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Transfers have always held a paramount importance in football, solely for the fact that they are the best way to reinforce or build a title-winning team.
Since the beginning of time, the beautiful game has witnessed a number of record transfers being pulled out by various clubs. But, with an astonishing surge in the amount of money circulating between European clubs, the most expensive transfer record has been surpassed more often in the recent years.
Long gone are the times when the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka held the crown as the world's costliest footballers. A number of deals in the recent times have seen them fall down the list of the most expensive footballers in history.
Keeping that in mind, let's have a look at the players who currently dominate the list of 'most expensive footballers':
Transfer value courtesy: Transfermarkt.com
#10 Virgil van Dijk
At last! After a tiresome saga that saw the Dutchman move to Anfield this January, the fans can't be more pleased than to see him playing in the Liverpool shirt.
Apart from shelling out a fortune, the Kop also had to face certain problems in the chase for the Dutchman. They had to apologise for their illegal approach towards signing the player. Also, Van Dijk initially submitted a transfer request; a plea that fell on deaf ears - as Southampton put in their resilient best to keep hold of the defender.
However, the transfer did go through by the end of December and he joined Liverpool for a fee of €78.8 million, as soon as the transfer window commenced in January. He had a dream start to his career at Anfield, scoring a winning header in a 2-1 victory against Everton in the FA Cup.
Just so you know, he's only the second player to score in a Merseyside derby debut since Bill White in 1901.
It remains to be seen whether Virgil van Dijk can become a crucial part of the Merseysiders' bid to win silverware.
#9 Luis Suarez
After winning the Premier League Golden Boot with 31 goals in 33 games, clinching the Premier League Player of the Year title and sharing the Golden Shoe with Cristiano Ronaldo, it was inevitable that Luis Suarez would leave Liverpool in the summer of 2014.
Barcelona and Real Madrid had come calling and it was the former team that he chose to join in a club record €81.72 million deal.
The move has been a highly successful one, considering Suarez's contribution to the Catalan club's success. He was an important cog in the wheel during Barcelona's treble-winning campaign in 2015.
Also, his priceless contribution as the middleman in the MSN trinity deserves a noteworthy praise. The lethal trio has gone down as one of the greatest trios in the game's illustrious history.
Since joining Barcelona, Luis Suarez has won a total of 9 trophies and is considered to be one of the best players of the current generation.
#8 Romelu Lukaku
Belgian marksman Romelu Lukaku joined Manchester United for a mouthwatering fee of €84.7 million in July 2017. As for the Red Devils, they did a pretty good job by snatching him from under the noses of their rivals Chelsea, his first ever English club.
Romelu Lukaku spent four seasons at Everton before coming to Old Trafford for a fee that did raise a few eyebrows. He had scored 20+ goals in three consecutive seasons; a fact that was enough to convince Jose Mourinho to sign him.
Coming to his critics, the 24-year-old wasted no time in proving them wrong by scoring 10 goals in his first 9 appearances for the club, breaking Sir Bobby Charlton's previous best of 9 goals.
As of now, he has already netted 18 goals in 34 appearances as the spearhead of the club. The Belgian all-time top-scorer did go through a barren spell for a while, but we can definitely expect him to be at his best sooner than later.
#7 Gonzalo Higuain
2015-16 was easily the best year of Gonzalo Higuain's career; he managed to score a career best of 38 goals in just 42 games across all competitions for Napoli. However, a fall-out with club President Aurelio De Laurentiis meant that he would eventually join Juventus for a record fee of €90 million in the summer of 2016.
Also, he is the most expensive player signed by an Italian club to date.
Higuain was 29 at the time of his transfer and Juventus were criticized for overpaying for the Argentinian. However, the former Real Madrid star scored 32 goals in his debut season, as Juventus won the Coppa Italia and the Seria A, also finishing runners-up in the UEFA Champions League. Enough to silence his doubters, don't you think?
Currently, he has been in fine form for the Bianconeri(13 goals in 30 appearances so far) and it won't be an overstatement to say that he can, very possibly, cross the 30-goal barrier again this season.
#6 Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo completed his dream Real Madrid move in 2009 for a world record fee of €94 million. Back then, he held the crown as the world's most expensive player.
Of course, that's an astronomic fee, but in hindsight, Ronaldo's achievements at the club make it look more of a bargain than a record move. 3 UEFA Champions League medals, 4 Ballon d'Ors, 2 league titles and many more; CR7 is right amongst the best ever to have graced the game.
Real Madrid have won a total of 15 trophies since his arrival, providing stiff competition to Barcelona and Atletico Madrid for supremacy in Spain.
Also, there's an endless list of records he has broken since his arrival to Real Madrid. The best of them. is perhaps overtaking Raul as the club's all-time top-scorer. As of now, he has 426 goals in 420 games for Los Merengues. Ridiculous!
Ronaldo is widely touted to be the best player the game has ever seen, and looking at his impressive resume tells you why that statement is true.
#5 Gareth Bale
Following a dream season in which he was named the Premier League Player of the Year, Real Madrid wasted no time in shelling out €101 million to sign Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013. He broke Cristiano Ronaldo's four-year-old record as the most expensive player in history back then.
