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Sometimes what stops a good team from being a great one is a marquee signing. We have seen this a lot in the past. A recent example of how one signing can transform a team is Bruno Fernandes' arrival at Manchester United. A struggling Manchester United was galvanized and made to look decent with just one signing.
But here today, we take a look at some of the signings that absolutely flipped the fortunes of teams on their heads. In fact, many of the greatest teams in football have at some point made a signing so incredible that it defined their legacies.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the top 10 greatest transfers of all time.
Honourable mention: Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United and Real Madrid
Well, the only reason why Cristiano Ronaldo is not on the list or not topping it is because he joined sides that were already dominant forces. Of course, he was Manchester United's and Real Madrid's best player as they both tasted great success in Europe, the latter more so than the former.
Ronaldo won 3 back to back titles at Real Madrid and you could say that they became less of a force in Europe after he left them to join Juventus. The Portuguese is one of the greatest players of all time without a doubt.
#10 Sergio Aguero to Manchester City
Sergio Aguero perhaps registered the greatest moment in Manchester City's history by scoring a last-minute winner that won them the Premier League title on goal difference in the 2011-12 season. He did that in his debut season after joining from Atletico Madrid for £35 million.
The Cityzens had been struggling to find a good goalscorer after having invested well over the previous campaigns and secured the services of an array of top quality individuals. Aguero has gone on to become one of their greatest players and their greatest goalscorer of all time.
The Argentine is also the 4th greatest goalscorer in the history of the Premier League. At the age of 32, he is still going strong and is one of the most lethal finishers around.
He has won four Premier League titles, one FA Cup and five League Cups with Manchester City and despite City having signed a multitude of excellent players this past decade, Aguero is arguably their best.
#9 Frank Lampard to Chelsea
Widely regarded as one of the greatest Chelsea players of all time and one of the greatest midfielders of his generation, Frank Lampard is the best £11 million that Blues have and will ever spent.
Frank Lampard made 648 appearances for Chelsea across all competitions and scored a staggering 210 goals from midfield in his 13 year stint at West London. Lampard was one of the most important players in the side as Jose Mourinho came and transformed Chelsea into world beaters in the opening decade of the 21st century.
He has won four FA Cups, three Premier League titles and one UEFA Champions League title with Chelsea. Now he is back at Stamford Bridge as the manager of the club and looks to be doing a great rebuilding job. Chelsea would probably never get returns this good for an investment of £11 million ever again.
#8 Michel Platini to Juventus
One of the greatest midfielders of all time, Michel Platini's initial days at Juventus were rather forgettable and he even considered leaving the club in the winter in his first season after being hounded by the demanding Italian media.
Platini and teammate Boniek rallied for a change successfully and Juventus reached the European Cup final that season and also won the Italian Cup. After that, there was no stopping the Frenchman.
He was the top scorer in Serie A for three consecutive seasons and won two League titles, one European Cup, one Inter Continental Cup, one European Super Cup and one European Cup Winners' Cup in his five year stint in Turin. To top it all off, he was the Ballon d'Or winner in 1983, 1984 and 1985.
Juventus had bought him from St. Etienne for €129,000 and his signing will always be regarded as some of the best business that the Bianconeri have been able to pull off.
#7 Marco Van Basten to AC Milan
Adriano Galliani paid €600,000 to sign Marco Van Basten from Ajax and it is the best bit of business he has ever done. It was the signing of the Dutch trio of Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and Marco Van Basten that transformed the Rossoneri towards the latter part of the 20th century.
Van Basten made history at Ajax and his great goalscoring record lays just the backdrop for his artistry on the football ground. Known for springing up with moments of individual brilliance and some of the best volleys ever seen, Van Basten won the Ballon d'Or 1988, 1989 and 1992.
He won four Serie A titles and two European Cups at AC Milan scoring 90 goals from 147 games. However, he is remembered as a tragic hero at AC Milan thanks to how his career ended.
He suffered an ankle injury so grave in 1993 that it forced him to hang up his boots in 1995. His last game for AC Milan was their UEFA Champions League final loss to Marseille. Despite the unfortunate ending, AC Milan fans still hail him as one of the greatest ever to have donned the red and black.
#6 Thierry Henry to Arsenal
One of the modern day greats and a true Premier League legend, Thierry Henry's signing is considered as one of the best things that Arsene Wenger has done since taking over as the manager of the Gunners.
Arsene Wenger managed to secure the French striker's services for £11 million from AS Monaco and Henry led the Arsenal side through their greatest years since the turn of the millenium,
After stuttering a bit in his early days, Henry scored 26 goals across all competitions in his debut season in England. He won the English Premier League and the FA Cup in 2002 and also won the PFA Player of the Year Award and became the runner-up in the FIFA Player of the Year Award the same year.
