The most expensive transfers or the story of how much money turns over in football?

It is no secret that there is a lot of money circulating in professional sport. However, some football transfers boggle the mind of even the most die-hard fans of the game. According to many experts, the most expensive transfers of players have not always had a positive impact on the club. The authoritative Spanish publication El País has even compiled a list of cursed from the “club of 100”. It includes athletes who cost teams more than €100m, but did not bring notable achievements or did not play as well as expected of them.    

 

2013 – Gareth Bale

The real explosion in the transfer market has been in the last decade. And the most expensive players began to surprise fans in 2013, when Gareth Bale moved from Tottenham to Real Madrid for €101 million. This surge in spending on football transfers is not only due to the skill of the player, but also to the increase in the audio-visual rights they receive for him. The club gets a media face for more expensive advertising campaigns, sponsorship assets and other sources of revenue.

Gareth Bale brought Real Madrid four wins in the Champions League, but it was not a success as the player was constantly in the shadow of star Cristiano Ronaldo.

 

2016 – Paul Pogba

Paul Pogba moved from Juventus to Manchester United for 105 million. He helped the club win the League Cup and Europa League, but the player’s agent points out that this football transfer was not satisfying for his client and the best solution today would be to rent him to a more suitable club. However, there are no willing players yet.

 

2017 – Neymar

2017 saw the most expensive football transfer to date. PSG spent as much as 222 million on Neymar. Also a year later, the club bought Kylian Mbappe from Monaco for 145 million. And while the former’s value has now fallen to 128 million, Kylian’s has risen to 180 million.

However, analysts at Spain’s El País point out that such exorbitant sums from PSG’s owners (the Qatari sheikhs) have triggered a veritable consumer frenzy in the football market. Following them, the most expensive players have been bought:

1. Philippe Coutinho 145m – Barcelona;
2. Ousmane Dembele 130m – Barcelona;
3. Joache Feliz 127m – Atletico;
4. Antoine Griezmann 120m – Barcelona;

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5. Cristiano Ronaldo 117m – Juventus;

And the value of a footballer is no longer correlated with his performance, sportsmanship and economic value. 

 

UP and down

It is noteworthy that only the aforementioned Kylian Mbappe has seen his price rise so far. The other star names, on which hundreds of millions of euros have been spent, have significantly sagged in value. The Spanish specialists have called Barcelona the most unhelpful club in terms of transfer fees. The club received a record 222million for Neymar and immediately spent it on players, the value of which has fallen by more than half in just a couple of years. They have failed to win the Champions League and have created a severe financial crisis that will continue to hamper a sustainable position for Barcelona for a long time to come.   

The only footballer who can maintain his value and even increase it is Joas Felic. The lad is only 20 years old and has a great future ahead of him, as well as an opportunity to play actively until at least 2030. However, the sport is unpredictable enough to surprise us again and again with its ups and downs.