Aston Villa have signed France winger Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen.
Villa's previous club record was £33m for Argentina midfielder Emiliano Buendia from Norwich in June 2021.
"I will always look back happily and gratefully on my time in Leverkusen," said Diaby. "Now I want to take the next step, start a new chapter."
Diaby joined Leverkusen from Paris St-Germain in 2019 and went on to register 49 goals and 48 assists from 173 games for the German Bundesliga club.
He has 10 caps for France after making his international debut in 2021 and is Villa's third summer signing after Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans from relegated Leicester City and Spain centre-back Pau Torres from Villarreal.