Aston Villa’s most expensive sales of all time

Aston Villa are on the rise under Unai Emery, with NSWE backing the manager in the transfer market. However, the club have also cashed in on a number of Villa Park stars down the years – but who is the club’s record departure?

Here is a detailed look at Villa’s most expensive sales in their history, with an in-depth view of the top 10.

Here’s a detailed look at Aston Villa’s top 10 sales…

10

Jaden Philogene

£20m to Ipswich, 2025

Jaden Philogene swapped Villa Park for Portman Road in January 2025, looking to help keep Ipswich Town in the Premier League.

The Villa academy graduate had loan spells at Stoke City, Cardiff City, and Hull City in the Championship before the club cashed in.

9

Carney Chukwuemeka

£20m to Chelsea, 2022

Young midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka starred for a brief period of time in the Aston Villa first team after coming through the academy.

Chukwuemeka’s impressive performances caught the eye of Chelsea, who added the midfielder to their growing list of young signings in 2022 for £20m. However, he has already been linked with an exit without making his mark at Stamford Bridge.

8

Stewart Downing

£20m to Liverpool, 2011

Stewart Downing was Martin O’Neill’s first signing of the 2009 transfer window and his time at Aston Villa was short and sweet. After two seasons, Liverpool and Kenny Dalglish took Downing to Anfield and the left-winger would spend two years with the Reds.

The Anfield side spent a reported £20m to bring the England international to Merseyside, though the fee has officially remained undisclosed.

7

James Milner

£26m to Man City, 2010

Premier League icon James Milner initially joined Aston Villa on loan in 2005 as part of Newcastle’s deal to re-sign Nolberto Solano.

Milner would go on to impress at Villa Park and signed on a permanent basis three years later in 2008, making a total of 126 appearances before signing for Man City in a £26m deal in 2010, from which point he continued to carve out a successful top-flight career.

6

Christian Benteke

£32.5m to Liverpool, 2015

Powerful striker Christian Benteke first made his mark in England with Aston Villa after arriving from Genk in 2012, and the Villans would make a huge profit on the Belgian three years later.

It was again Liverpool who came calling and paid an eye-catching £32.5m fee for the forward, though his transfer to Anfield didn’t work out, and he was on the move again 12 months later.

5

Douglas Luiz

£42.35m to Juventus, 2024

More recently, central midfielder Douglas Luiz was sold by Aston Villa to Juventus in 2024 after spending five successful years with the club.

A transfer was reportedly worth €50m (£42.35m), with Villa soon taking Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea to the Midlands in return. Amadou Onana has since become his successor at Villa Park.

4

Moussa Diaby

£50m to Al-Ittihad, 2024

Another big-money exit in 2024 to help balance the FFP books was Moussa Diaby, who moved to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad for around £50m.

The France international only spent one campaign in England, but his displays were enough for Villa to more or less break even on the fee they paid Bayer Leverkusen a year earlier.

3

Jhon Duran

£64m to Al-Nassr, 2025

Jhon Duran was going from strength to strength at Villa Park when the surprise decision was made to sell the Colombia international to Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr in January 2025.

The forward cost Villa just £18m, so a £64m exit represented a huge profit and the chance for Duran to go and play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

2

Jack Grealish

£100m to Man City, 2021

Before 2026, Aston Villa’s most expensive sale was Jack Grealish, whose £100m move to Manchester City in 2021 was a British record at the time.

The attacking midfielder dazzled in claret and blue in the Championship and the Premier League and departed Villa after making more than 200 games for his boyhood club. His deal as the most expensive between British clubs has since been eclipsed by the likes of Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo.

1

Morgan Rogers

£117m to Chelsea, 2026

In the summer of 2026 Aston Villa had no real desire to sell their talisman Morgan Rogers but when Chelsea came calling with an offer of £117m, it was simply impossible to reject.

Arsenal wanted him too but they were ultimately not forthcoming with the funds. Rogers left Villa Park behind having won the Europa League. He scored 31 goals in 125 matches for the Midlands side, as well as producing 29 assists.