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Let’s face it. Football clubs pay incomprehensible amounts of money for players. When Real Madrid spent £80 million on Cristiano Ronaldo to bring him from Manchester United to the Spanish capital, a lot of people thought Florentino Perez had lost the plot. It is £80 million! That’s enough money to fulfil each and every bit of your wonderful, albeit questionable, fantasies.But six years since he joined, averaging more than one goal per game for Spain’s most successful club and winning everything there is to be won in club football, that £80 million looks like a fair bit of bargain in today’s market.As this summer’s transfer window comes to an end we take a look at the record signings of some of the top clubs in world football.
#10 Borussia Dortmund - Henrikh Mkhitaryan (23.6 million)
Borussia Dortmund’s club transfer record stands at £23.6 million; the sum they paid Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk to bring Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan to the Westfalenstadion.
Mkhitaryan’s debut game for Dortmund was against Swiss club FC Basel in a pre-season friendly where he scored one and set up another to help the German club win by three goals to one.
After an impressive first season with Dortmund where he scored nine goals and made ten assists, the former Shakhtar man had to settle for second place in the Bundesliga and finish runners-up in the DFB Pokal final, losing out to Bayern Munich on both occasions.
The Armenian international has made a blistering start to this year’s campaign having already scored six goals in four games for Dortmund.
The 26-year-old remains a key cog in this Thomas Tuchel side that is looking to challenge Bayern Munich and end the Bavarians’ domestic stronghold.
#9 Bayern Munich - Javi Martinez (31.6 million)
German powerhouse Bayern Munich paid a club-record sum of £31.6 million to bring Athletic Bilbao defensive midfielder Javi Martinz to the Allianz Arena in the summer of 2012.
Martinez marked his first goal for the club in November of that year when he opened the scoring against Hannover 96 through an impressive bicycle kick. The Spanish midfielder is counted among the rare group of players who have won the coveted treble in their debut season.
Although primarily a quintessential defensive midfielder, Martinez has played much of his time under Pep Guardiola as a centre back.
The Spaniard’s Bayern career has been recently marred with serious injuries. The 26-year-old was ruled out for eight months at the beginning of the 2014-15 season after a clumsy collision with Borussia Dortmund’s Marcel Schmelzer that resulted in an anterior cruciate ligament tear.
But the Basque midfielder has recently joined training with the Bavarian outfit and is raring to kick-start his career.
#8 Juventus - Gianluigi Buffon (32.6 million)
In the unlikeliest of chances of a goalkeeper becoming a club’s record signing, Gianluigi Buffon defied all odds by signing for Italian heavyweights Juventus for an incredible £32.6 million from Parma back in the summer of 2001.
Since making his debut for Parma as a 17-year-old, the Italian custodian has won almost every major honour on both club and country level.
The £32.6 million fee that he commanded was deemed exorbitant, unwarranted and inflated. But a plethora of both individual and club honours including a FIFA World cup later, few doubt what an astute of a piece of business the Bianconerri did in 2001.
A club legend in every sense, the 37-year-old stuck with Juventus during their turbulent time in Serie B when they were relegated to the second division for being a part of the Calciopoli corruption scandal that shook the football world.
Staring his 15th season with Juventus in this year’s campaign, the World Cup winner does not look the least bit tired, or in the mood to retire anytime soon.
#7 Liverpool - Andy Carroll (36 million)
When Liverpool put the finishing touches to Andy Carroll’s record breaking £36 million move from Newcastle United in the January transfer window of 2011, eyebrows were raised. But so were expectations.
Carroll was given the No.9 jersey previously worn by Anfield’s darling son Fernando Torres. The Geordie had scored 33 goals in 91 games for Newcastle and had already broken into England’s international set up. Understandably, a lot was expected from the then 22-year-old brimming with confidence.
Fast forward his short-lived Liverpool career and his stats read 11 goals in 58 games. The towering striker was offloaded to West Ham United on a season-long loan shortly after Brendan Rodgers took over in 2012; the deal was made permanent for a measly £15million 12 months later.
Liverpool had signed Luis Suarez from Ajax along with Carroll. The Uruguayan, of course, went on to become one of the best signings the Merseysiders ever made, which somewhat lessened the travesty of their other signing.
#6 Arsenal - Mesut Ozil (42.5 million)
Arsenal shelling out £42.5 million on one player raised more eyebrows than Chris Smalling turning up at a fancy dress party dressed as a suicide bomber. Even if the player is as good as German International Mesut Ozil.
Ozil not only became the most expensive Arsenal signing but also the most expensive German footballer of all time replacing Mario Gotze who made a £31.4m switch from Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich earlier in the same summer.
