Top 5 release clauses in football

When PSG came for Neymar in the summer of 2017, they broke the all-time transfer record by striking a staggering €222m deal for the Brazilian winger. This figure just so happened to be the player's release clause.

With a year left on his contract and the player signing an extension, the transfer seemed highly unlikely. However, the player's desire to move coupled with the wealthy owners of PSG settling into the habit of having their way, the offer caught Barcelona off guard.

What seemed to be a ridiculous amount of money was easily paid off and the Spanish club lost one of their major assets.

With the deal materializing in a matter of days, clubs were alerted to protect their star players and so, release clauses with figures that definitely defy the Financial Fair Play have been inserted into their contracts.

Following is a list of the top 5 release clauses in European Football.

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#5 Philippe Coutinho - £355m

Philippe Coutinho joins Neymar in Top 10 Most Expensive Footballers list

After failing to sign Coutinho in the summer, Barcelona returned with a £140m bid to sign the player from Liverpool.

At 25 years of age, Coutinho is yet to hit his peak and has proved his quality at Anfield.

After the club had signed the teen sensation Ousmane Dembele in the summer for almost a similar fee, they knew that luring Coutinho wasn't going to be cheap.

With Neymar's transfer catching the club off guard, Barcelona will not want such a thing to happen again. Keeping that in mind, the club has added multiple clauses in the player's contract and valued his worth at £355mn, something no other club would like to pay if they want to comply with Financial Fair Play.

#4 Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Dani Ceballos - £443m

Bale is Real Madrid's most expensive signing

Real Madrid may not be performing well in the 2017-18 season, but they certainly value their players a lot. With a number of players signing contract extensions, their updated release clauses have been inserted to make sure that Madrid won't lose their prized assets to domestic rivals or other clubs in Europe.

With Neymar's transfer proving that even the most ridiculous amount of money is payable, Real Madrid seems to have taken a precautionary step with their players, by setting up extremely high release clauses.

With Gareth Bale attracting attention from England, where he proved himself to be a devastating forward with Tottenham Hotspur before moving to Spain for a record fee, a high release clause is quite a conscious decision.

The duo of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos is often considered the best midfield partnership in today's footballing world.

With the duo making multiple appearances in the FIFA Team of the Year and helping Madrid to silverware with dominating and enthralling performances, it is quite a sensible move by Madrid to provide their praised midfielders with lavish contracts and also to tie them to the club for as long as possible.

Dani Ceballos, the 21-year-old Spaniard, who was recently signed from Real Betis, has shown his quality on the pitch many times but only time will tell if he deserves such a high buyout clause.

#3 Isco Alarcon, Marco Asensio - £620m

The duo is an integral part of both club and country

Francisco Román Alarcón Suárez is a name that's almost as big as a £620m buyout clause. However, Isco, as he is commonly known, is making the headlines for his game, week in and week out. In a Galacticos team studded with stars, the lad has proved himself to be one of the best attacking midfielders in the world.

Isco moved to Real Madrid in June 2013 from Malaga but was often deemed small to play in a physical league like the Spanish League. He struggled initially in the 4-4-3 system that manager Ancelotti played at Madrid, he gave a good return of goals and assists whenever he played.

With opportunities coming thick and fast under Zidane, Isco cemented his position in the squad and has become indispensable to the Galacticos now. A contract renewal and an imperious release clause are testaments to how much the club values the player.

Marco Asensio was scouted and signed by Real Madrid as an exciting youth prospect in November 2014. He was loaned to Mallorca and Espanyol to get more game time and made his proper debut for Madrid in the 2016-17 season.

He has become a fan favourite since then and his performances have earned praise from many big names of the sport. He renewed his contract in 2017 and the humongous release clause means Real Madrid mean serious business with their player.

#2 Lionel Messi - £626m

Messi is considered by many as the greatest footballer of all time

Arguably the most deserving player on this list, Messi has remained a one team player since joining Barcelona's La Masia as a teenager. With an illustrious career that saw him earn silverware for the club as well as numerous personal accolades, Messi seems to have committed himself to the club with a recent contract extension that features a buyout clause of £626m.

With the player having enjoyed great success as Barcelona's talisman through the years, it is safe to say that the club is very cautious regarding their most important asset, especially after the Neymar transfer saga

With 22 goals and 8 assists across all competitions, Messi is handling business as usual. That Barcelona are undefeated under new manager Valverde and have replaced Neymar with Dembele and Coutinho along with the fact that Madrid are having a disastrous season, a contract extension for Messi seems to be the icing on the cake.

While there were rumours of the player weighing his options with his contract due to expire in 2018, the recent form of the team and world-class signings seem to have changed his heart. The contract extension and the release clause are indications that Messi might finish his career in Barcelona.

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema - £886 m

Real Madrid CF know how to ward off interest from rivals.

The top spot on the list is shared by two of Real Madrid's most valuable players, the hard-working, goal-scoring machine, an instant fan favourite and presumably the most important player in Madrid's history, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Jokes aside, Real Madrid have renewed the contracts of the duo from their famed BBC attack and as their release clause suggests, they are deemed extremely important by the club.

While Ronaldo was signed for a record-breaking £80m in the summer of 2009 from Manchester United, the then astronomical figure looks like a bargain when one sees the astounding number of records Ronaldo has rewritten in his time at Madrid.

Extremely marketable and famous for his goal scoring abilities from any sort of range, Ronaldo's achievements are rivalled only by Lionel Messi. With rumours of the player moving back to Manchester surfacing every transfer window, and the player denying it publicly has become a routine.

However, the club were apprehensive of leaving a door open for rivals to bid for him and have inserted a huge release clause.

Karim Benzema joined Madrid from Lyon in the same transfer window when the club signed Ronaldo and Kaka, in 2009. With a team full of star players, Benzema was under a lot of pressure to deliver in front of the goal, and he did it almost immediately.

Although overshadowed by Ronaldo's heroics week in week out, Benzema has kept his place in the lineup for a major part of his Madrid career. Benzema at his prime had all the traits to fit in with ease to the position of the striker.

With his form taking a dip in the recent years, being injured for multiple weeks at a stretch and turning 30 in 2017, many expected him to move away from the Bernabeu, however the owners seem to have a different plan for him and rate him very highly, as evidenced by the release clause in his contract.