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The 2021 summer transfer window was arguably one of the craziest transfer windows in recent history.
Barcelona shook the footballing world when they announced that Lionel Messi would be leaving the club due to the Catalans' financial conditions. The Argentine went on to join Paris Saint-Germain, who also brought in the likes of Sergio Ramos and Gianluigi Donnarumma on free transfers.
Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo completed a shock return to Manchester United in the last week of the transfer window. Romelu Lukaku also returned to Chelsea over the summer while Jack Grealish secured a big money move to reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.
A number of high-profile players were involved in a transfer on deadline day
While most of these deals were completed early in the transfer window, deadline day also saw many top deals taking place. Several big players switched teams on the last day of the window as clubs all over the world scrambled to complete their squads for the 2021-22 season.
Here we take a look at the 10 most valuable deadline day transfers that happened this summer:
(Note - 1. The values mentioned in the sub-heading are the current market values of the player and not their transfer fee.
2. Only permanent deals are considered for this list
3. All values are as per Transfermarkt)
#10 Faitout Maouassa (Stade Rennes to Club Brugge) - €12 million
Faitout Maouassa joined Club Brugge from Rennes for €4 million on deadline day of the transfer window to provide depth on the Belgian team's left-wing. Primarily a left-back, the versatile Frenchman is capable of playing in any position on the left side.
Maouassa's future at Rennes was always in doubt this summer. He was in the final year of his contract and the French side were not keen to lose him on a free transfer next summer. As such, he was offloaded by the club on deadline day.
Maouassa spent three seasons with Rennes, making 80 appearances and scoring three goals. He will be keen to establish himself at his new club, considering that Club Brugge are also playing in the Champions League this season.
#9 Odsonne Edouard (Celtic to Crystal Palace) - €17 million
Odsonne Edouard was linked with a host of Premier League clubs this summer including Brighton, Arsenal and Leicester City. However, it was Crystal Palace who sealed his transfer on deadline day, signing him for around €17 million from Celtic.
Celtic's capture of Greek goal-machine Giorgos Giakoumakis paved the way for Edouard to move to England and add depth to Palace's frontline.
Edouard has been the top scorer in the Scottish Premiership for the last two seasons, with 21 and 16 goals respectively.
But the 23-year-old will definitely have his work cut out to continue his fine goalscoring form in the Premier League.
He did however have a fantastic debut, scoring two in the space of just six minutes in a 3-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park. He will hope to continue that form as he looks to make a mark in his debut season in the Premier League.
#8 Daniel James (Manchester United to Leeds United) - €18 million
Two-and-a-half years after almost joining Leeds United from Swansea, Daniel James has finally completed a transfer to Elland Road.
The Welsh winger's deadline day move to Leeds in January 2019 collapsed on the last day of the transfer window before he ultimately joined Manchester United later in the summer.
Things didn't quite work out for the 22-year-old at Old Trafford. James managed to score just six goals and provide seven assists in the Premier League during his two years at the club.
Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival meant someone had to make way in the squad, and it was James who was sold on the last day of the transfer window for €29.1 million.
James will be hoping that under the guidance of the dynamic Marcelo Bielsa he can finally kick off his career in the Premier League.
#7 Marc Cucurella (Getafe to Brighton) - €20 million
It looks like Brighton have put the money used from the €58 million sale of Ben White to good use.
The Seagulls completed a €18 million deal with Getafe for Marc Cucurella during the last day of the transfer window. The Spaniard's arrival means that Brighton now possess the perfect wing-back to make their three-man defensive system work.
Cucurella's return of 84 key passes from open play was the sixth-best in La Liga over the last two seasons.
The 23-year-old is an exciting addition to a Brighton team that has started the season strongly and has managed to win four of their opening six games.
Cucurella's arrival has bolstered Brighton's left-side and they will be hoping to continue their fine form as they look to move further up the table
#6 Takehiro Tomiyasu (Bologna to Arsenal) - €20 million
Arsenal sealed the transfer of Takehiro Tomiyasu from Bologna for €18.5 million on deadline day, with Hector Bellerin going on loan to Real Betis for the rest of the season.
The 22-year-old Japanese international joined the club with a big reputation, having excelled for Bologna in Serie A last season. His tackle success rate of 78.3 per cent was the seventh-best in the division, while he also won 91 aerial duels, the ninth best in the league.
Able to play in both right-back and centre-back positions, Tomiyasu's versatility is another aspect why the Gunners were keen to seal his transfer.
Arsenal, who lost their first three games, were boosted by Tomiyasu's arrival, with the Gunners going on to win their next three Premier League games and conceding just one goal.
