30 Years Of Soccer Transfers: Boy, That Escalated Quickly

Assuming the deal goes through, which at the time of writing looks highly likely, soccer club Paris Saint Germain are set to smash the world transfer fee record, buying Neymar Jr. from FC Barcelona for a stupendously expensive €222 million (£198m, $250m). The previous record, set last season when Manchester United bought midfielder Paul Pogba from Juventus, was an already astronomical €105 million.

How can a deal like this come about? The answer is release clauses. It is reasonably common practice for players, not just the elite, to have a clause in their contract which would force the club to sell if triggered. Neymar's is €222 million. While this is an obscene amount of money, it is by no means the highest release clause. Real Madrid and Portugal megastar Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly has a clause in his contract set at €1 billion.