Top 10 footballers with the biggest buyout clauses

Ronaldo’s buyout clause is almost four times more than that of Messi

The term ‘buy-out clause’ has been thrown around a lot during this transfer window, and it is somewhat different from a release clause. They are usually inserted into a player’s contract either on his insistence or as a safety measure by the club.

In this clause, the true market value of the player is not necessarily reflected, as a very high figure is set to ward of potential suitors. This means that the player or a club has to pay the stipulated amount to ‘buy-out’ his contract, though it is usually the buying club that pays the amount on behalf of the player.

Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo has the biggest buy-out clause in football right now, which is estimated at €1b, while his nemesis and Barcelona’s Lionel Messi is in second place with a buy-out clause that is four times less than the Portgual international.

Incredibly, both players have a market value of 120m, which shows that the buy-out clause is not a true reflection of a player’s value.

Andres Iniesta and Neymar come in third and fourth place respectively, with Manchester United target Sergio Ramos following them closely in fifth place. The Spanish defender has a €180m release clause, although the Manchester club are trying to get him at his market value of €40m.

Jordi Alba and Gareth Bale follow Ramos, and it is Alba who surprisingly has a higher release clause than Bale. There is a difference of €42m between the two player’s clauses, despite the Welshman having a higher market value of €115m, as compared to €50m for Jordi Alba.

Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte may not be a very popular player, but he is 8th on the list, with a buy-out clause of €72 million. The €15m rated player was recently linked with a move to Manchester United, but ended up signing a new contract with the club.

The list is rounded off by Ryan Gauld from Sporting Lisbon, and Atletico Madrid’s Koke, who both have a €60m release clause.

The top 7 buy-out clauses in the list belong to Real Madrid and Barcelona players, which shows that they have the financial muscle to buy the best players and offer them astronomical salaries. This turns them into global superstars, and their value keeps them out of the reach of most clubs.

(The values are in euros, and are estimated figures)

	Player	Value
1	Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)	€1 billion
2	Lionel Messi (Barcelona)	€250 million
3	Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)	€200 million
4	Neymar (Barcelona)	€190 million
5	Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)	€180 million
6	Jordi Alba (Barcelona)	€150 million
7	Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)	€108 million
8	Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Bilbao)	€72 million
9	Ryan Gauld (Sporting Lisbon)	€60 million
10	Koke (Atletico Madrid)	€60 million

Source: Telegraph, Transfermarkt