Real Madrid shattered their transfer record this week by signing Yan Diomande for £107 million, making it one of the biggest fees ever paid for a teenager in football history.

The 19-year-old could eventually cost the Spanish club as much as £120 million if add-on clauses are triggered — but where does he sit among the most expensive players signed before turning 20?

There are some outstanding names on this list, along with a couple of clear disappointments.

When Juventus signed Matthijs de Ligt in 2019, it looked like a major coup. The Dutch defender had been one of the standout figures in Ajax’s remarkable run to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals that year, while also helping the club secure a league and cup double. He achieved all of that as captain at only 19 years of age.

However, the youngster never quite reproduced that level in Italy, even though he did win a Scudetto and Coppa Italia during his time there. The Old Lady recovered most of the £77 million fee they had paid by selling him to Bayern Munich in 2022, but he was similarly underwhelming in Germany.

Just two years later, De Ligt was transferred again for another sizeable fee to Manchester United, where he has somewhat revived his career, although injuries have restricted his game time.

Jude Bellingham has been seen as a prodigy ever since breaking through as a 16-year-old at Birmingham. He always looked destined for the top, and in 2020 he joined Borussia Dortmund for £25 million.

After three excellent seasons in the Bundesliga, Bellingham was sold to Real Madrid for £88.5 million, a figure that could rise to £115 million with add-ons, just a couple of weeks before his 20th birthday.

It has proved to be a superb signing for Los Blancos. The England international made an instant impression, scoring 14 goals in his first 15 matches and beating the previous jointly held record of 13 set by Cristiano Ronaldo, Alfredo di Stefano and Pruden.

Real won the La Liga and UEFA Champions League double in his first season at the club, although they have not won either trophy since then. Even so, very few would back against Bellingham leading the Spanish giants to more success in the near future.

Only time will tell whether Yan Diomande proves to be worth the money, but there is little doubt that the winger is one of the most exciting young talents in football today.

The 19-year-old produced 13 goals and 10 assists in 36 appearances for RB Leipzig last season before catching the eye for Ivory Coast at this summer’s FIFA World Cup.

There is a reason Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain were all chasing him. Diomande will certainly be a player to keep an eye on this season.

When Atletico Madrid crossed the £100 million mark to sign 19-year-old Joao Felix from Benfica in 2019, it seemed they had secured the next major star. The Portuguese forward was a hugely exciting player with plenty of room to develop even further.

That is not how it unfolded. Felix showed flashes of brilliance without ever fully putting it all together, and after a few years it became obvious that he was not a natural fit for Diego Simeone’s style of play.

After loan spells at Chelsea, which started with a red card on his debut, and Barcelona, Atletico somehow persuaded Chelsea to sign him in a deal worth up to £46.3 million in 2024. He barely featured in his second spell at Stamford Bridge and spent the second half of that campaign on loan at AC Milan.

Felix is now 26 and plays alongside Cristiano Ronaldo for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia. A tremendous waste of potential.

In 2017, Paris Saint-Germain broke the world transfer record by signing Neymar from Barcelona for a staggering £200 million. Only a few weeks later, they brought in Kylian Mbappe from Ligue 1 rivals Monaco for almost £166 million.

It was one of the most astonishing transfer windows the game has ever seen. Neymar never fully lived up to the expectation surrounding his record move, but Mbappe justified every penny. The forward scored 235 goals in 264 appearances, while winning six league titles and four French cups.

Yet Mbappe and PSG were unable to get over the line in the UEFA Champions League, finishing as runners-up in 2020. Ironically, the club have gone on to win it twice in a row since he joined Real Madrid in 2024.