Expensive transfers that worked

Luke1995

Full Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2016
Messages
3,444
I'll start with probably the best expensive transfer ever - Ronaldo's 94 million pounds to Madrid. The return ? Although the first season was very frustrating from a titles standpoint, he went on to Four CL titles, two La Liga titles, club's all time record goalscorer.

Zidane's 77.5 million pounds to Madrid aswell comes in second for me. He did win them the CL in his first season there, so that's as fast of a return as you could possibly ask for.

With that in mind, what other expensive transfers in football you can think of that gave the return the buyer was looking for ?
 

MrMarcello

In a well-ordered universe...
Joined
Dec 26, 2000
Messages
52,592
Location
On a pale blue dot in space
These numbers are inflation based. When Zidane moved it was 46m GBP in 2001 and Ronaldo was right around 29m in 2002.

Ferdinand 29.3m, Figo 37m, Nedved 28m, Rooney 23m, Shearer 15m all worked.

Ronaldo worked for Barcelona, Inter (up till the injuries), and Real. There have been plenty that worked out.
 

Maluco

Last Man Standing 3 champion 2019/20
Joined
Jan 4, 2014
Messages
5,765
As much as I hate to see it, Van Dijk is a massive one.

Big, big money for a defender, which was scoffed at at the time. His addition, along with Alisson, made Liverpool a different beast altogether. A massive win for them.
 

Sayros

Full Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2015
Messages
6,006
Supports
Paris Saint-Germain
How? They've won exactly the same as they did before him, and they'd win exactly the same without him.
Because no one is throwing the fact that PSG paid 180m for a kid with one professional season back at them. Everyone agrees it was a good business and he's only gotten better since.
 

P-Nut

fan of well-known French footballer Fabinho
Joined
Oct 16, 2015
Messages
21,602
Location
Oldham, Greater Manchester
Because no one is throwing the fact that PSG paid 180m for a kid with one professional season back at them. Everyone agrees it was a good business and he's only gotten better since.
If he sees out his contract and leaves for free without them winning the CL I'd say its been a poor transfer for the club, even if not for the player.

The Ronaldo to Real transfer broke the Barcelona monopoly hence why it was such a successful transfer.

Van Dijk to pool transformed the team into winning things they wouldn't have without him. If the transfer makes no difference to the teams fortunes then what was the point of spending so much?
 

Sayros

Full Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2015
Messages
6,006
Supports
Paris Saint-Germain
If he sees out his contract and leaves for free without them winning the CL I'd say its been a poor transfer for the club, even if not for the player.

The Ronaldo to Real transfer broke the Barcelona monopoly hence why it was such a successful transfer.

Van Dijk to pool transformed the team into winning things they wouldn't have without him. If the transfer makes no difference to the teams fortunes then what was the point of spending so much?
Because he's the best young player in the world by a long distance and the only difference he could make to the team's fortune is in the CL, where he's at least scored or assisted in every season's knock out games for the club, which is where they always struggle, there's also circumstances beyond him that's put PSG at a disadvantage consistently (Neymar being injured both seasons prior to this one, and now the league being stopped early while they're still in the CL is probably going to work out against them).

I don't know how the markets are going to look with the virus, but prior to that he would be sold for a big profit, he's brought in a ton of money and attention since the WC, so for such a risky transfer, I'd say it's worked out very well for PSG. No one in Paris is disappointed about Mbappe or the money spent on bringing him here, that's a small miracle on its own when you consider the optics.

The ones you pointed out are obvious and better examples, IMO, but I think Mbappe belongs as well because he's gotten substantially better since being at PSG and only increased his value while being their best goalscorer the last two seasons.
 

P-Nut

fan of well-known French footballer Fabinho
Joined
Oct 16, 2015
Messages
21,602
Location
Oldham, Greater Manchester
Because he's the best young player in the world by a long distance and the only difference he could make to the team's fortune is in the CL, where he's at least scored or assisted in every season's knock out games for the club, which is where they always struggle, there's also circumstances beyond him that's put PSG at a disadvantage consistently (Neymar being injured both seasons prior to this one, and now the league being stopped early while they're still in the CL is probably going to work out against them).

