The 10 most expensive German footballers of all time

The Premier League loves a German.

While Bayern Munich have tried their utmost to acquire and retain the very best Germany has to offer amid their supreme reign at the Bundesliga summit, the financial might of the English top flight has seen several players escape Die Roten’s grasp.

Of the ten most expensive German players of all time, six signed for Premier League clubs, while all but two have at some point in their careers strutted their stuff on English shores.

Pep Guardiola made Borussia Dortmund sensation Gotze one of his first signings as Bayern boss, with the Spaniard believing the young German could develop into a majestic false nine.

Gotze starred in Pep’s maiden season and enjoyed a productive year two before a hamstring injury compromised his third campaign at the club.

While the canny midfielder’s record at Bayern was pretty impressive, he departed after three years with the prevailing feeling of ‘what could’ve been’.

PSG were so convinced by young Kehrer that they splashed out €37m to prise him away from Schalke, where he burst onto the scene as a teenager.

The defender certainly impressed in spells at Parc des Princes as he spent four years in the French capital but his eventual sale to West Ham for €12m shows he didn’t quite live up to the hype.

There was a time when Arsenal weren’t so savvy in the transfer market.

While €41m isn’t such a mammoth fee in 2023, it was significant back in 2016 when the Gunners moved for Valencia centre-back Mustafi.

The 2014 World Cup winner arrived with a rather lofty reputation but his time in north London was tumultuous. Mustafi was capable of producing stellar performances against the world’s best but his frequent brain fades rendered him a liability in Arsenal’s backline.

Nevertheless, he spent five years at the Emirates and notched over 100 Premier League appearances.

Once a highly rated young Germany international, Julian Draxler’s peak years have come and gone in sad fashion.

Once coveted for years by Europe’s elite, the precocious German playmaker’s big move in 2015 wasn’t overseas. He remained in the Bundesliga and signed for a Wolfsburg side seemingly on the come up after qualifying for the Champions League.

Tasked with replacing Kevin De Bruyne, Draxler’s 2015/16 season was by no means a disaster but many in the German media believed he failed to fulfil expectations as Wolfsburg slumped to eighth in the Bundesliga.

READ MORE FROM THE 90MIN TALKING TRANSFERS TEAM

Arsenal fans were the envy of the footballing world at the end of the 2013 summer transfer window. The day after Olivier Giroud scored the game’s only goal to beat Tottenham in the north London derby, Real Madrid superstar Ozil was announced as a deadline day arrival.

The once-in-a-generation playmaker arrived to much fanfare after excelling on the world stage at the 2010 World Cup and thrived under Jose Mourinho in the Spanish capital.

Ozil was the most expensive German player ever for a few years before being overtaken.

While Sane had blossomed into a frightening prospect for Premier League full backs at Man City, Bayern were undoubtedly taking a bit of a risk by signing the winger for a pretty big fee in 2020.

Sane’s contract situation and his long-term injury setback meant Bayern snagged him for a bargain given his value pre-injury but it took a while for the former Schalke starlet to find his feet in Bavaria.

The destructive Sane that was instrumental in City’s majestic 2017/18 and 2018/19 campaigns is yet to manifest consistently for the Rekordmeister.

Sane joined City during Guardiola’s first summer at the club and it didn’t take the German long to establish himself as a protagonist in the Spaniard’s project.

He burst into life after a quiet debut season (reportedly hampered by a breathing issue) and starred as City became the Premier League’s first centurions in 2017/18.

The winger forged devastating relationships with Raheem Sterling on the opposite flank and Sergio Aguero up top, with his lightning-quick speed and direct running persistently overwhelming opposing full backs.

Sane notched 47 Premier League goal contributions in 17/18 and 18/19.

Seemingly destined for Liverpool after yet another marvellous season with RB Leipzig, Chelsea swooped under the Reds’ nose to sign Werner ahead of the 2020/21 season.

The rapid German forward was an output machine in his homeland but his woeful inefficiency meant his time in west London was a forgettable one.

While a loveable figure and a Champions League winner with the Blues, Werner scored just ten Premier League goals in 56 games.

A move that’s raised plenty of eyebrows but you’d be silly to doubt Mikel Arteta given Arsenal’s recent record on the recruitment front.

While Havertz has done little in the Premier League to suggest he’s worth the monster pay packet Arsenal are offering him, Arteta must be confident he can help the Germany international rediscover his potent Bayer Leverkusen touch.

Arteta has already hinted Havertz’s future in north London lies in midfield as the potential replacement for Granit Xhaka as the Spaniard’s left-sided #8.

It’s a role that should get the best out of the languid space invader.

It takes a lot to garner praise from former World Footballer of the Year Lothar Matthaus but Der Panzer was full of praise for blossoming Leverkusen starlet Havertz back in 2019.

Matthaus labelled Havertz a future Ballon d’Or winner and later compared him to Zinedine Zidane. While such lofty praise was rational at the time, the player’s time at Chelsea rendered Matthaus’ projections laughable.

Havertz became the most expensive German ever when Chelsea signed him off the back of a stellar Bundesliga career for €80m in 2020. And while he’d score the game’s only goal in the 2021 Champions League final, Havertz’s Chelsea career is looked upon with indifference given his inconsistency and apparent flakiness.