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The 42 Most Expensive Transfer Fees Ever Paid For American Soccer Players

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

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Real Salt Lake to Benfica, 2007
$2.06 million

No. 41 — Antonee Robinson

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Everton to Wigan, 2019
$2.42 million

No. 40 — Edgar Castillo

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Santos Laguna to Club América, 2009
$2.44 million

No. 39 — Danny Williams

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Hoffenheim to Reading, 2013
$2.61 million

No. 38 — Geoff Cameron

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Houston Dynamo to Stoke City, 2012
$2.65 million

No. 37 — Terrence Boyd

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Rapid Vienna to RB Leipzig, 2014
$2.74 million

No. 36 — Reggie Cannon

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FC Dallas to Boavista, 2020
$2.75 million

No. 35 — Jordan Siebatcheu Pefok

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Stade Rennais to Young Boys, 2021
$2.75 million

No. 34 — Tyler Adams

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NY Red Bulls to RB Leipzig, 2019
$2.89 million

No. 33 — Hérculez Gómez

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Santos Laguna to Club Tijuana, 2013
$3 million

No. 32 — Konrad de la Fuente

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Barcelona to Marseille, 2021
$3.3 million

No. 31 — Paul Arriola

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Club Tijuana to D.C. United, 2017
$3.5 million

No. 30 — Eddie Johnson

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Kansas City Wizards to Fulham, 2008
$3.64 million

No. 29 — Brad Friedel

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Blackburn to Aston Villa, 2008
$3.92 million

No. 28 — Matthew Hoppe

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Schalke to Mallorca, 2021
$3.85 million

No. 27 — Tanner Tessmann

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FC Dallas to Venezia, 2021
$4 million

No. 26 — Brek Shea

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FC Dallas to Stoke City, 2013
$4.07 million

No. 25 — Tim Ream

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New York Red Bulls to Bolton, 2012
$4.07 million

No. 24 — Kenny Saief

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KAA Gent to RSC Anderlecht, 2018
$4.31 million

No. 23 — Owen Otasowie

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Wolverhampton to Club Brugge, 2021
$4.4 million

No. 22 — Bobby Wood

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Hamburg to Hannover, 2016
$4.45 million

No. 21 — Aron Jóhannsson

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AZ Alkmaar to Werder Bremen, 2015
$4.57 million

No. 20 — Matt Miazga

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New York Red Bulls to Chelsea, 2016
$5.02 million

No. 19 — Tim Howard

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Manchester United to Everton, 2007
$5.67 million

No. 18 — Claudio Reyna

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Rangers to Sunderland, 2001
$5.9 million

No. 17 — Maurice Edu

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Toronto FC to Rangers, 2008
$5.92 million

No. 16 — Brenden Aaronson

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Philadelphia Union to RB Salzburg, 2021
$6 million

No. 15 — Gianluca Busio

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Sporting KC to Venezia, 2021
$6.6 million

No. 14 — DeAndre Yedlin

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Tottenham to Newcastle, 2016
$6.65 million

No. 13 — Kevin Paredes

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D.C. United to Wolfsburg, 2022
$7.35 million

No. 12 — Bryan Reynolds

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FC Dallas to AS Roma, 2021
$7.35 million

No. 11 — Clint Dempsey

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Fulham to Tottenham, 2012
$9.46 million

No. 10 — Daryl Dike

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Orlando City to West Brom, 2022
$9.5 million

No. 9 — Michael Bradley

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AS Roma to Toronto FC, 2014
$10.07 million

No. 8 — Josh Sargent

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Werder Bremen to Norwich, 2021
$9.5 million

No. 7 — Tim Weah

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PSG to Lille, 2019
$11.4 million

No. 6 — Jozy Altidore

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AZ Alkmaar to Sunderland, 2013
$12.86 million

No. 5 — Ricardo Pepi

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FC Dallas to Augsburg, 2022
$18 million

No. 4 — John Brooks

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Hertha Berlin to Wolfsburg, 2017
$19.4 million

No. 3 — Weston McKennie

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Schalke to Juventus, 2021
$22.55 million

No. 2 — Sergiño Dest

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Ajax to Barcelona, 2020
$23.1 million

No. 1 — Christian Pulisic

Most Expensive American Soccer Players

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

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