The top 5 most expensive rugby transfers of all time after Cheslin Kolbe move

Toulon have reportedly shelled out €1.8million (£1.5m) to sign Kolbe, who still had two years remaining on his previous deal.

"This is a new chapter in my career that I am approaching with great passion and commitment," Kolbe, a 2019 World Cup winner, was quoted as saying in a club statement.

"I look forward to contributing to helping my new team mates win trophies, building on the incredible history and tradition of this iconic club."

Here are the five previous biggest transfer fees paid.

The centre, who has been called up for the Six Nations by Scotland, was in his second year of a five-year contract at Sale Sharks but had struggled for game time in 2020. It was revealed that Bath have paid a six-figure transfer fee to release Redpath from his contract after unsuccessful negotiations with the player to keep him at the club.

The Times claim that Leicester shelled out half a million pounds to make sure he rejoined the club from Bath in 2017, a record transfer fee for a player moving between English clubs.

There were no details in the Bath statement of the financial deal that was made to bring Burgess back to England, but the Rabbitohs reportedly were offered a £500,000 transfer fee by the Aviva Premiership side to release the player from his contract.

In 1997, the ambitious Falcons signed the powerhouse from Wigan in a deal worth £1m ahead of the first professional Premiership season. Long story short, alongside the likes of Pat Lam and Jonny Wilkinson, Tuigamala starred as Newcastle won the title.

The France number 8 left Northampton to join Montpellier after just one season at Franklin’s Gardens for a record transfer fee worth at least £1.3m, the Guardian reported in 2017. The 31-year-old was under increasing pressure to return to the Top 14 with the French federation (FFR) seeking to tie its leading internationals down to central contracts.