BENFICA are the kings of the transfer market in the 21st century.
They top the list of most profitable clubs since the new millennium – pipping rivals Porto to first place.
Benfica are the most profitable club in the 21st century
Joao Felix is Benfica’s record sale at £113millionAFP
GettyAjax are the third most profitable club thanks to sales like Lisandro Martinez[/caption]
GettyNicolas Pepe is one of several stars who earned Lille millions[/caption]
Benfica have brought in more than £1billion in player sales in the last decade alone.
And although they have spent £756million since 2000, they are still the most profitable clubs thanks to a total income of £1.4bn.
That gives them a profit of £617m, around £42m higher than the next best team Porto.
Only Benfica, Porto and Ajax have raised more than a billion pounds in player sales in the 21st century.
That trio have all made an overall profit of more than £500m, with Sporting Lisbon and Lille closing in on that figure.
The next most profitable clubs are RB Salzburg and Udinese, who have sold an astonishing 970 players in the 21st century and brought in £316m.
Salzburg have made a dramatic rise up the list in the last four years thanks to high-profile sales like Dominik Szobozslai, Patson Daka, Brendan Aaronson and Karim Adeyemi.
Benfica top the list for a similar reason – Joao Felix joined Atletico Madrid for £113m in 2019.
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While Liverpool signed Luis Diaz from Porto for £50m in January 2022.
However Benfica and Porto have sold 778 and 732 players respectively since 2000 – double that of Lille on 365.
The Ligue Un side have looked to maximise profits on each sale – Nicolas Pepe’s £72m move to Arsenal is an example of that.
Fellow French side Lyon round off the top ten with Dinamo Zagreb in ninth place.
Brazilian sides Santos and Sao Paulo have also made clever use of the transfer market to bring in funds, with the top 15 clubs raising £5.1bn in player sales.