Some of the biggest stars in football have tried to force moves to other clubs, leading to teams inserting crazy release clauses in players' contracts. Here are the most ridiculous buyout clauses in the game today!
In the past, teams that tended to insert release clauses into player deals ensured that they were pricey but still realistic, but the attitude towards this phenomenon seemingly changed when FC Barcelona announced in 2017 that Paris Saint-Germain had activated Neymar's €222 million (R3.8 billion) buyout clause.
Scroll through the gallery above to see the biggest release clauses in the game today, per Goal
Many clubs then started to insert some insane releases clauses into their players' deals, and arguably chief among them is Real Madrid.
After David Alaba signed for Los Blancos on a free transfer from Bayern Munich in July, a buyout clause of €850 million (R14.8 billion) is said to have been stipulated in his contract.
The Swiss international's new teammate Isco is another player who has one of the highest release clauses in the world, according to Goal. The Spaniard's fee is believed to be €700 million (R12.2 billion), despite the player having a current market value of just €18 million (R315 million) after earning only eight starts in the 2020/21 LaLiga campaign.
Read: 10 highest wage bills in the EPL
Late in the most recent transfer window, Antoine Griezmann joined Atletico Madrid from Barcelona on a season-long loan deal, with the option of an extra year and an obligation to buy, according to Barca Blaugranes.
Despite Ronald Koeman's side being set to part ways with the French forward for a reported €40 million (R700 million), his Blaugrana release clause is said to be a mammoth €800 million (R14 billion).
Other stars who have hefty buyout clauses in their deals include AC Milan's Brahim Diaz and the 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Luka Modric – scroll through the gallery above to see the players with the highest release clauses in football today!
Here are the 10 most expensive transfers that occurred in the latest window, per Transfermarkt