Much has changed since Willie Groves made the switch from West Bromwich Albion to Aston Villa in 1893 for just £100. Trevor Francis became the first million pound footballer when he moved from Birmingham to Nottingham Forest in 1979, whilst Alan Shearer broke the world transfer fee record in 1996, following his move to Newcastle from Blackburn for £15 million. Let’s have a look at some of the most expensive transfers of all time.
Paul Pogba
Juventus -> Manchester United, £89 million
Pogba re-signed for United this summer for a world record fee, 4 years after departing Old Trafford for a measly £800,000. Since then, he’s won 4 Serie A titles with the Old Lady and has become a global superstar. Still only 23, he’ll plug the midfield hole that Paul Scholes vacated and could be a United talisman for the next decade.
Gareth Bale
Tottenham -> Real Madrid, £86 million
Bale’s transfer fee to Real Madrid in 2013 is the most expensive for a British player and it has been debated heavily. He’s scored crucial goals in the Copa Del Rey and Champions League finals and has scored 47 goals in 81 appearances so far.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Manchester United -> Real Madrid, £80 million
A long running transfer saga came to an end in 2009, when Ronaldo finally made the move to Real Madrid. He left Old Trafford as one of the best footballers in the world and has only gone and enhanced his reputation. He’s won three Ballons d’Or and became Real Madrid’s all-time top goalscorer in 2015.
Luis Suárez
Liverpool -> Barcelona, £75 million
Another long running transfer saga, this one lasted over a year before Suárez departed Anfield. In Suárez’ final season for the Reds, he was their top scorer and almost guided them to a long awaited Premier League title victory. He signed for Barcelona in 2014; however he missed the first four months of the season after biting Giorgio Chiellini in a World Cup match.
Neymar
Santos -> Barcelona, £71.5 million
The Brazilian was a superstar before even leaving his homeland to sign for Barcelona in 2013. Controversy surrounding his transfer fee followed him, but it was eventually announced that he moved for £71.5 million. 56,500 fans turned out for his presentation at the Camp Nou, a record turnout for a Brazilian player.
James Rodriguez
Monaco -> Real Madrid, £63 million
After an outstanding World Cup in 2014, the Colombian became the latest Galactico and moved to Real Madrid. Despite his fee, he’s struggled to hold down a first team spot at the Bernabeu and it’s rumoured that he could be moving on in the near future.
Angel Di Maria
Real Madrid -> Manchester United, £59.7 million
Di Maria broke the British transfer fee in 2014 after signing for Manchester United. The Argentine struggled in the Premier League, and a series of personal problems combined with Louis Van Gaal’s abrasiveness saw him depart for Paris after just one year.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Inter Milan -> Barcelona, £59 million + Samuel Eto’o
Ibrahimovic’s transfer to the Camp Nou in 2009 saw Samuel Eto’o move in the opposite direction. Zlatan finished the season with 16 league goals, but a poor relationship with Lionel Messi and a breakdown in communication with manager Pep Guardiola saw the Swede depart after just one season.
Enjoying the west coast #itsnotaboutthegear #azsportswear
A photo posted by IAmZlatan (@iamzlatanibrahimovic) on
Kaká
AC Milan -> Real Madrid, £56 million
Kaká moved to the Bernabeu in the same summer as Ronaldo, but injuries halted his progress at Real Madrid. He returned to Milan in 2013 on a free transfer, having failed to replicate the form that saw him win the Ballon d’Or.
Edinson Cavani
Napoli -> PSG, £55 million
Cavani broke the French transfer fee record in 2013 after moving to PSG. He’s had to play second fiddle to Ibrahimovic for his entire time there and rumours persist that he could still move on. He has scored 53 goals in 97 appearances for the Parisians.
Kevin De Bruyne
Wolfsburg -> Manchester City, £54 million
Jose Mourinho didn’t take to De Bruyne whilst Chelsea manager, eventually selling the Belgian to Wolfsburg. He returned to the Premier League and signed for Manchester City for £55 million in 2015. He has become a key player for the Citizens and they struggled whilst he was injured.
