It was only a matter of time before Christian Pulisic became one of the most expensive American soccer players of all time. Ultimately it was Chelsea that pulled the trigger on the Borussia Dortmund 20-year-old in January 2019, shattering the record for a U.S. soccer player, whether or not you think he was overpriced.
But how does Pulisic’s transfer fee compare to the other most expensive American soccer players? Below is the list of the 42 most expensive U.S. transfers of all time. Why 42? Because we just had to include Freddy Adu somehow, and it’s the meaning to life, the universe and everything. See how it compares to the list of the most expensive Mexican footballers here. Impressively, 11 of the 42 players on this list (more than a quarter) made their moves during the 2021-22 season, proving Americans have never been more valuable.
Note: This is the most accurate list you’ll find based entirely in U.S. dollars, converting fees from Euros based on the most accurate data of historic exchange rates when the transfer was made. Also, each player is only listed once. And one final note: This list doesn’t include players who may have been more valuable, but either didn’t change clubs or changed clubs on free transfers. Thus, Landon Donovan is nowhere to be found.
The 42 Most Expensive American Soccer Players (Most Expensive Transfer Fees)
No. 42 — Freddy Adu
Real Salt Lake to Benfica, 2007
$2.06 million
No. 41 — Antonee Robinson
Everton to Wigan, 2019
$2.42 million
No. 40 — Edgar Castillo
Santos Laguna to Club América, 2009
$2.44 million
No. 39 — Danny Williams
Hoffenheim to Reading, 2013
$2.61 million
No. 38 — Geoff Cameron
Houston Dynamo to Stoke City, 2012
$2.65 million
No. 37 — Terrence Boyd
Rapid Vienna to RB Leipzig, 2014
$2.74 million
No. 36 — Reggie Cannon
FC Dallas to Boavista, 2020
$2.75 million
No. 35 — Jordan Siebatcheu Pefok
Stade Rennais to Young Boys, 2021
$2.75 million
No. 34 — Tyler Adams
NY Red Bulls to RB Leipzig, 2019
$2.89 million
No. 33 — Hérculez Gómez
Santos Laguna to Club Tijuana, 2013
$3 million
No. 32 — Konrad de la Fuente
Barcelona to Marseille, 2021
$3.3 million
No. 31 — Paul Arriola
Club Tijuana to D.C. United, 2017
$3.5 million
No. 30 — Eddie Johnson
Kansas City Wizards to Fulham, 2008
$3.64 million
No. 29 — Brad Friedel
Blackburn to Aston Villa, 2008
$3.92 million
No. 28 — Matthew Hoppe
Schalke to Mallorca, 2021
$3.85 million
No. 27 — Tanner Tessmann
FC Dallas to Venezia, 2021
$4 million
No. 26 — Brek Shea
FC Dallas to Stoke City, 2013
$4.07 million
No. 25 — Tim Ream
New York Red Bulls to Bolton, 2012
$4.07 million
No. 24 — Kenny Saief
KAA Gent to RSC Anderlecht, 2018
$4.31 million
No. 23 — Owen Otasowie
Wolverhampton to Club Brugge, 2021
$4.4 million
No. 22 — Bobby Wood
Hamburg to Hannover, 2016
$4.45 million
No. 21 — Aron Jóhannsson
AZ Alkmaar to Werder Bremen, 2015
$4.57 million
No. 20 — Matt Miazga
New York Red Bulls to Chelsea, 2016
$5.02 million
No. 19 — Tim Howard
Manchester United to Everton, 2007
$5.67 million
No. 18 — Claudio Reyna
Rangers to Sunderland, 2001
$5.9 million
No. 17 — Maurice Edu
Toronto FC to Rangers, 2008
$5.92 million
No. 16 — Brenden Aaronson
Philadelphia Union to RB Salzburg, 2021
$6 million
No. 15 — Gianluca Busio
Sporting KC to Venezia, 2021
$6.6 million
No. 14 — DeAndre Yedlin
Tottenham to Newcastle, 2016
$6.65 million
No. 13 — Kevin Paredes
D.C. United to Wolfsburg, 2022
$7.35 million
No. 12 — Bryan Reynolds
FC Dallas to AS Roma, 2021
$7.35 million
No. 11 — Clint Dempsey
Fulham to Tottenham, 2012
$9.46 million
No. 10 — Daryl Dike
Orlando City to West Brom, 2022
$9.5 million
No. 9 — Michael Bradley
AS Roma to Toronto FC, 2014
$10.07 million
No. 8 — Josh Sargent
Werder Bremen to Norwich, 2021
$9.5 million
No. 7 — Tim Weah
PSG to Lille, 2019
$11.4 million
No. 6 — Jozy Altidore
AZ Alkmaar to Sunderland, 2013
$12.86 million
No. 5 — Ricardo Pepi
FC Dallas to Augsburg, 2022
$18 million
No. 4 — John Brooks
Hertha Berlin to Wolfsburg, 2017
$19.4 million
No. 3 — Weston McKennie
Schalke to Juventus, 2021
$22.55 million
No. 2 — Sergiño Dest
Ajax to Barcelona, 2020
$23.1 million
No. 1 — Christian Pulisic
Christian Pulisic's January 2019 transfer to Chelsea ranks him first on the list of most expensive American soccer players. Photo: Getty Images.
Borussia Dortmund to Chelsea, 2019
$73 million