The Gunners had been negotiating with Real Madrid for weeks before the two clubs reached an agreement, just hours before 2013 summer transfer window came to a conclusion, much to the relief of manager Arsene Wenger who had been in huge pressure from fans and media alike.
However, the former Werder Bremen player is still finding his feet in the rigours of English football where he is yet to emulate his Real Madrid form that Arsenal fans are so eager to see.
#5 Chelsea - Fernando Torres (50 million)
Reigning Premier League champions Chelsea broke the British transfer record by signing Spanish striker Fernando Torres from Liverpool for a hefty sum of £50 million back in the January transfer window of 2011.
Torres’s move from Liverpool to London became one of the most dramatic deadline day transfers ever witnessed in English football.
The Spaniard was arguably the best striker in the Premier League having scored 81 goals in 142 games in all competition for the Merseysiders. Unfortunately, the former Atletico Madrid captain could never emulate his form for his new club.
Torres had to wait 903 minutes before finding the net for the first time as a Chelsea player. The Spanish international’s career stats for Chelsea read 45 goals in 172 appearances in all competitions.
After a mediocre loan spell at Italian club AC Milan, the once revered centre forward was yet again loaned out to his former club Atletico until the end of the 2015-16 season.
#4 Manchester City - Kevin De Bruyne (55 million)
Manchester City completed the club record signing of Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne for a reported £55 million from German club Wolfsburg in this summer’s transfer window.
The former Chelsea player is yet to make his debut for City but if last season was anything to go by, the blue half of Manchester should expect nothing short of brilliant from their new star man.
The Belgian was voted the best player in the German Bundesliga last season at the back of a stellar campaign that saw him register 10 goals and 21 assists for Wolfsburg.
De Bruyne’s first taste of English football came with Chelsea after the Londoners brought him to Stamford Bridge from Belgian outfit Genk. But the attacking midfielder was sold to Wolfsburg for a reported £16.5 million in the January transfer window of 2014.
With Sergio Aguero leading the line and Raheem Sterling and David Silva on either side, De Bruyne is expected to slot in the No.10 role. City’s attacking options in the final third is nothing short of spectacular.
#3 Manchester United - Angel Di Maria (59.7million)
Manchester United signed Argentine international Angel Di Maria from Real Madrid for a reported £59.7million in the summer of 2015, making him the most expensive signing in their club and English football history.
The massive figure somewhat dwarfs the sum Di Maria first commanded as a footballer; 35 footballs. Growing up in a poverty-stricken neighbourhood of Rosario, Argentina, the 27-year-old’s first taste of football came at the age of four when he started playing for local club Torito. Inevitably, his talent with the ball caught the eyes of scouts from Rosario Central, one of Argentina’s better clubs. And as compensation, Torito were paid 35 footballs for Di Maria’s services.
The former Real Madrid winger signed a five-year contract with United inheriting the iconic No.7 shirt worn by some of the biggest names in football.
Unfortunately, things did not work out the way everyone expected. Injuries, burglaries and several missed flights later, he made a £44 million move to French side Paris Saint-Germain spending just a year with Louis van Gaal’s side.
#2 FC Barcelona - Luis Suarez (75 million)
Catalan giants FC Barcelona signed Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez for a club record £75 million from Liverpool amidst much controversy. Suarez was banned for four months after he ‘bit’ Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
The ban meant Suarez could not feature for Barcelona until late October. But there was an unprecedented treble waiting for him at the end of his first season with Barcelona. So, not everything was shrouded with doom and gloom.
The former Liverpool man ended his season with an impressive 25 goals. Suarez’s most important goal for the club was in the UEFA Champions league final in Berlin against Italian champions Juventus when he scored in the 68th minute to give Barca the lead after Alvaro Morata had brought the scores level in the 55th minute to cancel out an Ivan Rakitic goal.
With Lionel Messi and Neymar as fellow striking partners, it is safe to assume that the forward is having the time of his life.
#1 Real Madrid- Gareth Bale (85.3 million)
Real Madrid made Welsh winger Gareth Bale the most expensive footballer on the planet when they signed him from English club Tottenham Hotspur for a mammoth £85.3 million in the summer of 2013.
Well, as the saying goes, when it comes to breaking transfer records (and winning European Cups), Real Madrid have no equals. The Spanish capital club had previously broken the world transfer record on Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus’ Zinedine Zidane.
Naturally, the Welshman had massive boots to fill. Although, he is yet to reach the inhumane level of Ronaldo, the former Spurs speedster is steadily establishing himself as one of the best players on the planet.
The winger registered 21 goals and 16 assists across the La Liga and the UEFA Champions League in what was a dream debut season. Most notably, he scored a stunning winner in the Copa del Rey final against bitter rivals Barcelona and also a decisive goal in Real’s Champions League final against cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid, at the end of which Real lifted their tenth European Cup. Not bad at all.
