Football Release Clauses: Real Madrid star Karim Benzema tops the list of the highest release clause, check out the top 10- After an unbelievable transfer window that saw the transfers of both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to different teams, stars have been moving after running down their contracts, however, has been a reminder of how fender buy-out clauses help the world’s biggest clubs keep their stars tied down. Karima Benzema release clause is the highest of all at €1bn. Check out the rest of the football highest release clause list.
A few major release deals were met ahead of the 2021 season, most prominently Manchester City paying the £100m release clause ($136m) to get the signature of Jack Grealish to the club from Aston Villa.
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What is a football release clause?
It’s basically a clause inserted into a player’s contract that allows other clubs to try to sign that player. Usually, the club that is attempting to sign the player has to negotiate on a transfer fee with the parent club.
However, if there is a release clause inserted in the player’s contract, the club that is attempting to sign the player may simply pay that amount without having to negotiate with the parent club.
Football Release Clauses: Real Madrid star Karim Benzema tops the list of the highest release clause, check out the top 10
There have only been a few of such transfer fees met over the years, though – and many more players boast price tags far too steep for even the super-rich to pay.
According to Goal.com, this is the list of the top 10 highest release clauses in the world.
| Rank | Player | Club | Reported release clause |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | €1bn (£850m/$1.2bn) |
| 2 | David Alaba | Real Madrid | €850m (£726m/$988m) |
| 3 | Antoine Griezmann | Atletico Madrid* | €800m ($683m/$930m) |
| =4 | Federico Valverde | Real Madrid | €750m (£641m/$872m) |
| =4 | Luka Modric | Real Madrid | €750m (£641m/$872m) |
| =4 | Brahim Diaz | Milan** | €750m (£641m/$872m) |
| =7 | Marco Asensio | Real Madrid | €700m (£598m/$814m) |
| =7 | Vinicius Junior | Real Madrid | €700m (£598m/$814m) |
| =7 | Isco | Real Madrid | €700m (£598m/$814m) |
| =10 | Gareth Bale | Real Madrid | €500m (£427m/$581m) |
| =10 | Gerard Pique | Barcelona | €500m (£427m/$581m) |
| =10 | Sergio Roberto | Barcelona | €500m (£427m/$581m) |
*on loan from Barcelona
**on loan from Real Madrid
Football Release Clauses: Real Madrid star Karim Benzema tops the list of the highest release clause, check out the top 10
The top 10 highest release clauses are all from La Liga. Check out other players with immense release clauses here:
| Player | Club | Reported release clause |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin De Bruyne | Manchester City | €250m (£213m/$290m) |
| Paulo Dybala | Juventus | €70m (£60m/$81m) |
| Bruno Fernandes | Manchester United | €100m (£85m/$116m) |
| Erling Haaland | Borussia Dortmund | €80m ($68m/$93m) |
| Harry Kane | Tottenham Hotspur | No release clause |
| Kylian Mbappe | Paris Saint-Germain | No release clause |
| Lionel Messi | Paris Saint-Germain | No release clause |
| Neymar | Paris Saint-Germain | No release clause |
Football Release Clauses: Real Madrid star Karim Benzema tops the list of the highest release clause, check out the top 10
Editors pick
