Liga MX doesn’t have the same international prestige as other leagues, but Mexico’s top-flight has slowly become a feeding ground for European soccer and other economically powerful leagues to bolster their ranks.
Over the past decade, a number of both national and international players that have shined in Liga MX have made the jump to Europe, returning exorbitant amounts of money as they depart.
Pachuca, thanks to their renowned academy, and Club América, backed by their historic tradition of fostering the best talent in Mexico, are the two clubs with the highest number of international exports that have merited large transfer fees. However, more clubs are slowly following in their footsteps.
This week, former Monterrey star Nelson Deossa became the latest Liga MX export. Following a breakout performance in the 2025 Club World Cup, Deossa will join Real Betis in La Liga for a fee worth up to $16 million.
Deossa now enters the top five of most expensive outgoing Liga MX transfers of all time. Since the beginning of the 2010s, as transfer fees worldwide increased exponentially, Mexico’s top-flight is no excuse.
Here are the top 10 most expensive outgoing transfers of all time in Liga MX.
The Top 10 Most Expensive Outgoing Transfers in Liga MX History
*Transfer fees include add-ons. All transfer fees according to Apuntes de Rabona.
Maximiliano Araújo impressed with Uruguay during the 2024 Copa América and caught the attention of Portuguese powerhouse Sporting CP. The club, then managed by Ruben Amorim, lured Araújo away from Toluca for a fee worth $20 million, making him the most expensive outgoing Liga MX transfer ever.
As previously mentioned, Club América have been stellar when it comes to selling players overseas, occupying five of the 10 spots on the list. Las Águilas cashed-in on current Mexico national team captain Edson Álvarez in 2019 when he made his maiden move to Europe to join Ajax in the second most lucrative departure from Mexico’s top-flight.
Diego Lainéz followed suit only weeks later and joined Real Betis. Both Lainez and Álvarez followed on the footsteps of fellow América academy graduate Raul Jiménez. The now long-time Premier League striker’s first adventure in Europe came in 2014, when he left América for Atlético Madrid.
América are also the only team with players on the list that left Liga MX for somewhere other than Europe. Last summer, after conquering back-to-back Liga MX titles, Julián Quiñones joined Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in Saudi Pro League side Al Qadasiya. Similarly, Christian Benítez left Las Águilas after a title-winning season in 2013, joining the now extinct Qatari outfit El Jaish SC. However, the former Ecuador international played only one game in Qatar before he suddenly and tragically passed away.
Enner Valencia completes the podium behind Araújo and Álvarez. Pachuca sold him to West Ham United in 2014 following a Liga MX Golden Boot season and a brilliant 2014 FIFA World Cup with Ecuador.
Pachuca academy graduates Hirving Lozano and Héctor Herrera complete the top 10. Both players left Los Tuzos as youngsters in the mid 2010s and went on to lift league titles in multiple European leagues.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Top 10 Most Expensive Outgoing Transfers in Liga MX History.
