#2. Cristiano Ronaldo; Manchester United to Real Madrid; €94m
Cristiano Ronaldo had been a star performer for Manchester United in the Premier League for six years. In his time at Old Trafford, he had guided the Red Devils in winning three league titles and a Champions League in 2008. Therefore, it was only expected that Fiorentino Perez would come calling to build his second Galacticos era at Bernabeu after already signing Brazilian Kaka in the same window. Ronaldo was offered a contract too good to refuse and joined Los Blancos for a record transfer fee of €94 million. The rest, as they say, is history.
Since arriving at Madrid, the Portuguese’s goalscoring record has been second to none. With a goal-per-match ratio of over 1, he has scored a massive 364 goals for the Spanish giants in only 348 appearances. He has gone on to win the FIFA Ballon d’Or twice in his time at Madrid and is presently one of the two best players in the world, alongside Lionel Messi. He has broken numerous records for Real Madrid, including becoming Madrid’s highest ever goal-scorer.
The Portuguese talisman helped Los Blancos win their much desired La Decima in 2014 and added another Champions League to his name in 2016. Madrid’s investment of 94m for Ronaldo will go down in history as one of the best ever buys in world football.