With the no. of games left reading empty and speculations aplenty, another epic season of football has drawn to close. After a whirlwind of heartbreaks and surprises in every competition, the fighting spirit and unrestrained tension take on a different platform, namely the Transfer Market. It’s an age-old tale that the transfer market has been known to make or break teams without any hesitation. Every time a player is sold, new possibilities spring up; so do new liabilities. You could look at Jadon Sancho, who was sold for £8 million and now he ended the recent season as the assist leader of the Bundesliga. On the other end, you could look at Gareth Bale, who broke the then-transfer record with a move to Real. A lot of good things came with it. He was excellent in his first few years but then the injuries kept piling up and while he has proven to be the much-needed edge in certain games, the recent season deems him as a burden. He is not the formidable force he once was and he is drawing a hefty salary, hence proving difficult to discard.
With disappointing seasons from affluent teams like Manchester United and Real Madrid, considering the wealth of the top teams and the bevvy of talent in teams like Ajax, Wolves, Real Betis, Frankfurt, a significant number of big purchases are expected. The rumours are generating at lightning fast rates and the money stacked on the table is sky high as is fan support. This looks to be a transfer window for the history books. Speaking of history books, with plenty of high-profile moves knocking on the door, let’s look back at some of the biggest and best value for money transfers in the last decade.
5. Robin Van Persie(Arsenal to Manchester United for £24 million;2012):
One of the deadliest strikers to grace the Premier League would be an apt description for the Flying Dutchman. He joined Arsenal in 2004 and gave 8 years to the North London Club. It’s surprising to look back and realize that he didn’t bag any major club titles during that time. Despite the lack of silverware, you’d be hard-pressed to find any Gooner who doesn’t consider him a club legend. At the same time, you’d earn a dirty look or even worse if you mentioned his move to Old Trafford. While at the time, the quoted amount wasn’t exactly chump change for a player pushing 30, clearly, this wasn’t just any player. Alex Ferguson had the correct vision and wasn’t afraid to act on it. RVP scored on his first Man United home game and garnered a hattrick on his first game away from home. That was just the beginning. He scored an injury-time free kick against Manchester City which almost sealed Man United’s clinching of the PL trophy. He earned the Goal of the Season with a hattrick towards the end of the season and ended at the top of the scoring charts. Winning the PL, the goal of the season and top goalscorer(26 goals)- that money was certainly well spent.
#4. Toni Kroos ( Bayern Munich to Real Madrid for £25 million;2014):
Bayern Munich are surely kicking themselves for letting go of this Midfield extraordinaire. The German World Cup winner has ended every season since joining Los Blanco with a passing accuracy of above 90%, making him La Liga’s best passer in that regard. Considering his penchant for long balls and key passes, that number is staggering, to say the least. He lays the foundation for Real Madrid’s counterattack and with his recent contract extension, it looks like it will stay that way. He has often been ranked as one of, or if not, the best midfielder in the world throughout his tenure at Real Madrid. He is heavily decorated and was a major part of Real Madrid’s historic 3 consecutive Champions League trophies. He also garnered one league title with Real Madrid and has made multiple TOTS(Team of The Season) appearances.
#3. Mohamed Salah (AS Roma to Liverpool for £37 million; 2017):
When it comes to recent memory, no transfer has been worthy of the term ‘steal’ quite like Mohamed Salah’s move to Liverpool. The transfer was certainly something special for Anfield. It was right before the market was inflated with Neymar’s record-destroying transfer. It was Liverpool’s biggest transfer; something that would be dwarfed in next month by PSG’s cheque book. Jump-cut to 2 seasons later and Liverpool are the UCL winners. They nearly won this past season’s Premier League and Salah was a huge factor in all of that. He also scored the early penalty in Liverpool’s 2-0 UCL Final win and set the tone for the rest of the game and Liverpool’s resultant victory. In his first season alone, he broke the goalscoring record for the PL. He became one of the progenitors for Liverpool’s climb back into the pinnacle of the football world thanks to his finishing, read and breakneck speed. He would do a repeat of his first season by ending up as the top scorer of the League in his second and latest season, albeit sharing the Golden Boot with Arsenal’s Aubameyang and fellow teammate Sadio Mane. A special transfer indeed.
#2. Yaya Toure ( Barcelona to Manchester City for £24 million; 2010):
Yaya Toure was simply one of the best box-to-box midfielders of his generation. He was instrumental in laying the groundwork for and as well being a part of Manchester City’s perception as a club that oozes dominance. His versatility will be something Manchester City fans will always remember. He used his physicality to tackle oncoming attackers and his pace and stamina to execute inhumane runs. Of course, he also had terrific shot power, vision, passing and ball control. One of his big seasons was certainly Man City’s 2013-14 season. Despite his midfield position, he still racked up 20 league goals; 3rd in the top scorers' list. He scored more than his club’s forward Aguero who was a spot below him. Man City won the league that season thanks to his sheer force as a player. During his stay, Man City had won 3 PL Trophies and transitioned into one of the best clubs in world football. With all those achievements, he is certainly one of the first names that come to mind when people talk about Man City legends and he will be for the foreseeable future.
#1. Cristiano Ronaldo ( Manchester United to Real Madrid for £80 million; 2009):
It is almost ironic that the one topping the list for ‘value for money transfers’ would be one that broke the transfer records at the time. But the ‘value’ he provided for that amount of money was unimaginable, to say the least. He is not only cited one of the two best players of his generation(alongside Lionel Messi) but amongst the best of all time. During his tenure at Real Madrid, his achievements were nothing short of superhuman. He is the all-time top goal scorer of Real Madrid with 450 goals across 438 matches, winning the La Liga twice. Having more goals than matches is something that is unheard of, to provide some context. He grew to be the all-time top scorer in the UEFA Champions League. He has made the UEFA Team of the Year consecutively for over a decade. He won 4 UCL trophies with Real Madrid, 3 of which were won consecutively. Ronaldo is the only player to have won the UEFA Champions League 5 times(since it was called the Champions League) and those are just his club records. Demonlike agility and pace, brilliant dribbling, adaptability, attacking prowess and aerial dominance; he has displayed all, often at the same time throughout most of his career. While his sudden move to Juventus in 2018 came as a shock to many Real patrons, he is a legend among legends and Real Madrid fans( and football fans in general) will surely sing his praises till the end of time.