Henry was also one of the most important cogs in the famed 'Invincibles' side and by the time he moved on to Barcelona, he had won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups and had transformed Arsenal into one of the top sides in Europe.
#5 Diego Maradona to Napoli
Diego Maradona was already being hailed as one of the greatest to have ever kicked a football thanks to his exploits for the Argentine national team. After a spell at Barcelona that was shrouded in controversy, Maradona needed Napoli just as much as they needed him.
He moved to Napoli from Barcelona for a then record £6.9 million and led them through their most dominant phase in the Italian top-flight. The Partenopei won their first Serie A title and the Coppa Italia in 1987 with Maradona as their main man. They won it again in 1990.
Maradona's impact was so significant that Naples still celebrates Maradona as one of their greatest heroes and their streets are adorned with murals of him. He has achieved a God-like status in the city and though his later days were marred by drug and sex scandals, he is still one of the most respected players to have ever donned the blue kit for Napoli.
#4 Johan Cruyff to Barcelona
Johan Cruyff was already the best player in the world when he moved to Barcelona in 1973 for $2 million after winning eight Dutch league titles and three European Cups with Ajax.
Cruyff won the Barcelona fans over quite swiftly and went on to become one of the most influential figures in the history of the club and in the history of football. Considered as one of the people who have revolutionized the way that football was played, it is Cruyff that made the Barcelona academy La Masia what it is today.
Cruyff was at Barcelona for 5 seasons and he won one league title and one Copa Del Rey. Cruyff's close relationship with Barcelona brought him back to the Camp Nou in 1988 as the manager and he won four La Liga titles one Copa Del Rey and he also led them to their first European Cup title in 1992.
#3 Eric Cantona to Manchester United
Manchester United weren't given much of a chance going into the final decade of the 20th century armed with a bunch of academy graduates. However, they'd go on to make history and become treble winners in 1999. But in addition to the exceptional talent that they groomed, they also had Eric Cantona.
Cantona was signed from United's arch-rivals Leeds United for £1.2 million in 1992. The Red Devils were desperate to find a player who could score and create and Eric Cantona fit the role to a T. He scored aplenty and created just as effectively.
More than anything, his personality and leadership was crucial to United starting off the Premier League era on a dominant note. The Frenchman was always within touching distance of controversy but Manchester United fans consider him one of the greatest to have sported the famous Red kit in all their history.
Cantona spent five years at Manchester United and won four Premier League titles in that period in addition to two FA Cups. Eric Cantona is a Premier League legend and it was his staggering natural ability and swagger that helped him reach the heights he did at Old Trafford.
#2 Kenny Dalglish to Liverpool
Liverpool broke the then British transfer record to sign Kenny Dalglish from Celtic for £440,000 in 1977. Dalglish started justifying his price tag immediately and scored 31 goals in his debut season at Merseyside and also scored Liverpool's winning goal in the European Cup final that season.
Dalglish became so important to Liverpool that he missed his first league match for Liverpool in his fourth season. The former Celtic man and co. were unstoppable as they guided Liverpool into relevance in Europe by dominating top-flight football throughout the 80s.
Dalglish won the league title 9 times in addition to three FA Cups, four League Cups and three European Cups. He would go on to become a player manager at Liverpool in 1985 and win Liverpool's first ever domestic double that season.
Kenny Dalglish is still considered as one of the best players in the history of the English top-flight and for good reason too. No other individual has had such an impact at Liverpool than the Scot.
#1 Alfredo Di Stefano to Real Madrid
The man who intensified the rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona in the 1950s and made the El Clasico what it is today, perhaps no high-profile transfer deal in history had so much controversy around it than Alfredo Di Stefano's.
Di Stefano was initially all set to sign for Barcelona from Millenarios in 1953 and had agreed a deal with Barcelona and FIFA. However, Millenarios refused to sign off on it and wouldn't let Di Stefano leave.
This led to a lot of confusion and frustration in the Barcelona camp and FIFA ordered the Spanish Federation to sort out the situation. Real Madrid's president Santiago Bernabeu took note of the proceedings and planned to take advantage of it.
He swooped in for Di Stefano and this led to more problems. The Spanish federation intervened and decided that Di Stefano will play 2 years each for either club. Barcelona, disgruntled by the decision, relinquished their claim over Di Stefano's transfer and dropped their deal to sign him.
Foreign players were banned for a while as a fallout from this saga. Di Stefano is still one of the greatest players that Real Madrid have ever signed. Barcelona's loss was Real Madrid's great treasure.
Di Stefano scored a whopping 307 goals from 396 appearances for the Blancos and immortalized him in the Spanish capital winning eight league titles, five European Cups and one Copa del Rey. He spent 11 years at Real Madrid before joining Espanyol and eventually retiring in 1966.
