1. Cristiano
Ronaldo - £80m Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2009
Not content with breaking the record
by signing Kaka, Real Madrid completely smashed the figure again by snapping up
Cristiano Ronaldo. That year, Barcelona were busy sweeping all before them,
winning an unprecedented six trophies (if you include some tin pot Super Cups),
so Real were desperate to make some waves of their own. Ronaldo has certainly
proved a success, but sadly for Madrid, so too has some fella named Messi at
Barca. What price Gareth Bale helping to upset the Messi/Neymar show?
2. Kaka - £59m AC Milan to Real Madrid in 2009
Continuing Real Madrid's recent
monopoly of the world record transfer fee, eight years on from Zidane's switch,
Kaka arrived at the Bernabeu. Like Zizou, Kaka was signed from Serie A, where
he had been exceptional for Milan, but unlike the Frenchman, he hasn't had much
success in Madrid.
3. Zinedine Zidane - £53m Juventus to Real Madrid in 2001
How do you follow a transfer coup
like Figo? Sign the best player in the world for a world record fee, then watch
him score one of the all-time great goals to win you the Champions League
final.
4. Luis Figo - £37m Barcelona to Real Madrid in 2000
Crespo's time as the world's most
expensive footballer didn't last long, with Figo's incredible move taking the
record soon after. Probably the most surprising transfer in the history of the
game, it was also extremely successful for Figo and Real, who went on to win
titles in 2001 and 2003, as well as the Champions League in 2002.
5. Hernan Crespo - £35.5m Parma to Lazio in 2000
Just a year after selling Vieri to
Inter, Lazio - who had been crowned Serie A champions in 2000 - splashed out a
world record fee on Argentine attacker Crespo. The only trophy he lifted in his
time at the club was the pre-season Italian Super Cup (above).
6. Christian Vieri - £32m Lazio to Internazionale in 1999
Italian striker Vieri changed clubs
for major fees on several occasions, most notably when Inter spent a world
record £32m to bring him to the San Siro. Vieri was prolific for the club, but
they struggled to challenge for the Serie A title in his six years there, only
lifting the Italian Cup in 2005.
7. Denilson - £21.5m Sao Paolo to Real Betis in 1998
The first player to be sold for a
fee in excess of £20m, Brazilian Denilson was a sensational signing by Spanish
club, but vastly overpriced. Despite spending seven years with the club, he
never lived up to his immense price tag and the club were relegated in 2000,
although Denilson helped them bounce back.
8. Ronaldo - £19.5m Barcelona to Internazionale in 1997
By 1997 Ronaldo had estabished
himself as the best player in world football, winning a cup double with
Barcelona and the Copa America with Brazil, and his reputation led to Italian
giants Inter spending a fortune to secure his signature. His first season ended
with UEFA Cup success, but a serious knee injury in 1999 interrupted his Serie
A career, before he was sold to Real Madrid in 2002 for a fee in the region of
£25m.
9. Alan Shearer - £15m Blackburn Rovers to Newcastle United in 1996
Fresh from his success as Euro 96
top scorer, as well as the Premier League title with Blackburn in 1995, Shearer
switched to his home town club as the supposed final piece in their title
puzzle. The Toon had finished second to Man United earlier that year, but with
Shearer in the side the best they could do was another second place in 1997.
This transfer did, however, demonstrate the increasing financial power of the
Premier League.
10. Gianlugi Lentini - £13m Torino
to AC Milan in 1992
Winger Lentini was transferred to
Milan at a time when the Italian club were pioneering a new idea that came to
be known as 'squad rotation', spending big money on an array of talent that
meant they were able to rotate their starting XI; a truly revolutionary concept
at the time. Sadly, Lentini never lived up to his price tag, after a car crash
interrupted his career. Click the arrow to see how the world record progressed…
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