| 1 |  Pape Gueye | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Senegal France | Villarreal CF | 1999 | €15.0m |
| 2 |  Anton Stach | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Germany | Leeds United | 1998 | €14.0m |
| 3 |  Richard Ríos | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Colombia | SL Benfica | 2000 | €16.0m |
| 4 |  Mohamed Camara | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Mali | Al-Sadd SC | 2000 | €14.0m |
| 5 |  Flynn Downes | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | England | Southampton FC | 1999 | €13.0m |
| 6 |  Tyler Adams | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | United States | AFC Bournemouth | 1999 | €18.0m |
| 7 |  Boubakary Soumaré | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | France Senegal | Leicester City | 1999 | €12.0m |
| 8 |  Jens Cajuste | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Sweden United States | Ipswich Town | 1999 | €12.0m |
| 9 |  İsmail Yüksek | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Türkiye | Fenerbahce | 1999 | €11.0m |
| 10 |  Batista Mendy | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | France Guinea-Bissau | Sevilla FC | 2000 | €10.0m |
| 11 |  Peer Koopmeiners | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Netherlands | AZ Alkmaar | 2000 | €10.0m |
| 12 |  Patrick Osterhage | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Germany | SC Freiburg | 2000 | €10.0m |
| 13 |  Emiliano Martínez | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Uruguay Italy | Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras | 1999 | €9.0m |
| 14 |  Senne Lynen | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Belgium | SV Werder Bremen | 1999 | €9.0m |
| 15 |  Pepelu | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Spain | Valencia CF | 1998 | €9.0m |
| 16 |  Aleksandr Chernikov | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Russia | FC Krasnodar | 2000 | €8.0m |
| 17 |  Danil Glebov | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Russia | Dynamo Moscow | 1999 | €8.0m |
| 18 |  Florentino | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Portugal Angola | Burnley FC | 1999 | €22.0m |
| 19 |  Érik Lira | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Mexico | CD Cruz Azul | 2000 | €8.0m |
| 20 |  Daniel Boloca | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Italy Romania | US Sassuolo | 1998 | €7.5m |
| 21 |  Caio Alexandre | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | Esporte Clube Bahia | 1999 | €7.0m |
| 22 |  Charles Vanhoutte | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Belgium | OGC Nice | 1998 | €6.0m |
| 23 |  Salis Abdul Samed | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Ghana Cote d'Ivoire | OGC Nice | 2000 | €5.5m |
| 24 |  Mats Wieffer | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Netherlands | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1999 | €25.0m |
| 25 |  Ilia Gruev | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Bulgaria Germany | Leeds United | 2000 | €5.0m |
| 26 |  Doğucan Haspolat | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Türkiye Netherlands | KVC Westerlo | 2000 | €5.0m |
| 27 |  Giorgi Kochorashvili | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Georgia | Sporting CP | 1999 | €5.0m |
| 28 |  Fausto Vera | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Argentina | Clube Atlético Mineiro | 2000 | €5.0m |
| 29 |  Cheick Doucouré | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Mali | Crystal Palace | 2000 | €25.0m |
| 30 |  Youssouf Fofana | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | France Mali | AC Milan | 1999 | €30.0m |