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Throughout history, Italian Serie A has been home to some of the most respected footballing clubs in the world. The league has had world-class players playing top-drawer football, week in, week out, entertaining millions of fans across the globe.
Over the last decade, we have seen the Italian teams lose some ground to their Spanish, German, and English counterparts. No Serie A outfit have won the Champions League since AC Milan’s triumph in 2007, but it is not for lack of trying.
Serie A powerhouse Juventus have been the only Italian team in the last decade to play in two Champions League finals. They were beaten by Barcelona (2015) and Real Madrid (2017), respectively, but they are not throwing in the towel just yet. They have broken the Serie A transfer record time and again to get the best players in and conquer Europe.
Today, we will check out how they have flexed their financial muscle to dominate the transfer market in Italy.
Now, without further ado, let’s check out the five most expensive transfers (via Transfermarkt) in the history of Serie A.
Spoiler alert: All five slots belong to Juventus.
#5 Arthur Melo from Barcelona in 2020 - €76.0 million
In the summer of 2020, Barcelona’s highly-rated central midfielder Arthur Melo moved to Juventus for €12 million with Miralem Pjanic (rated €60 million) going the other way. The Brazilian midfielder was at the top of his game at the time at the Camp Nou and was dubbed to be the next big thing in Spanish football.
Unfortunately, the Blaugrana were strapped for cash and found the money-plus-player deal too good to refuse.
The former Gremio man has not been in the best of form since his transfer to Turin. He has shown flashes of brilliance here and there, but his spell has hardly justified his sky-high transfer fee.
So far, Arthur has only played 47 games for Juve, registering only a single goal and an assist.
#4 Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina in 2022 - €81.6 million
Following a riveting spell in Fiorentina’s colors, Dusan Vlahovic has moved to Juventus for a whopping €81.6 million fee.
His transfer, which was finalized on January 28th, has been this season’s most high-profile move in the winter transfer window.
Vlahovic, 22, moved to Fiorentina from Partizan in 2018. Between 2018 and 2022, he netted 49 times in 108 appearances for the Italian outfit, with 20 goals coming this season alone.
The Serbian has struck 17 times in Serie A in the 2021-22 season, emerging as the league’s joint-top scorer alongside Lazio’s Ciro Immobile.
#3 Matthijs de Ligt from Ajax in 2019 - €85.5 million
Serie A has some exceptional young defenders at its disposal, but none can hold a candle to Juventus’ young warrior, Matthijs de Ligt.
Rising through Ajax’s famed youth system, De Ligt broke onto the scene in the 2018-19 season. Under his leadership, the Eredivisie outfit went into the Champions League semi-finals, knocking out 13-time winners Real Madrid in the process.
Juventus, who were looking for young blood at the back, spent €85.5 million to lap him up ahead of the 2019-20 season.
The 22-year-old has since tried his best to live up to his astronomical price tag, doing his best to show why he’s rated so highly. He has succeeded, too, in some matches, but in others, he has looked rather ordinary.
The former Ajax man may not have won all his critics over since his move to Turin, but he surely has time in his favor. If he can keep himself fit and eyes peeled, he could become an invaluable asset to Serie A over the coming years.
#2 Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli in 2016 - €90 million
Impressed with his record-breaking season with Napoli in 2015-16, the Old Lady spent a whopping €90 million to bring Gonzalo Higuain to Turin in 2016.
His transfer to a direct Serie A rival angered the Napoli supporters, but the Argentine sharpshooter paid no heed to the distasteful chants.
His movement, game-reading skills and steely determination helped him emerge as one of the leading goal-getters in Serie A. Higuain netted 24 times in the Italian top-flight in the 2016-17 season, helping the Bianconeri to the title without breaking a sweat.
His goal output took a nosedive the following season, which saw him get shipped off to AC Milan on loan in the summer of 2018.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid in 2018 - €117 million
On the back of three consecutive Champions League titles, Portuguese ace Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid for Juventus in the summer of 2018.
The €117-million transfer was brought in to help the Italian giants attain the supposedly unattainable, to help them win the Champions League.
Ronaldo, the most followed man on social media, improved Juventus’ revenue in a matter of days. The Old Lady became one of the most popular teams in the world, thanks to the magnetism of Ronaldo alone.
On the pitch, too, the no.7 was brilliant as ever, hitting the back of the net for fun. Overall, he scored 101 goals for Juventus in 134 games, becoming the fastest player to reach 100 goals for the Italian club.
Ronaldo enriched the Bianconeri with an improved revenue stream of 101 goals and two Serie A titles. Unfortunately, he failed to do the one thing he was brought in to do, to win them the Champions League.
The decisive hat-trick in the second leg of Juve’s Champions League Round of 16 comeback win over Atletico Madrid in 2019 was Ronaldo’s most notable UCL performance in Juventus colors.
Overall, the tournament’s record-goalscorer netted 14 goals in 23 appearances for Juventus in the Champions League before rejoining Manchester United in August 2021.