I don't know how the markets are going to look with the virus, but prior to that he would be sold for a big profit, he's brought in a ton of money and attention since the WC, so for such a risky transfer, I'd say it's worked out very well for PSG. No one in Paris is disappointed about Mbappe or the money spent on bringing him here, that's a small miracle on its own when you consider the optics.

The ones you pointed out are obvious and better examples, IMO, but I think Mbappe belongs as well because he's gotten substantially better since being at PSG and only increased his value while being their best goalscorer the last two seasons.
I suppose for me it's just too early to judge him. If he doesn't win the CL or sell for a profit I'd struggle to see it as a massive success.
 

Sayros

Full Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2015
Messages
6,006
Supports
Paris Saint-Germain
I suppose for me it's just too early to judge him. If he doesn't win the CL or sell for a profit I'd struggle to see it as a massive success.
That's fine, the only thing I'd say is in the last two seasons he's only been behind Messi in efficiency and output, so I think he's passed the 'too early to judge' label, but that's just me. People can say it's Ligue 1, but you can only play what's in front of you, it's translated at every level, and there's been some great Ligue 1 players in the past, but he's performed better than pretty much all of them since his second season at the club. That's why I see it as a successful transfer, I'm just really curious how his market value will look now that the virus has devastated clubs' finance. I doubt he goes this summer, but if he did, he would pretty much set the market value for all other transfers as he was considered the most valuable player up until then.
 

204Red

Full Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2009
Messages
2,542
Location
Canada
Robson to United ... British record signing at the time

Keane to United... which I believe was a British record signing at the time

Van Nistelrooy to United which was a record... until we went and stumped 5Million more on Veron (who doesn't fit the category)
 

Mettaur

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Jul 13, 2017
Messages
202
Supports
Liverpool
1) VVD to Liverpool

2) Luis Suarez to Barcelona

3) KDB to Man City

4) Alisson to Liverpool

5) Laporte to Man City

6) Sterling to Man City
 

Gazza

Full Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2000
Messages
32,644
Location
'tis a silly place
Dwight Yorke. At the time, £12.5 million was a transfer record for United, I think only Shearer had cost more in Britain up to that point. Jaap Stam too, £10m was a world record for a defender at the time I think? Both signings were heavily scrutinized but by end of the first season both had justified the money spent.
 

Luke1995

Full Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2016
Messages
3,444
Dwight Yorke. At the time, £12.5 million was a transfer record for United, I think only Shearer had cost more in Britain up to that point. Jaap Stam too, £10m was a world record for a defender at the time I think? Both signings were heavily scrutinized but by end of the first season both had justified the money spent.
Can we really consider Stam to have worked ? Fergie kicked him out of the club... or at least, gave the green light for him to go look for a new challenge.
 

Gazza

Full Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2000
Messages
32,644
Location
'tis a silly place
Can we really consider Stam to have worked ? Fergie kicked him out of the club... or at least, gave the green light for him to go look for a new challenge.
In terms of his quality and adaptability meeting expectations, I'd argue he was a success in a football sense. Injuries and falling foul of Fergie did tarnish his time with us, but he won 3 league titles, a European Cup, and an FA Cup, in three seasons! Some players don't win that much in their whole career.
 

MrMarcello

In a well-ordered universe...
Joined
Dec 26, 2000
Messages
52,592
Location
On a pale blue dot in space
He was also voted UEFA's Top Defender in 1999 and 2000. Would have won it a third time in a row if not for that calf/leg injury. Fanatics talk of Van Dijk carrying a back four but he's got nothing on Stam carrying a back four. He was a mountain back there.
 

jackal&hyde

Full Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2018
Messages
4,220
Because no one is throwing the fact that PSG paid 180m for a kid with one professional season back at them. Everyone agrees it was a good business and he's only gotten better since.
I think that's mostly because no one cares about PSG. If it was United that paid that much (plus Neymar) and never even reach a quarter final of the CL it would have failure written all over it.
 

