| 1 |  Jon Gorrotxategi | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Spain | Real Sociedad | 2002 | €3.0m |
| 2 |  James Sands | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | United States | FC St. Pauli | 2000 | €3.0m |
| 3 |  Billy Mitchell | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | England | Millwall FC | 2001 | €3.0m |
| 4 |  Dirk Proper | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Netherlands | NEC Nijmegen | 2002 | €3.0m |
| 5 |  Claudio Gomes | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | France Guinea-Bissau | Palermo FC | 2000 | €2.8m |
| 6 |  Kartal Yılmaz | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Türkiye | Besiktas JK | 2000 | €2.6m |
| 7 |  Tim Breithaupt | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Germany | Fortuna Düsseldorf | 2002 | €2.5m |
| 8 |  Zanocelo | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | Ceará Sporting Club | 2001 | €2.5m |
| 9 |  Franco Ibarra | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Argentina | CA Rosario Central | 2001 | €3.5m |
| 10 |  Emil Kornvig | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Denmark | SK Brann | 2000 | €2.5m |
| 11 |  César Araújo | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Uruguay | Orlando City SC | 2001 | €3.5m |
| 12 |  Mykola Mykhaylenko | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Ukraine | Dynamo Kyiv | 2001 | €2.5m |
| 13 |  Dani Silva | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Portugal | FC Midtjylland | 2000 | €2.5m |
| 14 |  Markus Solbakken | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Norway | Aarhus GF | 2000 | €2.5m |
| 15 |  Josh Atencio | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | United States Mexico | Colorado Rapids | 2002 | €2.5m |
| 16 |  Jadsom | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | Al-Wahda FC | 2001 | €3.5m |
| 17 |  Kristijan Belic | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Serbia Belgium | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 2001 | €3.5m |
| 18 |  Edwin Cerrillo | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | United States Mexico | Los Angeles Galaxy | 2000 | €3.5m |
| 19 |  Federico Navarro | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Argentina | CA Rosario Central | 2000 | €2.3m |
| 20 |  Adam Randell | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | England | Bristol City | 2000 | €2.2m |
| 21 |  Mory Gbane | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Cote d'Ivoire | Stade Reims | 2000 | €4.0m |
| 22 |  Rodrigo Herrera | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Argentina | Club Atlético Platense | 2000 | €2.0m |
| 23 |  Rassoul Ndiaye | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Senegal France | Le Havre AC | 2001 | €2.0m |
| 24 |  Juan Sforza | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Argentina Italy | Esporte Clube Juventude | 2002 | €2.0m |
| 25 |  Rodrigo Villagra | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Argentina | CSKA Moscow | 2001 | €4.0m |
| 26 |  Nail Umyarov | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Russia | Spartak Moscow | 2000 | €4.0m |
| 27 |  Marco Pompetti | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Italy | US Catanzaro | 2000 | €2.0m |
| 28 |  Marko Bulat | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Croatia | Raków Częstochowa | 2001 | €2.0m |
| 29 |  Enric Llansana | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Netherlands Spain | RSC Anderlecht | 2001 | €4.0m |
| 30 |  Mohamed Belhadj Mahmoud | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Tunisia | FC Lugano | 2000 | €4.0m |