Few would disagree with the fact that his debut season was probably his best one on a personal level, having netted 22 goals in 44 games. Since then, the Welshman's form has been fluctuating, given his battles with constant injuries.
But, they certainly haven't stopped him from filling his trophy cabinet to the brim. Bale has won the UEFA Champions League three times since moving to the capital, and can't be thankful enough. Also, he has won 7 other trophies including 1 La Liga, 1 Copa del Rey and the 2 FIFA Club World Cup titles at the Spanish capital.
He has made no secret of his desire to retire at Real Madrid, but it remains to be seen whether the hierarchy agrees on keeping him despite his recurring injury problems.
#4 Paul Pogba
Paul Pogba wouldn't have necessarily become the world's most expensive player in 2016 after Manchester United coughed up a record fee of €105 million to bring him to Old Trafford. Had they taken the right decision to hold on to him in 2012, they would have saved a fortune.
The ex-Juventus man joining his former club was also a kind of surprise, considering that Real Madrid and Zinedine Zidane were reportedly trying hard to sign him.
The debut season for Paul Pogba was a thorny one. More often than not, the mercurial Frenchman saw himself at the end of criticism for an intermittent run of form. Frankly speaking, the football world was a bit too harsh on him, undermining his ability as a quality central midfielder.
But tough times are past him now and Pogba is proving why United were right to shell out that mammoth fee to resign him. He has been the beating heart of a rejuvenated squad under Jose Mourinho and his importance is clearly visible whenever he is absent from the team.
Since his arrival, the Red Devils have won the Carabao Cup and the UEFA Europa League, with the latter proving to be their ticket to the UEFA Champions League this season. Also, he was named the Europa League Player of the Season last year.
Paul Pogba is currently the best Manchester United player by a mile, period.
#4 Ousmane Dembele (tied)
Just a year after Manchester United made Paul Pogba the most expensive footballer on earth, Barcelona broke the bank to sign 20-year-old Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund in 2017. But, La Blaugrana just about equalled the transfer record instead of breaking it, paying a fee of €105 million for the Frenchman.
Looking at Dembele's career graph tells you how meteoric his rise has been. Currently, in his fourth year as a professional footballer, the Frenchman has swapped 3 clubs in the last three years before joining his fourth club -- FC Barcelona.
However, the youngster hasn't seen enough game time at the Nou Camp owing to his injuries, currently failing to justify his price tag. But the handful of games he has played in, Dembele has shown flashes of his huge potential.
His ability as a footballer can never be questioned, considering how he finished behind compatriot Kylian Mbappe in the race for the Golden Boy award.
Recently, there have been reports of Barcelona planning to offload him in the near future. However, the Catalans would do better in keeping him. Once he returns to being a regular, my word, Ousmane Dembele is going to a player to watch for sure.
#2 Philippe Coutinho
The biggest transfer saga of 2017 came to a close this year when Barcelona succeeded in snatching Philippe Coutinho for a fee of €120 million from the clutches of Liverpool. The Merseysiders won the battle to keep him in August, but they were resigned to losing him in the winter.
Philippe Coutinho's arrival was much needed at the Nou Camp, considering how the ever-magical Andres Iniesta is ageing no slower. The Brazilian made an impressive debut in a 2-0 home win against Espanyol.
Prior to his much-anticipated move to the Catalan giants, the 25-year-old had replicated his fine form in spite of all the transfer speculation that surrounded him. Now that he has joined Barcelona, he will be expected to become a player as crucial as Andres Iniesta and shoulder a few of Leo Messi's responsibilities as one of the main players at the club.
Also, he might be the second-most expensive player behind Neymar for now, but that is set to change next year when Paris Saint-Germain make Kylian Mbappe's move a permanent one.
Further, with Coutinho, Barcelona boast the highest number of players (3) on this list, indicating how times have changed. Once a club who believed in developing youth players rather than investing in the transfer market, La Blaugrana are now definitely in the same league as heavy spenders Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, and the Manchester clubs.
#1 Neymar
Neymar's colossal transfer fee of €222 million was probably the biggest highlight of 2017. An amount that insane meant that football fans were left all over the world were left spellbound. As if that was not enough, Les Parisiens further made them speechless by signing Kylian Mbappe in the same window -- without breaking the Financial Fair Play rules!
The Barcelona board came into a lot of limelight following Neymar's move. The 25-year-old branded them as the chief reason why he decided on parting ways with the club. Following the big-money move, Paris Saint-Germain have been reaping the rewards, with Neymar replicating his scintillating form in the Ligue 1.
24 games, 26 goals, 14 assists. That's what Neymar has produced after arriving at the Parc Des Princes; he has ripped apart almost every team that he has faced. Should he continue in this vein, the Brazilian will surely stake his claim for the Ballon d'Or, especially if PSG manage to win a number of trophies, including, most importantly, the UEFA Champions League this year.
Also, a successful FIFA World Cup campaign with Brazil will be the cherry on the icing on the cake for the Selecao skipper.
As for the board members at the Nou Camp, all they can do is regret letting the Brazilian demigod and Messi's heir apparent slip through their fingers.
