#9 Arjen Robben – €36m
Robben completed his move from Chelsea to Real Madrid in August 2007. The Dutchman quickly made a place for himself in the starting eleven with his signature runs down the left flank. In his debut season with the club Robben made 28 appearances and scored 5 goals and helped the Los Blancos win the La Liga title with a few games to spare. In the 2008/09 season, Robben again played a key role for Los Blancos, having made 35 appearances and finding the back of the net on 8 occasions.
In the pre-season run-up to the 2009/10 season, the winger was in a rich vein of form, scoring 3 goals and creating another 4. However, the signings of Cristiano Ronaldo and Ricardo Kaka posed a threat to his place in the squad. Madrid then accepted a bid from Bayern Munich for around €25m, following which the Dutchman claimed that he was forced to leave the club, while also revealing that he said he didn’t want to go, but the club were intent on selling him.
