ByAlex BysouthBBC Sport Senior journalistPublished9 minutes agoCommentsWill the £200m Paris St-Germain-paid Barcelona for Neymar Jr ever be surpassed?
Records are there to be broken, but that figure has stood as football's most expensive sum for almost a decade now and it is hard to see anyone topping it soon.
Yet tracking the progression of the world record fee offers an insight into evolving trends of power and dominance in global football - from the Italian golden era to Real Madrid's Galactico splurge and, ultimately, Parisian riches.
In the past half century, since Vicenza made jointly-owned Paolo Rossi the most expensive player when acquiring him from Juventus, the record has been broken 20 times, most recently in 2017.
The names glitter like their price tags, Diego Maradona and Brazilian Ronaldo both there twice - being the world's most expensive footballer places you in an elite club where goals, glory and prestige are currency.
Not all premium purchases pack a punch, of course. Neymar brought profile and panache to Paris but could not deliver the holy grail of European success, Denilson's trickery failed to help Real Betis beat the drop, a car crash curtailed Gigi Lentini's buccaneering brilliance.
But let's look at those record deals that did prove a hit - value for money, if you like, moves that would have money saving expert Martin Lewis nodding approvingly.
I've ranked the top 10 from the past 50 years. You can have your say below, too.
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Published24 March"Wales, Golf, Madrid." Gareth Bale wasn't always adored at the Bernabeu, and when former Real Madrid star Predrag Mijatovic suggested those were the order of the Welshman's priorities, it stuck.
For all the noise that he didn't care, though, Bale left Madrid with five European crowns.
Only Cristiano Ronaldo has more than his three Champions League final goals and arguably no one has done it better than Bale's 2018 bicycle kick against Liverpool.
His legacy among Madridistas may have been scorched by his penchant for the putting green, but Bale's ability to deliver big moments, and 106 goals in total, eked enough from his £86m arrival in 2013 to reach number 10 on this list.
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Gareth Bale joined Real Madrid from Tottenham for £86m in 2013 - he won five Champions Leagues, scoring in two finals, as well as three La Liga titles, a Copa del Rey and numberous super cups
Which one of Ronaldo's world record moves was better? When he burst into the global footballing conscious with 47 goals in 49 games during a single season at Barcelona after arriving from PSV for £13.2m?
Or the debut campaign at Inter where, up against the pound-for-pound best defenders in the world, he toyed with Serie A markers and netted 34 goals in all competitions?
His first Ballon d'Or in 1997 straddled those electric campaigns, starring in Barcelona's Cup Winners' Cup and Copa del Rey triumphs, and at the Nou Camp they were certainly wowed - the Catalan giants just wish they could have held on to 'The Phenomenon' for longer.
Inter, having stumped up the Brazilian's buyout clause, got a 20-year-old with the world at his record-breaking feet who would lead them to Uefa Cup glory that season and later captain the Nerazzurri.
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Ronaldo's Barcelona stint only lasted one season, but saw him score 47 goals in 49 games for Bobby Robson's side. At Inter, he netted 59 in 99 games