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Barcelona are well-known for promoting youngsters into the first team due to the famed La Masia academy – the place where a large number of their players are schooled in the art of tiki-taka. Supporters and the club alike are proud of the fact and rightly so, but Barcelona have still spent large amounts of money on players over the years.How you evaluate those who were a success and those who weren't isn't an easy task, but putting them in the order of importance will surely spark debate. Here is a look at the most expensive transfers in Barcelona’s history.
#10 Ronaldinho - 21m
There are players on this list who won more trophies and there were players who scored more goals, but none did it in the fashion of Ronaldinho. He was without doubt the best player in the world and had a glorious career at Barcelona.
Originally, Barcelona president Joan Laporta had promised to bring David Beckham to the club, but following his transfer to Real Madrid Barcelona entered the running for Ronaldinho and outbid Manchester United for his signature with a reported fee of £21million.
He was worth every penny of that in his four seasons at Barcelona. He scored 94 goals in 207 appearances for Barcelona and won the Champions League in 2006, which was also his beat season at Barcelona when he was named the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year, scoring 26 goals, during that season.
#9 Dmytro Chygrynskiy - 22.5m
For years, many had cried out for Barcelona to sign an established centre-back, alongside the now incumbent Carlos Puyol. The most expensive of Barcelona's history might just have scared the club from doing that.
Dmytro Chygrynskiy, who was signed for £22.5 million, was the first Ukranian player to ever play for Barcelona and was expected to display his ability with the ball at his feet and "aerial presence and strong defensive skills".
But he had a wretched time and made just 14 appearances during his 18 months in Spain and returned to his former side Shakhtar Donetsk in 2010 after Barca cut their losses.
#8 Alexis Sanchez - 23m
During his successful season at Udinese, Sanchez and Italian striker Antonio Di Natale became one of the best scoring duos in the Serie A. His performances lead to him catching the eye of Barcelona and the Catalan club agreed a fee with Udinese for Sanchez of about £23 million in the summer of 2011.
He became the first Chilean to play for the club. But he had a slow start to life in Spain, with goals not coming as freely as they did in Italy. He scored 47 goals in his time at Barcelona, but became more renowned for the added injection of pace to Barcelona’s attack.
An excellent showing in the 2014 World Cup and the signing of Luis Suarez led to a summer move to Arsenal, knowing full well that his chances at the Camp Nou would be limited.
#7 Dani Alves - 23.5m
Few right-backs in the history of football would make the podium when determining a ranking system. At £23.5m, it was an incredibly high transfer fee for a defender, but regular observers will testify the term "defender" is a little misleading in the case of Dani Alves.
He signed a four-year contract with Barcelona, that included a buy-out clause of €90 million. He went on to win two Champions League titles, four La Liga championships and two Copa del Reys with the club, and he is still only 31.
In 2013-2014, Alves wore the shirt number 22, formerly worn by his friend Eric Abidal, to whom he offered to donate part of his liver during Abidal's treatment for liver cancer.
#6 Marc Overmars - 25m
This transfer set a number of records for its time, including the most expensive player to be sold by a British club and the most expensive Dutch player.
Marc Overmars was signed from Arsenal for £25 million to replace the departing Luis Figo in 2000, which turned out to be a big ask. He scored 19 goals in a relatively quiet career at Barcelona.
His performances were decent but failed to inspire any trophies during his three-year stay in Spain. Frequent injuries led to preventing him from consolidating his position as the indisputable choice. He retired from football in 2004 due to persistent knee injuries (although he did make a mini-comeback in 2008 in the Netherlands).
#5 David Villa - 34.2m
David Villa was one of the most prolific strikers in Spain while playing for Valencia, which had caught the eye of Barcelona. After a long pursuit over the summer of 2010, he was finally signed for a fee of £34.2 million.
He was part of the most feared attacking trio in world football and debatably in the greatest team ever. Along with Lionel Messi and Pedro, David Villa was scoring for fun in 2010/11 season. A combination of being moved out to the wing and the horrific break of his tibia in a Club World Cup match meant he never hit the heights of his Valencia days. 6-8 months of injury layoff meant he really could not rediscover the old scoring form that led him to be feared in La Liga and around Europe.
Despite the injury, he was still able to amass 16 goals in 39 appearances while his performances earned him a spot in the 2013 Confederations Cup squad. In all, he scored 48 goals in 116 appearances for Barcelona and left for Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2013.
#4 Cesc Fabregas - 35m
The prodigal son of Barcelona returned in 2011 after a tiresome summer pursuit for a fee of about £35m from Arsenal. His adaption into the tiki-taka style had its ups and downs, though his scoring record had been far more consistent than it was with Arsenal.
He won several trophies in his first season at the club, followed by numerous awards for his outstanding displays in the midfield throughout the season (four best midfielder awards). A year later, he followed it up by winning the first league title of his career. Although, generally over shawdowed by the likes of Messi, Xavi and Iniesta, he remained an integral part of the team.
Up till then, his goals to game ratio was excellent for a midfielder. But a disappointing third season saw his form dip, culminating in his eventual departure back to the Premier League, this time with Chelsea.
#3 Neymar - 48.6m
It is hard to judge Barcelona’s second most expensive transfer of all time. After all, Neymar is still very young and in just his second season at Barcelona. But it slowly looks like the gamble to buy him at such a huge transfer fee is beginning to pay off.
Neymar has been in scintillating form this season, and his partnership with Lionel Messi keeps improving game by game. At the end of his first season at Barcelona, he scored 15 goals in 41 appearances which wasn’t the best return one could have asked for. But his first season was pivotal for his adaptation to the Spanish game.
It looks like he will definitely be emulating Ronaldinho and a prospect of a successful career at Barcelona looms large on the horizon.
#2 Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 40m + Samuel Eto\'o
Few could see the rationale behind letting Samuel Eto’o leave, and then paying a further £40 million for the Swede. Pep Guardiola wanted to use the striker to hold up the ball and offer a variation in attack, before teams began to work them out.
His one season did provide a goal in every two games, but his relationship with the manager and the way he slowed down Barcelona’s free flowing attacking philosophy meant the club took a huge loss. Frequently played out of position during his time at Barcelona, he scored 22 goals in 46 appearances, a poor return by his high standards.
To say that he wasn’t overwhelmed with the players that he was playing with would be an understatement. He was sent to AC Milan the following season, and now plies his trade at Paris Saint-Germain, where he has been thriving in his role and winning trophies in Ligue 1.
#1 Luis Suarez - 75m
When Barcelona had agreed a fee with Liverpool reportedly in the region of £75 million (€94 million), making him one of the most expensive players in world football history, they knew they were taking a gamble on a player who was a great talent.
But at the same time, he was an extremely volatile player coming to Spain with biting controversies in the Premier League as well as the World Cup in his resume. He was given the no 9 shirt, that many could say he deserved from his time at Liverpool, and the way he lit up the Premier League.
Only time will tell whether this gamble has truly paid off or not.
