| 1 |  Richard Ríos | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Colombia | SL Benfica | 2000 | €16.0m |
| 2 |  Martinelli | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | Fluminense Football Club | 2001 | €14.0m |
| 3 |  Mohamed Camara | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Mali | Al-Sadd SC | 2000 | €14.0m |
| 4 |  Tomás Händel | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Portugal Austria | Red Star Belgrade | 2000 | €13.0m |
| 5 |  Santiago Hezze | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Argentina Poland | Olympiacos Piraeus | 2001 | €12.0m |
| 6 |  James Garner | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | England | Everton FC | 2001 | €18.0m |
| 7 |  Yacine Adli | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | France Algeria | Al-Shabab FC | 2000 | €11.0m |
| 8 |  Enzo Barrenechea | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Argentina | SL Benfica | 2001 | €10.0m |
| 9 |  Kaishu Sano | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Japan | 1.FSV Mainz 05 | 2000 | €20.0m |
| 10 |  Raphael Onyedika | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Nigeria | Club Brugge KV | 2001 | €20.0m |
| 11 |  Billy Gilmour | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Scotland | SSC Napoli | 2001 | €20.0m |
| 12 |  Manu Silva | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Portugal | SL Benfica | 2001 | €10.0m |
| 13 |  Batista Mendy | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | France Guinea-Bissau | Sevilla FC | 2000 | €10.0m |
| 14 |  Salvatore Esposito | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Italy | Spezia Calcio | 2000 | €10.0m |
| 15 |  Patrick Osterhage | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Germany | SC Freiburg | 2000 | €10.0m |
| 16 |  Peer Koopmeiners | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Netherlands | AZ Alkmaar | 2000 | €10.0m |
| 17 |  Antonio Blanco | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Spain | Deportivo Alavés | 2000 | €10.0m |
| 18 |  Oliver Skipp | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | England | Leicester City | 2000 | €10.0m |
| 19 |  Aleksandr Chernikov | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Russia | FC Krasnodar | 2000 | €8.0m |
| 20 |  Kevin Castaño | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Colombia | CA River Plate | 2000 | €8.0m |
| 21 |  Érik Lira | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Mexico | CD Cruz Azul | 2000 | €8.0m |
| 22 |  Joris Chotard | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | France | Stade Brestois 29 | 2001 | €6.0m |
| 23 |  Tanner Tessmann | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | United States | Olympique Lyon | 2001 | €6.0m |
| 24 |  Yannik Engelhardt | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Germany | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 2001 | €6.0m |
| 25 |  Salis Abdul Samed | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Ghana Cote d'Ivoire | OGC Nice | 2000 | €5.5m |
| 26 |  Doğucan Haspolat | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Türkiye Netherlands | KVC Westerlo | 2000 | €5.0m |
| 27 |  Fausto Vera | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Argentina | Clube Atlético Mineiro | 2000 | €5.0m |
| 28 |  Boubacar Traoré | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Mali | FC Metz | 2001 | €5.0m |
| 29 |  Mirko Topić | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Serbia Bosnia-Herzegovina | Norwich City | 2001 | €5.0m |
| 30 |  Urko González de Zárate | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Spain | RCD Espanyol Barcelona | 2001 | €5.0m |