As the season edges towards what promises to be a thrilling conclusion, thoughts have already turned to whom clubs could sign this summer.
One of the hottest properties in world football is Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala, and he has been linked with Liverpool and Manchester City.
The German international has starred in the Bundesliga in recent years but could be on his way back to England having come through Chelsea’s academy as a youngster.
Should the £80m-rated forward get a move this summer, Chelsea could be in for a mega-money windfall, as Mail Sport understands Chelsea included a sell-on fee of 20 per cent when he joined Bayern in 2019.
But what are the biggest sell-on clauses in football? Mail Sport has picked out 10 of the most lucrative sell-on clauses ahead of Musiala’s potential transfer in the coming months.
Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala has been linked with a move to Liverpool and Manchester City
Todd Boehly’s Chelsea may be set for a huge windfall if Musiala moves due to his sell-on clause
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Ollie Watkins – Brentford to Aston Villa, £28m
Sell-on clause: Exeter City earned £4m
Villa snapped up Watkins for £28m in 2020 after he netted 25 goals in the Championship for Brentford, only for the Bees to narrowly miss out on promotion.
It was a sizeable fee for a player who had never played in the Premier League and was also good news for Exeter City.
Watkins played for Exeter’s youth teams before moving to Brentford as a 21-year-old in 2017, but not before his boyhood club had inserted a sell-on clause in the region of 15 per cent.
This clever move ensured Exeter pocketed £4m of the £28m that Brentford received when he switched St James Park for Villa Park.
Watkins has gone on to win nine caps for England, and is currently enjoying his best-ever goalscoring season in the top flight, having netted 16 times for Unai Emery’s men as they chase a top-four finish.
Ollie Watkins is thriving at Aston Villa – and he earned Exeter City £4million back in 2020
Jude Bellingham – Dortmund to Real Madrid, £88.5m
Sell-on clause: Birmingham City earned £4.4m
Birmingham were mocked when they retired Bellingham’s No22 shirt following his move to Borussia Dortmund in 2020.
It appeared a bizarre decision for a player who only played 44 times for the club, but no one is laughing now.
Bellingham, still only 20, has gone on to become a superstar, and was picked up by Real Madrid for an initial £88.5m last summer. Birmingham smartly inserted a five per cent sell-on clause when he departed St Andrew’s, meaning they got £4.4m of this fee. They also received £25m from Dortmund when he left England to join the Bundesliga giants.
The hefty-price tag may have weighed heavily on the shoulders of some, but Bellingham has taken it in his stride by scoring 20 goals in his first season at Madrid.
He looks set to be a key figure for England this summer as they bid to end their 58-year wait for silverware at Euro 2024.
England superstar Jude Bellingham earned Birmingham City £4.4m, plus the £25m they received from Borussia Dortmund when they sold him to the German club four years ago
Cesc Fabregas – Barcelona to Chelsea, £30m
Sell-on clause: Arsenal earned £5m
Fabregas returned to Barcelona after spending seven years at Arsenal in 2011.
He then risked his popularity at the Emirates Stadium by moving to London rivals Chelsea three years later for £30m. Many fans weren’t happy with Fabregas for choosing to join Chelsea, but at least Arsenal got some money out of the deal due to inserting a sell-on clause.
They took home £5m thanks to the clause, while Fabregas had a successful five-year stay at Stamford Bridge.
He won five major honours with the Blues, including two Premier League titles, before leaving for Monaco in 2019.
Fabregas is now an assistant manager at Serie B club Como, having taken caretaker charge of the club briefly at the end of last year.
Cesc Fabregas, who won two titles at Chelsea, also earned Arsenal £5m with his sell-on clause
Adam Lallana – Southampton to Liverpool, £25m
Sell-on clause: Bournemouth earned £6.25m
Lallana moved across the south coast as a 12-year-old, but Bournemouth already had a suspicion that he would go on to bigger and better things, and inserted a 25 per cent sell-on clause.
The creative midfielder went on to star for Southampton, and after helping the Saints earn promotion and then breaking into the England squad, Liverpool made their move.
The Reds paid £25m for Lallana in 2014, and Bournemouth got £6.25m of that fee.
He spent six years at Anfield, winning the Champions League and Premier League before joining Brighton in 2020.
Lallana is still going strong at the age of 35, although his contract at the Amex Stadium is due to expire this summer.
Premier League winner Adam Lallana (above) started at Bournemouth before starring for Southampton and Liverpool, and he earned the Cherries £6.25m when he moved to Anfield
David Bentley – Blackburn to Tottenham, £17m
Sell-on clause: Arsenal earned £7m
Bentley emerged as one of the biggest prospects in the country in the mid 2000s after shining at Blackburn, and Tottenham came calling in 2008 as they stumped up £17m for him.
This inadvertently helped out their bitter rivals, Arsenal, as the Gunners put in a sell-on clause before letting him move to Blackburn in 2006.
