| 1 |  Urko González de Zárate | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Spain | RCD Espanyol Barcelona | 2001 | €5.0m |
| 2 |  Doğucan Haspolat | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Türkiye Netherlands | KVC Westerlo | 2000 | €5.0m |
| 3 |  Giorgi Kochorashvili | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Georgia | Sporting CP | 1999 | €5.0m |
| 4 |  Mirko Topić | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Serbia Bosnia-Herzegovina | Norwich City | 2001 | €5.0m |
| 5 |  Ilia Gruev | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Bulgaria Germany | Leeds United | 2000 | €5.0m |
| 6 |  Salis Abdul Samed | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Ghana Cote d'Ivoire | OGC Nice | 2000 | €5.5m |
| 7 |  Wouter Burger | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Netherlands | TSG 1899 Hoffenheim | 2001 | €4.5m |
| 8 |  Patrick de Paula | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | GD Estoril Praia | 1999 | €4.0m |
| 9 |  Nail Umyarov | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Russia | Spartak Moscow | 2000 | €4.0m |
| 10 |  Mory Gbane | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Cote d'Ivoire | Stade Reims | 2000 | €4.0m |
| 11 |  Yannik Engelhardt | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Germany | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 2001 | €6.0m |
| 12 |  Nicolás Acevedo | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Uruguay | Esporte Clube Bahia | 1999 | €4.0m |
| 13 |  Rômulo | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | Tigres UANL | 2000 | €4.0m |
| 14 |  Bartosz Slisz | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Poland | Atlanta United FC | 1999 | €4.0m |
| 15 |  Rodrigo Villagra | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Argentina | CSKA Moscow | 2001 | €4.0m |
| 16 |  Mohamed Belhadj Mahmoud | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Tunisia | FC Lugano | 2000 | €4.0m |
| 17 |  Edwin Cerrillo | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | United States Mexico | Los Angeles Galaxy | 2000 | €3.5m |
| 18 |  Jordan Holsgrove | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Scotland England | GD Estoril Praia | 1999 | €3.5m |
| 19 |  Kristijan Belic | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Serbia Belgium | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 2001 | €3.5m |
| 20 |  Yannik Keitel | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Germany | VfB Stuttgart | 2000 | €3.5m |
| 21 |  James Sands | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | United States | FC St. Pauli | 2000 | €3.0m |
| 22 |  Leon Flach | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | United States Germany | Jagiellonia Bialystok | 2001 | €3.0m |
| 23 |  Claudio Gomes | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | France Guinea-Bissau | Palermo FC | 2000 | €2.8m |
| 24 |  Kartal Yılmaz | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Türkiye | Besiktas JK | 2000 | €2.6m |
| 25 |  Adriano Firmino | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | CD Santa Clara | 1999 | €2.5m |
| 26 |  Dani Silva | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Portugal | FC Midtjylland | 2000 | €2.5m |
| 27 |  Emil Kornvig | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Denmark | SK Brann | 2000 | €2.5m |
| 28 |  Njegos Petrovic | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Serbia | FK Vojvodina Novi Sad | 1999 | €2.5m |
| 29 |  Zanocelo | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | Ceará Sporting Club | 2001 | €2.5m |
| 30 |  Hugo Guillamón | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Spain | HNK Hajduk Split | 2000 | €2.5m |