Tomiyasu has been a much better player than Arsenal's previous options at right-back and the Gunners will no doubt be extremely happy with his acquisition.
#5 Ilaix Moriba (Barcelona to RB Leipzig) - €25 million
After failing to reach an agreement over a new contract, Barcelona decided to cash in on talented youngster Ilaix Moriba during the summer transfer window.
The midfielder was linked with a host of big clubs including Manchester City, Chelsea and even the Catalans' eternal rivals Real Madrid. But it was RB Leipzig who sealed a transfer for the 18-year-old for a fee of around €16 million on deadline day.
Moriba is regarded as one of the most talented youngsters to graduate from the La Masia academy. He had a breakthrough campaign last season, making 28 senior appearances, scoring two goals and registering four assists.
Barcelona will be distraught at losing such a talented youngster, but the club had little choice owing to Moriba's continued reluctance to sign a new contract. As such, the board decided to cash in on him instead of letting him leave on a free transfer.
#4 Emerson Royal (Barcelona to Tottenham Hotspur) - €25 million
Emerson Royal has had quite an eventful summer, being one of the few players to make two transfers in the same window.
The 22-year-old had been on loan for the last two-and-a-half years at Real Betis, where he was quite impressive. He had a direct hand in 14 goals over the last two seasons, with Jordi Alba (16) being the only defender in La Liga who contributed more during that time.
Emerson had also made the most tackles and interceptions combined (157) than any other defender in La Liga since the start of last season.
As such, Barcelona decided to activate a clause to recall him from Real Betis for €9 million.
But given that the La Liga club were in dire need of funds, they decided to move him on at a profit during the same transfer window.
Emerson managed to play just three La Liga games for Barcelona before a €25 million bid from Tottenham was enough to convince the Catalan giants to sell the player.
The right-back has not had the best of starts in the Premier League with Tottenham losing all three Premier League games since his debut. He will be hoping to rectify this in the coming weeks and prove his worth to the team.
#3 Nikola Vlasic (CSKA Moscow to West Ham United) - €30 million
After it became clear that West Ham would not be able to bring back Jesse Lingard on a permanent transfer, the Hammers decided to look elsewhere for his replacement. Their search led them to sign Nikola Vlasic from CSKA Moscow for around €30 million on deadline day of the transfer window.
The 23-year-old Croatian international was a creative force for CSKA Moscow. He has made more key passes (167) than any other player in the Russian Premier League since joining the club permanently from Everton in 2019.
During his time at the club, Vlasic scored 33 goals in 108 appearances and set-up another 21 for his team-mates, helping the club compete on domestic and European fronts.
Vlasic's arrival will provide excellent competition for the likes of Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals at the club.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus to Manchester United) - €45 million
The deal for Cristiano Ronaldo was announced a couple of days prior to deadline day. But Manchester United officially completed the transfer on deadline day to cap off a brilliant transfer window for the Red Devils.
Despite ending last season as the top scorer in Serie A with 29 goals and winning the Capocannoniere, Ronaldo was not entirely happy at Juventus. The Turin-based outfit were also ready to offload him as their financial conditions were dire and Ronaldo's salary was taking a big chunk out of their wage bill.
The 36-year-old was heavily linked with a move to Manchester City during the last week of the transfer window. But the Portuguese superstar sealed a comeback to Old Trafford in a deal worth €15 million, with the news creating huge excitement among United supporters.
Ronaldo scored two goals on his debut against Newcastle and since then has added a further two in three games across all competitions. United fans will be hoping that Ronaldo can carry on this form and finally bring the glory days back at Old Trafford.
#1 Eduardo Camavinga (Stade Rennes to Real Madrid) - €55 million
Eduardo Camavinga is widely regarded as one of the most exciting young prospects in world football. The Frenchman was keen to move to Real Madrid at the start of the transfer window. But with Real focused on securing a transfer for Kylian Mbappe, it looked like Camavinga would stay put at Rennes.
However, with Real Madrid frustrated in their pursuit of Mbappe, they turned their attention towards securing a deal for Camavinga. Los Blancos paid €31 million to sign the youngster on deadline day of the transfer window and bring him to Santiago Bernabeu.
Camavinga had made his professional debut for Rennes at the age of just 16 in 2018. He went on to play 88 games for the club, scoring two goals and registering five assists.
The 18-year-old also became the youngest player to be called up to the French national team at senior level since 1932 when he received a call-up from Didier Deschamps.
Camavinga started life at Real Madrid in brilliant fashion, scoring just six minutes after coming on for his debut.
For just €31 million, the midfielder already looks like one of the bargain buys of the summer transfer window.
