Eight footballers with €1bn release clauses – like player who quit Man City after a year

A host of world-class footballers have whopping €1billion release clauses in their contracts, including Real Madrid and England star Jude Bellingham

Jude Bellingham has a staggering €1billion release clause in his Real Madrid contract – but he’s far from the only player with such a massive bounty on his head.

Mammoth release clauses are commonplace for the best players on the planet, but they are particularly prevalent in Spain, where they are actually mandatory. Naturally, the best players accrue the highest figures.

Bellingham joined Real from Dortmund in the summer for an initial fee of £88million, rising to £114million with add-ons. Given his blistering form, with some hailing him as the finest player in the world at present, it is proving to be money very well spent.

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His release fee is even more eye-watering at more than €1billion. That’s a jaw-dropping £871million. Other high-profile players in Spain have similar fees on their heads, including numerous Barcelona stars.

They include striker Ferran Torres, who signed for Barca after little more than a year at Manchester City, where he struggled to make an impact under Pep Guardiola. The Camp Nou giants coughed up €55million, plus add-ons, for the Spain international.

Talented team-mates Pedri, Gavi, Ronald Araujo are also believed to have €1billion release clauses. Another player with that stonking price on his head is currently at Brighton, Ansu Fati, who is on loan from Barca after rejecting a switch to Tottenham.

Meanwhile, Bellingham is not the only Real Madrid player with such a hefty release fee, with Vinicius Junior and Eduardo Camavinga also reportedly having €1billion clauses inserted in their contracts.

Some of the Premier League’s top players also have sizeable release clauses, although they aren’t in the same ballpark as the aforementioned players. Kevin De Bruyne is believed to have a £213million release fee in his Man City contract. Meanwhile, Etihad team-mate Erling Haaland’s figure is a little lower at €200million (£175million).

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