It was a significant sell-on clause as well, and they earned £7m from his move to Spurs.
But within his first year, Bentley had come back to haunt Arsenal as he scored a stunning dipping volley in a pulsating north London derby that finished 4-4.
Bentley’s career failed to kick on from there, though, and he retired in 2013 at the age of 28.
David Bentley joined Spurs for £17m in 2008, and Arsenal bagged £7m due to his sell-on clause
Bentley came back to haunt Arsenal as he scored aa stunning volley against them in a 4-4 draw
John Stones – Everton to Man City – £47.5m
Sell-on clause: Barnsley earned £7.1m
Stones joined his hometown club Barnsley as a child, but always looked destined to play at the highest level and was picked up by Everton as a teenager in 2013.
Having impressed at Goodison Park for three years, Manchester City forked out £47.5m for the centre back in 2016.
It was a big fee for a player who still had a lot to prove, but he has been worth every penny to City. The deal also worked out well for Barnsley due to their 15 per cent sell on clause, which meant they received £7.1m
Stones has won five league titles and the Champions League under Pep Guardiola, while also developing his game to enable to him to step into midfield and look right at home.
He has 69 caps for England, and will be one of the first names on Gareth Southgate’s teamsheet at Euro 2024 if he can stay fit.
John Stones has been a hit at Man City, and he earned his hometown club Barnsley over £7m
Michael Keane – Burnley to Everton, £30m
Sell-on clause: Manchester United earned £7.5m
Keane came through United’s academy but found his opportunities few and far between due to the variety of defensive options available at Old Trafford at the time.
He joined Burnley for around £2m in 2015, but United clearly rated him as they inserted a 25 per cent sell-on clause to ensure they were well placed to pick up a bigger fee further down the line.
It proved to be the right move as Everton went on to pay £30m for Keane in 2017 after he caught the eye at Turf Moor. United took £7.5m of that fee.
Keane has won 12 caps for England and scored in a 5-1 win against Montenegro in 2019, but has struggled for consistency in recent years.
He now finds himself as a squad player under Sean Dyche, with the Toffees boss preferring a centre back partnership of James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite.
Everton splashed out £30m for centre back Michael Keane (above) back in 2017, with Manchester United taking £7.5m of that transfer fee following his exit from Burnley
Raheem Sterling – Liverpool to Manchester City, £49m
Sell-on clause: QPR earned £7.8m
Sterling famously grew up just a stone’s throw away from Wembley, and he began his career in the capital at QPR.
But it wasn’t long before he got the call from Merseyside to move to Liverpool. QPR knew he was a special talent and made sure they had a 20 per cent sell-on clause.
Having come agonisingly close to winning the title in 2014, Sterling made the controversial switch to fellow title contenders City a year later for £49m, with £44m being paid up front plus £5m in add-ons.
This guaranteed QPR a lucrative fee of £7.8m. Sterling won four league titles at the Etihad Stadium before going back to London to join Chelsea in 2022.
He has 82 caps for England – scoring 20 goals – but currently finds himself out of Southgate’s plan with Euro 2024 just months away.
Man City spent £49m on Raheem Sterling, with £44m paid up front, and QPR received £7.8m
Kevin De Bruyne – Wolfsburg to Manchester City, £55m
Sell-on clause: Chelsea earned £10m
De Bruyne was not willing to wait for first team opportunities under Jose Mourinho and left Chelsea to join Wolfsburg in January 2014.
The Chelsea hierarchy may have rated him higher than Mourinho, as they put a sell-on clause in his contract that they believed could pay dividends in the future.
They only had to wait 18 months to be proved right as City parted ways with £55m to bring him back to England.
Chelsea netted £10m when Kevin De Bruyne joined Manchester City from Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg, and he’s gone on to become one of the best midfielders in Premier League history
Chelsea got £10m of this, although that may now feel like light change given what the Belgian superstar has gone on to accomplish.
De Bruyne is widely recognised as one of the best midfielders in Premier League history, and has lifted every major trophy available in his nine years at City.
Tino Livramento – Southampton to Newcastle, £32m
Sell-on clause: Chelsea earned £15m
Another deal that worked out very well for Chelsea.
Selling one of their brightest stars in Livramento to Southampton three years ago seemed a strange decision, but they did have a buy-back clause which gave them the first option to re-sign him for £50m.
They opted not to take this, but Livramento’s sell-on clause meant they earned £15m of the £32m Newcastle paid Southampton for the full back last year.
Tino Livramento joined Newcastle for £32m last summer, and Chelsea got £15m from that deal
Livramento suffered a serious knee injury just a couple of years ago, but has shown no ill-effects of that at Newcastle and has already won over the Geordie faithful.
The 21-year-old has taken his chances whenever they have been presented to him, and it seems only a matter of time before he jumps ahead of experienced duo Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn in the pecking order.