10 most expensive English footballers of all time

Most expensive English football players ever David Beckham 10
David Beckham moved to Real Madrid in 2003

5) Rio Ferdinand (Leeds Utd to Man Utd) - £30m

Rio Ferdinand Man Utd
Ferdinand moved to Manchester United in 2002

Coming from a family of footballers, Rio Ferdinand is the greatest among them all. So good that he broke a number of records in his time - including the transfer fee record.

Having started his career at West Ham, the Hammers could not turn down an £18m offer from Leeds who wanted a 21-year-old Ferdinand.

The youngest defender to play for the Three Lions at the time, Ferdinand was hot property. Leeds' ever-crumbling finances and an impressive World Cup campaign (at least on an individual level) saw the club accept yet another record-breaking offer for the centre-back who moved to Old Trafford to play under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Barring a missed drug test and a subsequent eight-month ban, Ferdinand has had an otherwise unblemished and very successful career at United, even captaining the side and winning six league titles during his stint at the club.

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Edited by Rohith Nair
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