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The imminent arrival of Juan Mata for a transfer fee of £37m to Manchester United, would make the Spaniard the most expensive player signed by the Red Devils in their history. Let us now take a look at the most expensive players signed by the major European clubs in their history.
Arsenal – Mesut Ozil (£42.4m)
After a long time, Arsene Wenger resisted his temptation to keep the money in the bank as he splashed a club record fee last summer to bring German international Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid. So far, it has appeared to be an inspired move as the German has revitalized the squad, both on and off the pitch, which now sees the Gunners sitting pretty in first place.
AS Monaco – Radamel Falcao (£51m)
Radamel Falcao
Having scored over 100 goals in his first three years in European football, Falcao certainly had plenty of takers when he decided to move away from Atletico Madrid. In the end, he surprised everyone by going for nouveau-rich club AS Monaco for a record Ligue 1 transfer and has since powered them to the upper echelons of the League in their first season back.
Barcelona – Zlatan Ibrahimovic (£59m)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
In the summer of 2009, when Zlatan moved from Milan to Catalonia, he became the third most expensive transfer of all-time. The Swedish striker was supposed to be a plan B for the all the conquering Barcelona side, but it never worked out with the coach and was out after just a single season.
Bayern Munich – Javi Martinez (£34m)
Javi Martinez
When Javi Martinez decided to leave Bilbao for Bavaria, he became, not just the most expensive player signed by Bayern Munich, but also the most expensive transfer in history of the Bundesliga. Since then, the defensive midfielder has gone onto become the bedrock of one of the most successful club sides of all-time.
Chelsea – Fernando Torres (£50m)
Fernando Torres
On the back of his successful stint at Liverpool, which saw him score 81 goals in 142 games, Torres earned a record move to Chelsea in January 2011. Although his time at the club hasn’t been a success personally, he has still won plenty of trophies with the club, enough to make it a professional success.
Juventus – Gianluigi Buffon (£30m)
Gianluigi Buffon
When Buffon made his switch from Parma to Juventus in 2001, he became the most expensive goal keeper of all-time. In the decade since then, the Italian has proven himself to be worth every penny spent on him by the Old Lady as he has stayed with the club through thick and thin and has numerous individual and team accolades to his name.
Manchester United – Dimitar Berbatov (£31m)
Dimitar Berbatov
This record perhaps, is no more, but before Mata, it was Berbatov who held the record for the most expensive Man United player of all-time, when he was signed from Tottenham in the summer of 2008. Although the Bulgarian played well in fits and spurts, he never quite fit into the United attack and was promptly moved onto Fulham.
Manchester City – Sergio Aguero (£38m)
Sergio Aguero
When Manchester City bought Sergio Aguero from Atletico Madrid, there were a few question marks raised in England about whether he warranted that amount of money. But, it was the Argentine who scored the goal that brought them that coveted Premier League title and for City fans that was more than enough.
Paris Saint-Germain – Edinson Cavani (£55m)
Edinson Cavani
Barely a month after Falcao’s deal to Monaco, Cavani’s move to PSG meant that he became the most expensive Ligue 1 transfer of all-time. And with over 100 goals in his three seasons with Napoli, he certainly commanded the fee with the way he has been scoring this season, it looks as though he is certain to justify it in the long run.
Real Madrid – Gareth Bale (£86m)
Gareth Bale
Whilst there is still some doubt about whether Ronaldo or Bale can legitimately claim to be the world’s most expensive player, the truth is Bale perhaps deserves the benefit of doubt. After all, the Welshman arrived in the Madrid on the back of a season in which he single-handedly dragged Spurs throughout the season and has already started settling in nicely with his more illustrious teammates.
