The Biggest Football Stock Price Rallies

The football transfer market can be wild, but no more so than the most recent edition, what with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Man United homecoming, Romelu Lukaku’s return to Chelsea, Jack Grealish’s record-breaking move to Man City, and PSG’s swoop of Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, and Gianluigi Donnarumma. But which transfers of the last five years have had the biggest impact on buying and selling club stock values?

To measure the impact of transfers on stock prices, we analysed the activity of the ten publicly listed football clubs: Ajax, AS Roma, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Celtic, Porto, Juventus, Lazio, Manchester United, and Sporting Lisbon. Using Transfermarkt data, we recorded the top five deals from each team between 2015-present, including date of sale and transfer value. 

Stock prices were recorded before and after transfers and departures, to reveal which move had the biggest impact on stock value. 

The ten biggest stock price boosters

Considered by countless millions as the greatest player of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo features twice in the ten most impactful transfers of the last five years. The Portuguese player enjoyed a glittering spell at Real Madrid, but his £105.3m move to Juventus in July 2018 boosted the Italian club’s stock price by an astonishing 31.8%. Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s long-awaited return to Manchester United in August 2021 sits third, after the English side’s stock rose by 5.7%. 

In second, sandwiched between Ronaldo’s two placements, Bas Dost’s August 2016 transfer from Vfl Wolfsburg to Sporting Lisbon witnessed the Portuguese club’s stock value increase by an incredible 16.7%, while, in fourth, Jadon Sancho’s £76.5m switch from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United triggered a 5.3% rise in the Premier League club’s value. Next up, each of Javier Pastore (4.7%) and Leonardo Spinazzola’s (4.1%) moves to AS Roma from PSG and Juventus, respectively, also helped boost their new club’s stock sale price.

Placing seventh is Paul Pogba’s landmark 2016 move to Manchester United from Juventus, which saw him return to the club after four years away for a then world-record fee of £94.5m. The Frenchman’s impact was instant, with United recognising a 3.6% rise in stock price.

Rounding off the top ten, we have Marcos Acuna’s £8.63m move to Sporting Lisbon from Racing Club in June 2017, Quincy Promes’ £15.7m transfer from Sevilla to Dutch giant Ajax in June 2019, and Tammy Abraham’s £36m switch from Chelsea to Roma in August 2021.

The top ten stock price fallers

Analysing the biggest transfers of the last five years, Gelson Martins’ £19.8m move from Sporting Lisbon to Atletico Madrid saw the Portuguese team suffer the most significant negative impact of any selling club. The winger was a regular at Sporting between 2015-18, but his sale in July 2018 saw the club’s stock drop by 14.12%. 

Next up, also in July 2018, Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson completed his transfer to Liverpool in what was then a world record fee for a goalkeeper (£56.25m). However, despite the huge sale, his former club AS Roma still suffered off the back of the departure, with their stock price plummeting by 7.27%.

Placing third, we have promising Portuguese forward Fabio Silva, who was the subject of a staggering £36m transfer from FC Porto to Wolverhampton Wanders in September 2020. The 19-year-old only made 12 appearances for FC Porto before the big money move, but the club still saw their stock price drop by 6.67%. 

In fourth, fellow Portuguese player Pedro Neto also joined Wolverhampton Wanderers, in August 2019 for £16.11m. Like his compatriot, Neto had only made a string of first-team appearances before the move to England. However, the transfer still saw the stock price of former club Lazio fall by 5.47%.

Meanwhile, the list of Portuguese players continues, with Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo. Felix’s high-profile £114.48m move from Benfica to Atletico Madrid saw the selling club’s market value drop by 4.89%, while Cancelo’s £58.5m switch from Italian powerhouse Juventus to Manchester City saw the Turin-based team’s stock fall by 4.35%.

Rounding off the top ten most impactful football sales of the last five years, there are four more mega moves to the Premier League. We have Jadon Sancho’s £76.5m switch from Borussia Dortmund to Man United, Bruno Fernandes’ £56.7m move from Sporting Lisbon to Man United, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s £57.38m transfer from Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal, and Hakim Ziyech’s £45m move from Ajax to Chelsea. 

With billions of football fans around the globe, there’s so much expectation riding on every transfer. So it’s perhaps unsurprising just how big of an impact a high-profile move can have on a club’s stock price. Visit XTB, to learn more about trading or explore the latest rates of the most popular shares.