Falcao
Atletico Madrid -> Monaco, £51 million
After four years of doing nothing but scoring goals for Porto and Atletico Madrid, Falcao moved to Monaco in 2013. It’s believed that his third-party ownership had more influence in the move than he did, but he went on to score 11 goals in 20 games. A cruciate injury caused him to miss the 2014 World Cup and he’s never returned to the player that he once was.
Fernando Torres
Liverpool -> Chelsea, £50 million
A crazy day in the 2011 January transfer window saw Liverpool sign Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez, whilst Chelsea signed Fernando Torres. He was a prolific goalscorer at Liverpool, but had a disappointing 2010 World Cup. He struggled at Chelsea, but did score the winning goal in the Champions League semi-final, which saw Gary Neville have a moment in the commentary box.
David Luiz
Chelsea -> PSG, £50 million
Chelsea fans were laughing when Luiz departed for a ridiculous fee considering some of his defensive performances. He did however go on to knock them out of the Champions League a year later. A fantastic footballer, but yet to find a position on the pitch that suits his ability.
Raheem Sterling
Liverpool -> Manchester City, £49 million
Liverpool’s reluctance to meet Sterling’s salary demands saw the youngster depart Anfield in 2015 in one of the uglier transfer sagas of recent times. Manchester City were willing to pay his salary though, but he hasn’t reflected his transfer value and is now one of England’s most hated footballers.
Zinedine Zidane
Juventus -> Real Madrid, £46 million
In a throwback to a previous era of football, Zidane signed for a then world record fee of £45 million in 2001. He scored the winning goal in the 2002 Champions League final and will go down as one of the greatest footballers of all time.
Hulk
Zenit -> Shanghai SIPG, £45 million
Chinese teams have spent millions on players in 2016, but Hulk’s £44 million fee is the highest out of all of them. What they’ll get from him is yet to be determined, but his fee is ridiculous for a player who hasn’t performed in any of Europe’s major leagues.
Angel Di Maria
Manchester United -> PSG, £44 million
An outstanding piece of business from Louis Van Gaal and Ed Woodward saw Di Maria leave Old Trafford for £15 million less than they paid for him in 2015. He has since returned to his best and formed an outstanding partnership with Zlatan Ibrahimovic last season.
Mesut Özil
Real Madrid -> Arsenal, £42.4 million
After years of austerity caused by a new stadium, Arsene Wenger finally splashed the cash in 2013 signing Mesut Özil. The transfer makes him the most expensive German player of all time and his departure did not go down well in Madrid, where Ronaldo was notably upset after he left.
James Rodriguez
Porto -> Monaco, £38.5 million
James arrived in Monaco at the same time as Falcao, but arguably had a better season than his Colombian colleague. Although he didn’t win a trophy in his single season in Ligue 1, he led the league in assists and was named in the team of the year.
Hulk
Porto -> Zenit, £38.5 million
Hulk signed for Zenit in 2012 in a period where Russian clubs were flexing their financial muscle. Is it a coincidence that he’s now moved to another league where clubs are throwing huge amounts of money around?
Hernan Crespo
Parma -> Lazio, £38.5 million
Another player to break a then-world record transfer fee, Crespo moved to Lazio in 2000 in a move which saw Matias Almeyda and Sergio Conceicao move in the opposite direction. He scored an impressive 39 goals in 54 appearances before financial constraints saw him move to Inter Milan in 2002.
Sergio Agüero
Atletico Madrid -> Manchester City, £38 million
In the world of modern transfer fees, this one is an absolute bargain. Agüero moved to Manchester City in 2011 and has scored 102 goals in 150 appearances. Without injuries, he’d be ranked as highly as Lionel Messi and Ronaldo. Unlike many players, he doesn’t cause hassle and just gets on and plays the game.
Juan Mata
Chelsea -> Manchester United, £37.1 million
Mata was a record signing for Manchester United when he arrived and is just as popular at Old Trafford as he was at Chelsea. Jose Mourinho didn’t like him at Chelsea, and now that he’s United manager, Mata could be facing another exit.
Luis Figo
Barcelona -> Real Madrid, £37 million
Figo’s move to Real Madrid in 2000 is one of the most controversial in history. He was the first Galactico signed by Fiorentino Perez and was welcomed by a pig’s head on his return to the Camp Nou.
Words by @DominicTrant