SAFMUTD

New Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2018
Messages
11,787
Looking at the most expensive ones most are failures.

top 20 transfers:

Neymar - failed
Mbappe - success
Joao Felix - not looking good
Griezmann- not looking good
Coutinho- failed
Dembele - failed
Pogba - 50/50
Hazard - not looking good
Cristiano - huge success
Bale - success
Higuain (from napoli to juve)- success
Maguire - jury still out
Lukaku - failed
VVD - Huge success
Luis Suarez - success
Nicolas Pepe - not looking good
Kepa - not looking good
Lucas Hernandez - not looking good
Zidane - success
James Rodrigues - failed


Out of the top 10 only three lived up to the expectations and out of the top 20 only 7 you can call without a doubt, gets some perspective on how risky is to spend big on players.
 

jackal&hyde

Full Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2018
Messages
4,220
Looking at the most expensive ones most are failures.

top 20 transfers:

Neymar - failed
Mbappe - success
Joao Felix - not looking good
Griezmann- not looking good
Coutinho- failed
Dembele - failed
Pogba - 50/50
Hazard - not looking good
Cristiano - huge success
Bale - success
Higuain (from napoli to juve)- success
Maguire - jury still out
Lukaku - failed
VVD - Huge success
Luis Suarez - success
Nicolas Pepe - not looking good
Kepa - not looking good
Lucas Hernandez - not looking good
Zidane - success
James Rodrigues - failed


Out of the top 10 only three lived up to the expectations and out of the top 20 only 7 you can call without a doubt, gets some perspective on how risky is to spend big on players.
Not that i disagree but why is Neymar failed and Mbappe success? On an individual level they've both been very good while at a team level in Europe they underachieved big time; if anything Neymar has the excuse of having been injured in key games.
 

SAFMUTD

New Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2018
Messages
11,787
Not that i disagree but why is Neymar failed and Mbappe success? On an individual level they've both been very good while at a team level in Europe they underachieved big time; if anything Neymar has the excuse of having been injured in key games.
Mbappe has gotten better, can we say the same about Neymar? It just feels Mbappe is a top top name in the game while Neymar has kind of faded.
 

jackal&hyde

Full Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2018
Messages
4,220
Mbappe has gotten better, can we say the same about Neymar? It just feels Mbappe is a top top name in the game while Neymar has kind of faded.
It's an interesting debate i think. As far as individual performances i would say Neymar has been just as good as was expected as has Mbappe. They've been brought for so much money for European success imo as there was no need for that in the league so from that perspective they've both failed to some degree. It's interesting how we might judge some players based on their individual performances and others on the team performance. I'd say Pogba has done ok but the team hasn't and this is part of what creates the 2 sides of seeing him as a failure or not.
 

SAFMUTD

New Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2018
Messages
11,787
It's an interesting debate i think. As far as individual performances i would say Neymar has been just as good as was expected as has Mbappe. They've been brought for so much money for European success imo as there was no need for that in the league so from that perspective they've both failed to some degree. It's interesting how we might judge some players based on their individual performances and others on the team performance. I'd say Pogba has done ok but the team hasn't and this is part of what creates the 2 sides of seeing him as a failure or not.
I agree on Neymar and Mbappe performances comparison, the standard I use is could you still sell the player for the same fee you bought him?

I think the difference is that Mbappe was a teenager with just a season under his belt and just to keep performing like he was can be marked as success since the risk there was that he faded or was just a patch, while Neymar was a huge name in football he was expected not only to perform but to completely tear up the french league and help PSG get the UCL.

The responsability for both players is extremely different IMO, that doesnt mean that Mbappe has now stablished himself and more will be expected from him.

Regarding Pogba I think in numbers he has delivered, but just this year with all the injuries which left doubt if were true or exagerated and seeing how he lower his guns with Mourinho, I dont know it just doesn’t seem like a success, I think he has delivered to a certain point but overall I had much higher expectations from him, not individually but transforming our team being a focal point which he hasnt made until now.
 

Sayros

Full Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2015
Messages
6,006
Supports
Paris Saint-Germain
I think that's mostly because no one cares about PSG. If it was United that paid that much (plus Neymar) and never even reach a quarter final of the CL it would have failure written all over it.
Yeah, that's just wrong. PSG is a topic all of the time in regards to their transfers and dealings, you hear about Neymar more now than you did when he was at Barcelona.

It's an interesting debate i think. As far as individual performances i would say Neymar has been just as good as was expected as has Mbappe. They've been brought for so much money for European success imo as there was no need for that in the league so from that perspective they've both failed to some degree. It's interesting how we might judge some players based on their individual performances and others on the team performance. I'd say Pogba has done ok but the team hasn't and this is part of what creates the 2 sides of seeing him as a failure or not.
Agreed, Neymar's issue has only been health and the fact that most people can't stand him. Performance-wise, he's been PSG's best player consistently, with Mbappe a close second but a second nonetheless.
 
