Since the introduction of transfer windows in football for the 2002/03 season, which meant that clubs could only sign players in the summer (from July 1st to September 1st) and the winter (January 1st to February 1st), it has arguably made football a lot more exciting.
Indeed, for many fans, these can be something to look forward to and because it only gives clubs a small amount of time to sign players, it has meant that this has increased the demand and often affects prices – especially in January when players are usually signed at a premium.
It has also led to the transfer record being broken on numerous occasions, especially since billionaire owners started taking over football clubs, though, invariably, Real Madrid with their riches have been a main component.
For example, since 2001, Zinedine Zidane, was officially the most expensive player in world football, following his move from Juventus to Real Madrid which was for £48 million, which now looks like a drop in the water, when you consider how much even a top full-back fetches in the market.
That said, we have taken a look at the number of times the transfer record has been broken across the top European leagues over the last 20 years or so and there will probably be a number that you remember well!
| Player | Joined From | Fee (GBP) | Moved To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United | £80 million | Real Madrid |
| Gareth Bale | Tottenham | £86 million | Real Madrid |
| Paul Pogba | Juventus | £106 million | Manchester United |
| Neymar | Barcelona | £200 million | PSG |
Cristiano Ronaldo
Perhaps astonishingly, no other transfers broke the world record in football until 2009 when Real Madrid (again!) signed Ronaldo from Manchester United for £80 million after 12 months of trying.
This was a considerable eye-opener and shook the sport that summer in which the club spent around £250 million, also signing Kaka from AC Milan for £58 million and Karim Benzema from Lyon for £30 million – which was the highest fee received for a French football club.
Ronaldo more than provided a return on investment helping to win the club four Champions League trophies, two La Liga titles and two Copa del Rey’s while he was there. Unbelievably, the £105 million fee that Juventus paid for him nine years later was a Spanish transfer record in terms of fee received and an Italian transfer record for fee paid.
Gareth Bale
Again, Real Madrid set a new transfer record four years later (2013) when Gareth Bale became the most expensive player for £86 million after signing from Tottenham Hotspur. He formed a formidable partnership in attack with Ronaldo and Benzema for the Spanish giants, like Ronaldo helping them to win a collection of trophies, playing a key part.
Unlike Ronaldo’s, Bale’s career eventually petered out – a brief stint on loan at previous club Tottenham then led to a move to LA Galaxy before retiring in 2023 at the age of 33 to pursue other interests, notably golf.
Paul Pogba
In 2016, Manchester United re-signed their former academy player paying Juventus £106 million for his services, setting a new world transfer record in the process. Pogba split opinion during his time at Old Trafford, clashing with managers and even some of his teammates, failing to replicate his impressive form at Juventus.
This was also a period of time where Manchester United came under heavy criticism for their lack of judgement in the transfer market, being accused of paying over the odds for players, in particular, Pogba which led to them into the financial distress that caused new part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos Group to start making drastic cuts.
He is probably the only player, maybe through no fault of his own to live up to his record-breaking price tag while at one point, there were suggestiosn that he could have moved to Real Madrid where he may have fared better.
Neymar
PSG obliterated the transfer record in 2017 when they paid £200 million to Barcelona for Neymar in their bid to try and win the Champions League. He was joined one year later by Kylian Mbappe from AS Monaco for £163 million which smashed the French transfer record for fees received, while Lionel Messi linked up with his former Barcelona teammate in August 2021.
Despite Neymar’s hype, he failed to hit the heights he reached while at Barcelona, where he won everything – indeed, this arguably being one of the transfer decisions which made the club rethink their big-spending policy.
British Transfer Records
| Player | Joined From | Fee (GBP) | Moved To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Ferdinand | Leeds United | £29.1 million | Manchester United |
| Andriy Shevchenko | AC Milan | £30.6 million | Chelsea |
| Robinho | Real Madrid | £32.5 million | Manchester City |
| Andy Carroll | Newcastle United | £35 million | Liverpool |
| Fernando Torres | Liverpool | £50 million | Chelsea |
| Jack Grealish | Aston Villa | £100 million | Manchester City |
| Enzo Fernandez | Benfica | £106.8 million | Chelsea |
Of course, domestically, there have been a number of times where the British transfer record has been broken since the transfer window was introduced in 2002 involving Premier League clubs. We’ll skip Pogba’s in 2016 as we mentioned him above.
Rio Ferdinand
In the summer of 2002, Manchester United signed the centre back from rivals Leeds United for £29.1 million, at the time smashing his own British transfer record (when Leeds signed him from West Ham United for £18 million) just a couple of years previously.
Ferdinand also became the most expensive defender in world football and went on to form arguably one of the best centre-back partnerships in the world alongside Nemanja Vidic and won everything there was to win for the club.
Andriy Shevchenko
Following Roman Abramovich’s takeover of Chelsea in the summer of 2003, the Blues embarked on a number of ambitious spending sprees, though it wasn’t until 2006 when they made the biggest splash, breaking the British transfer record with the signing of Ukranian striker Shevchenko from AC Milan for £30.6 million.
Robinho
In 2008 virtually in the last hour of the summer transfer window, the latest billionaire-owned club, Manchester City made their own splash signing forward Robinho from Real Madrid for £32.5 million. Interestingly, this signing was made within minutes of fierce rivals Manchester United snapping up striker Dmitar Berbatov from Tottenham for £30.75 million which would have stood as a record if not for Robinho’s arrival.
Andy 
It sounds unbelievable, but the centre-forward was a British transfer record signing for Liverpool in the 2011 January transfer window from Newcastle United for £35 million, though he never hit the heights the Reds would have hoped for in terms of output. Interestingly, in the same window, Liverpool snapped up Luis Suarez from Ajax on deadline day for £22.8 million with the Uruguayan proving to be a revelation.
Fernando Torres
Carroll’s transfer record was not in place for very long – a matter of minutes, because Chelsea then pounced for striker Fernando Torres, paying £50 million for the prolific striker’s services. Indeed, he failed to live up to his prolific record at Stamford Bridge – many believing that Chelsea’s style of play simply didn’t suit him.
Jack Grealish
In 2021, Manchester City blew the British transfer record out of the water when they signed Grealish from Aston Villa for £100 million, though it is fair to say that the winger never really reached his potential, while also struggling with injuries.
Enzo Fernandez
Chelsea wrestled back the British transfer record in 2022 when they snapped up World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for £106.8 million. The Argentinian has struggled under the new Chelsea ownership, with the club having had a series of managers, though has shown a lot of potential to become world class.