transfer.

He showed glimpses during his first season in North London, but his progress was unceremoniously halted by an ACL injury.

4. Matthijs de Ligt – €67m (Juventus to Bayern Munich, 2022)

De Ligt’s first appearance on this list comes courtesy of his move from Juventus to Bayern in 2022.

The Dutchman had spent three years in Italy, tallying 117 appearances across all competitions, but he opted to leave Juve after being made aware of Bayern’s interest.

De Ligt won three trophies during his time at Juventus, however he failed to become the world’s best defender as many had predicted he would after leaving Ajax.

3. Virgil van Dijk – €84.7m (Southampton to Liverpool, 2018)

Virgil van Dijk is the third-most expensive Dutch player of all time. He left Southampton to join Liverpool for just shy of €85m in January 2018.

Van Dijk had accepted a move to Liverpool 12 months before the deal was finalised, with the Reds eventually beating Chelsea to his signature after agreeing a fee with Southampton.

He won the Champions League title during his first full season at Anfield before helping Liverpool win the Premier League for the very first time in 2019-20. He won his second Premier League, this time as captain, in 2025.

2. Matthijs de Ligt – €85.5m (Ajax to Juventus, 2019)

De Ligt’s other inclusion sees him rank second due to his €85.5m transfer from Ajax to Liverpool in 2019.

The Netherlands defender had played a key role in Ajax’s run to the Champions League semi-final during his final season at the club and he was courted by almost every elite club in Europe.

However, Juventus won the race for his signature and De Ligt left his boyhood club with 117 appearances under his belt.

1. Frenkie de Jong – €86m (Ajax to Barcelona, 2019)

The most expensive Dutch footballer in history is Frenkie de Jong. He joined Barcelona from Ajax for €86m in 2019 following an immense final season in Amsterdam.

The Dutch star left Ajax having made just 89 first-team appearances for the club, while De Jong was viewed as the heir to Sergio Busquets upon his arrival at Camp Nou.

He turned out to be a solid enough player for Barca, but perhaps never quite hit the heights that were expected of him after his Ajax spell.

The 10 most expensive Dutch soccer players of all time

Carlo Garganese is a highly-respected football writer, broadcaster and editor with more than 15 years of experience working at the highest level for major global brands. Garganese spent 12 years at Goal.com, where he played a significant role in building and developing the website into one of the largest football media organisations in the world.

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