Last edited:

Andycoleno9

matchday malcontent
Joined
Mar 4, 2017
Messages
28,576
Location
Croatia
Some transfers were huge and record fees in their time.
So Ferdinand, Rooney, Ruud, Keane, Cole, Stam...all great transfers

Others:
Cristiano, Ronaldo to Barca, Suarez, Bale (name on couple of trophies for Real), Falcao transfers before United, Van Dijk, Drogba etc..etc...

Tbf, flop list would be much more interesting
 

ROFLUTION

Full Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2009
Messages
7,547
Location
Denmark
Stunned that almost no one has mentioned Rooney.

Transfermarkt has the fee as high as 37m eur. Went on to be our highest goalscorer of all time
 

Vooon

Full Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2012
Messages
2,600
Location
Hal Institute for Criminally Insane Robots
Can we really consider Stam to have worked ? Fergie kicked him out of the club... or at least, gave the green light for him to go look for a new challenge.
SAF also realised after he went that he was way more valuable to the team than first thought. The declining tackling stats were misinterpreted as him getting worse, but in fact he was tackling less because he was getting better at stopping players before he actually needed to. I think he actually conceded that the Stam sale was a big mistake in retrospect.

My personal fave is Rio however. I remember the massive attention his transfer fee got, but I think he's the best defender the club ever had.
 
Joined
May 22, 2017
Messages
13,122
Quite a few for Utd down the years.

  • Robson - £1.5m
  • Pallister - £2.1m
  • Keane - £3.75m
  • RVN - £19m
  • Ferdinand - £29.1m
  • Rooney - £30m
Then you realise Rooney was 2004, and that was 16 years ago.

you could argue RVP which was a big transfer given his age, and clearly that was a success, but it was not a big transfer in the whole scheme of things.

players who have broke the Utd record or been massive transfers are the likes of Mata, Di Maria, Lukuku and Pogba - none of which have been a success - certainty not when compared to the list above.
 

anant

Correctly predicted Italy to win Euro 2020
Joined
Feb 28, 2015
Messages
8,258
It's an interesting debate i think. As far as individual performances i would say Neymar has been just as good as was expected as has Mbappe. They've been brought for so much money for European success imo as there was no need for that in the league so from that perspective they've both failed to some degree. It's interesting how we might judge some players based on their individual performances and others on the team performance. I'd say Pogba has done ok but the team hasn't and this is part of what creates the 2 sides of seeing him as a failure or not.
Think what works in Mbappe's favour is the age factor. Neymar is already 28, and he'll start declining physically in a couple of years. If he doesn't win a CL, the transfer will go down as a failure unless Neymar manages to smash some goalscoring records in the process.
With Mbappe- it can go 3 ways:
1. He wins CL in which case hell definitely go down as a success
2. He doesn't win CL, PSG dominate the league and reach latter stages of CL and Mbappe stays at PSG through his peak years - In which case it wasn't that bad an investment
3. Mbappe leaves PSG. This would be a hug transfer deal, probably record fee as well, in which case he'll still go down as a relative success
 

hubbuh

New Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2010
Messages
6,110
Location
UK, hun?
Yeah, that's just wrong. PSG is a topic all of the time in regards to their transfers and dealings, you hear about Neymar more now than you did when he was at Barcelona.
Really? The abject failure in Europe, the constant murmurings of a move back to Spain, the affair with his sister, the partying etc. I’ve read reports that say Neymar views his move to PSG as a mistake. Most of the talk surrounding Neymar is about his commitment and discipline. Totally different to what he was at Barcelona.
 

JuveGER

Full Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2008
Messages
2,681
Location
Germany
Supports
Juventus
Buffon to Juventus.
Absolutely. This was a monster fee in 2001 and the highest fee for a goalkeeper for 16 years. Getting about 18 years (and counting) of service from arguably one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time and a football icon, was well worth the money.
 

passing-wind

Full Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2013
Messages
3,041
Rooney
VVD
Ronaldo (CR7)

I'd throw Bale for his accolades but I don't know if he's had continual success in his consistency to start weekly somehow I think Madrid have reserved him to the status of some type of super sub rather than an established first team member.