If you’re a football fan born in the 1980s, names like Roberto Baggio, Alan Shearer and Ronaldo (as in Brazilian Ronaldo) will invariably make your eyes light up. But what do these guys have in common apart from the fact that they captured the imagination of millions of football fans around the world? They were all the most expensive football player on the planet at some point in the 1990s.
When Roberto Baggio joined Juventus ahead of the 1990/91 season, the record champions of Serie A transferred €12.9 million to Fiorentina, breaking the transfer record previously set by a certain Diego Maradona’s move from Barcelona to Napoli in 1984. While Baggio was soon to be eclipsed by Gianluca Vialli, who also joined Juventus for €16.5 million in 1992, both transfers would have barely made any headlines 30 years later.
As football has turned into a global entertainment industry, dominated by sports conglomerates, oligarchs and oil-rich investment groups, transfer fees have escalated rather quickly, particularly since the 2010s when Welshman Gareth Bale became the first €100-million player. According to Transfermarkt.com, Bale joined Real Madrid in 2013 for a fee of €101 million, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo who had moved to Madrid for €94 million four years earlier.
Since Bale’s record move in 2013, 11 more players have joined the triple-digit club, with Brazilian Neymar the only one to be transferred for more than €200 million. Looking at the top 10, it becomes clear that spending big doesn’t guarantee success on the pitch. In fact, one could argue that most members of the €100-million club failed to meet expectations after their big-money moves.
