If someone tells you money cannot buy success, scoff at them and tell them the success stories of clubs like Chelsea, Manchester City or PSG. However, that doesn't mean that money will guarantee you success or it is a necessity for success.
For example, Liverpool have been spending a lot of money in recent years and are yet to realise their dream of winning the Premier League while Leicester managed to win one without spending heavily like the heavyweights of England.
Spending millions on players cannot guarantee you success but it helps massively. Jose Mourinho is one manager who has spent a lot of money on transfers and it is understandable because he was at the helm of clubs like Real Madrid, Chelsea, Inter Milan and now Manchester United.
During his first stint with Chelsea, he signed Didier Drogba for £24m and he had a lot of questions to answer for that. But he was proven right as Drogba turned out to be an inspired signing for Chelsea. Funnily, Drogba doesn't even feature in the Top 10 most expensive signings by Jose Mourinho.
So here is Mourinho’s top 10 most expensive signings ever with all transfer fees in pounds.
#10. Fabio Coentrao - £25.5m
Benfica to Real Madrid in 2011
Jose Mourinho's compatriot is only one of the two players he signed at Real Madrid who feature in this list. One might find it surprising but Real Madrid didn't spend heavily on players during Mourinho's time. The signing of Ronaldo and Bale were on either side of Mourinho's stint with Los Blancos.
As for Coentrao, he arrived at Madrid to provided competition to Marcelo but a string of injuries hampered his progress massively. He is easily one of Mourinho's most underwhelming signings ever.
#9. Cesc Fabregas - £27m
Barcelona to Chelsea in 2014
Cesc Fabregas was one of the signings that won Mourinho the Premier League title in 2014/15 as the Spaniard finished that season with three goals and 18 assists to his name. Mourinho reinvented him in a deeper midfield role enabling him to pull the strings.
Fabregas played a bit-part role at Chelsea following the departure of Mourinho but he has already done enough to justify that price tag.
#8. Henrikh Mkhitaryan – £30m
Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United in 2016
The Armenian was one of four signings made by Mourinho last season as Manchester United manager. The transfer caused a lot of fiasco between the player's agent and former club Borussia Dortmund resulting in Dortmund announcing his departure long before Manchester United officially confirmed his arrival.
Mkhitaryan took some time to adjust to his new surrounding but proved to be a very important member of the team in the latter parts of the seasons. He scored 6 goals in the Europa League including one in the final against Ajax.
#7. Willian – £30m
Anzhi Makhachkala to Chelsea in 2013
Willian's signing is one for the ages. The player was initially contacted by Liverpool, he then arrived in London for a medical with Spurs before a last minute intervention from Chelsea changed his course to Stamford Bridge.
The Brazilian proved to be one of Mourinho's favourite players and was also named Chelsea's player of the season during the disastrous 2015/16 campaign. He also revealed that there was interest from Manchester United last season after Mourinho took over as manager.
#6. Eric Bailly – £30m
Villarreal to Manchester United in 2016
The Ivorian was Mourinho's first signing as Manchester United manager. Bailly proved to be a defensive stalwart and was an undisputed starter in the heart of the Manchester United defence.
His strength, pace, reading of the game and his character appealed to the manager and the Manchester United faithful. Jose will be aiming to make his team even better defensively and for that reason, he has already found Bailly a new centre-back partner.
#5. Luka Modric – £30m
Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid in 2012
Luke Modric was Mourinho's most expensive signing as Real Madrid manager but under the Portuguese, Modric struggled and was even named the worst signing in La Liga.
Four years later, he is arguably the best central midfielder in the world having played a crucial role in securing three UEFA Champions League titles among several other honours for Real Madrid.
In the last four years, the Croatian has also won numerous individual honours as well including being named in the FIFPro World XI twice and possibly a third time for the year 2017.
#4. Andriy Shevchenko – £30m
AC Milan to Chelsea in 2006
Undoubtedly, Mourinho's biggest failed transfer so far. Shevchenko was nearly 30-years-old when Chelsea signed him for such a hefty fee in 2006. He was on the club's sheets for three seasons while spending one season away on loan at Milan.
During his time in England, the Ukranian scored just 9 league goals in 57 appearances. However, his entire Chelsea career was not under Mourinho as the Portuguese was fired early on in the 2007/08 season.
#3. Victor Lindelof – £30.7m
SL Benfica to Manchester United in 2017
Manchester United's latest signing arrived from Benfica for £30.7m with a further £8.8m payable based on performance-based incentives. As things stand, he is only the third most expensive signing made by Mourinho.
It remains to be seen how well he will fit into the team, but Mourinho is usually spot on when it comes to his signings, especially the defensive ones.
Also Read: Rating Jose Mourinho's first season at Manchester United
#2. Diego Costa – £32m
Atletico Madrid to Chelsea in 2014
Mourinho always has one striker he can rely on in his team. During his first stint with Chelsea, it was Drogba, at Inter, it was Zlatan Ibrahimovic and later Samuel Eto'o, at Real Madrid, he had Karim Benzema & Gonzalo Higuain in addition to the goal scoring machine ie Cristiano Ronaldo.
When Jose rejoined Chelsea in 2013, he had a struggling Fernando Torres and Demba Ba at his disposal. He signed Samuel Eto'o as cover for these players but even then, he ended up playing Andre Schurrle as the lone centre-forward on several occasions.
To rectify theses problems, he signed Diego Costa and the Spaniard repaid his manager's faith in full by scoring 20 goals in just 26 league games in 2014/15.
#1. Paul Pogba £89m
Juventus to Manchester United in 2016
Was there any doubt about who is number 1 on the list? After all, Paul Pogba is presently the world's most expensive player.
It is often said that Pogba is not worth the money and he didn't do justice to his fee but let me break that myth for you. Pogba is arguably one of the best midfielders in the world and a long-term investment as he is still only 24 years old.
He was very influential and would have ended the season with better goals and assists figures also if he didn't hit the woodwork so much or if his teammates finished some of the clearcut chances he created.
Nevertheless, with the impending new arrivals at Old Trafford ahead of the 2017/18 season, Pogba is going to be even better than last season.
Also Read: Ranking Manchester United's 10 most expensive signings
