5 most expensive Barcelona signings before 2001

It is no secret that at present Barcelona are in somewhat of a crisis financially. They cannot afford to spend on players they like without giving things a second thought and have to explore cheaper options. The Catalans do not want to keep players on a high salary at the club anymore as well.

Spending a bucket load of cash hasn't always benefitted Barcelona

All of this is because they have carelessly spent huge amounts on players recently who they think will be the future of the club. Now, the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Antoine Griezmann, Malcolm and Ousmane Dembele are all out of the club or on the verge of being pushed out.

In the last few years, the number required to lure big players to a club has gone up. But the La Liga giants have always had the habit of spending big bucks. Two decades ago also, they had this habit of going on a shopping spree when they seemed to be losing their prowess to compete big for silverware.

Sometimes they were successful in their attempts but mostly their faith and money wasn't repaid back to their expectations. Let's roll back the clock and look at the five most expensive signings Barcelona made before 2001.

#5 Alfonso Perez - €16.50 million

Alfonso Perez (middle) vs Leeds United in Champions League 2000

Alfonso Perez is among the few players who crossed one of the most volatile divides in Spain when he joined Barcelona in 1998. He was an academy graduate from Real Madrid and represented them from 1991, when he made his debut at 18, to 1995.

However, the sting was taken away from the move due to Perez's spell at Real Betis, also his most prolific. This meant he wasn't crossing the divide head on. For Los Blancos, the Spaniard was only a second-fiddle striker, mostly making his appearances from the bench.

Perez showed his class with Betis for four consecutive seasons, reaching double figures in goals in the Spanish top-flight. In the 1996-97 season, he scored 25 goals in 41 La Liga matches. Barcelona saw the potential and brought him to the club, but he failed quite badly. Their over-generousness of giving the No. 7.

In 38 appearances, he could only score five times for the Catalan club. After keeping him for one season, they loaned him to Olympique Marseille. He ended his career at Real Betis in 2005.

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#4 Gerard Lopez - €21.60 million

Lopez (right) challenges for the ball in UEFA Cup 4th round game vs Celtic

Gerard Lopez at Barcelona was a case of, "what isn't meant to be, won't be." He was a product of their La Masia academy and made his debut for their B team. However, he was not considered ready to make it to the first team and left for Valencia.

Over the next three years he was hugely impressive for Los Ches in midfield. He was lauded for his passing range and vision. Lopez was technically skilled and had great ball control. The Catalans could see their former player develop and move beyond expectations, which led to his signing in 2000.

However, it was a very unrewarding transfer for both the club and the player. His price tag was weighing on his shoulder and the midfielder seemed rather ineffective and couldn't impact the games like at Valencia. Five years later he was sold to Monaco on a free transfer with 135 Barcelona senior appearances to his name.

#3 Rivaldo - €23.50 million

Brazil legend Rivaldo playing for FC Barcelona

Surely one of the all-time greats to wear the Barcelona jersey, Rivaldo kept Barcelona in the hunt for trophies when they clearly needed a crutch. In his first season in Spain with Deportivo La Coruna, his reputation sky-rocketed as he scored 21 goals in La Liga.

The next season, Barcelona came looking for his signature and paid €23.50m to avail his services. The Catalans had not won La Liga in the last three years. But with the Brazilian in their ranks, they went on to win two successive campaigns. Rivaldo was mesmerizing and prolific.

He scored screamers on one hand, and the most sublime and elegant goals on the other. His ball control was exquisite and put everyone on the field to shame. Head on, he was savage when involved in one-vs-one situations with his exceptional dribbling.

Rivaldo played for Barcelona for five years, scoring 130 goals and providing 54 assists in 235 appearances. He is the club's ninth all-time top scorer and Brazil's seventh highest scorer.

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#2 Sonny Anderson - €26.25 million

Sonny Anderson scores a goal against Manchester United in UEFA Champions Legaue

Sonny Anderson arrived at Barcelona on the back of a Ligue 1 winning campaign, where he was named the best player in the French top-flight. In light of that achievement he was rather harshly judged in his time with the Catalans but it was surely an underwhelming spell.

Louis van Gaal, the then Barcelona manager, had both Patrick Kluivert and Luis Enrique higher than the Brazilian in the pecking order. More and more time on the bench started to frustrate Anderson, who had his disagreements and discussions with the Dutch boss.

Eventually, he was sold to Olympique Lyon and the striker found his comfort again in the French territory as he helped them lift two Ligue 1 titles. However, his Barcelona days were far from his prolific best as he scored 21 goals in 68 appearances for the Catalans.

Without being the team's first-choice striker at all times, it's not a bad feat.

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#1 Marc Overmars - €29.30 million

Marc Overmars (right) in a pre-season friendly vs Lazio

The most expensive signing that Barcelona made before 2001 was Marc Overmars. Thanks to Arsene Wenger's shrewd recruitment policy, this is still one of the most profitable deals in Arsenal's history. Considering the fact that he cost more than both Rivaldo and Ronaldo Nazario, this was an underwhelming transfer.

The left-winger was really formidable at Arsenal. The timing of his runs was always on-point and with his great pace he ran behind defenses without them noticing. However, his task was to replace Luis Figo who generated great goal contributions and Overmars failed to produce those numbers.

In 142 appearances over four years, he managed only 19 each of goals and assists. The Dutchman was one of those figures who got better with the more time he spent on the pitch.

Wenger was patient with him despite his slow start at Arsenal. But at Barcelona, he did not have the luxury of taking his time and gradually his game time decreased which saw him lose his flare.