| 1 |  Fábio Carvalho | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Portugal England | Brentford FC | 2002 | €14.0m |
| 2 |  Sem Steijn | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Netherlands | Feyenoord Rotterdam | 2001 | €16.0m |
| 3 |  Lazar Samardžić | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Serbia Germany | Atalanta BC | 2002 | €17.0m |
| 4 |  Lucas Beltrán | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Argentina Italy | Valencia CF | 2001 | €18.0m |
| 5 |  Gabri Veiga | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Spain | FC Porto | 2002 | €18.0m |
| 6 |  Mauricio | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Brazil Paraguay | Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras | 2001 | €12.0m |
| 7 |  Merlin Röhl | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Germany | Everton FC | 2002 | €12.0m |
| 8 |  Albert Grønbæk | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Denmark | Genoa CFC | 2001 | €11.0m |
| 9 |  Toni Fruk | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Croatia | HNK Rijeka | 2001 | €10.0m |
| 10 |  Daniel Maldini | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Italy Venezuela | Atalanta BC | 2001 | €10.0m |
| 11 |  Pavel Sulc | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Czech Republic | Olympique Lyon | 2000 | €10.0m |
| 12 |  Yuito Suzuki | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Japan | SC Freiburg | 2001 | €10.0m |
| 13 |  Ernest Muci | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Albania | Trabzonspor | 2001 | €10.0m |
| 14 |  James McAtee | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | England | Nottingham Forest | 2002 | €20.0m |
| 15 |  Jhon Jhon | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Brazil | Red Bull Bragantino | 2002 | €9.0m |
| 16 |  Sergio Arribas | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Spain | UD Almería | 2001 | €8.0m |
| 17 |  Fisayo Dele-Bashiru | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Nigeria England | SS Lazio | 2001 | €7.5m |
| 18 |  Mateusz Bogusz | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Poland | CD Cruz Azul | 2001 | €7.5m |
| 19 |  Giovanni Reyna | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | United States Portugal | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 2002 | €7.0m |
| 20 |  Anis Mehmeti | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Albania England | Bristol City | 2001 | €7.0m |
| 21 |  Niko Jankovic | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Croatia | HNK Rijeka | 2001 | €6.5m |
| 22 |  Gaetano Oristanio | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Italy | Parma Calcio 1913 | 2002 | €6.0m |
| 23 |  Tino Anjorin | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | England Nigeria | Torino FC | 2001 | €6.0m |
| 24 |  Fabian Rieder | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Switzerland | FC Augsburg | 2002 | €6.0m |
| 25 |  Tomas Suslov | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Slovakia | Hellas Verona | 2002 | €6.0m |
| 26 |  David Da Costa | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Portugal France | Portland Timbers | 2001 | €6.0m |
| 27 |  Paul Nebel | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Germany Ireland | 1.FSV Mainz 05 | 2002 | €24.0m |
| 28 |  Yari Verschaeren | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Belgium | RSC Anderlecht | 2001 | €5.0m |
| 29 |  Pedro Vite | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | Ecuador | UNAM Pumas | 2002 | €5.0m |
| 30 |  Sam Greenwood | Midfield - Attacking Midfield | England | Pogon Szczecin | 2002 | €4.5m |