Suarez to Barcelona and the 10 most expensive transfers of the summer so far
The Uruguay star currently tops the list of the
summer's biggest deals to date in a hectic pre-season, but who else has
been signed for big money?
Despite almost a month of the transfer window still remaining, the summer of 2014 has already been quite remarkable.
Following
Gareth Bale's world-record €100 million move from Tottenham to Real
Madrid last year, we have already seen the €80m barrier broken twice
this time around.
With clubs enjoying greater commercial and
broadcast revenues than ever and on the back of the shop window that is
the World Cup, it is safe to expect more big signings between now and
September.
But what have been the most expensive transfers so far?
Luis Suarez
may have seen his World Cup end in ignominy, but it wasn't long after
his time in Brazil that Barcelona paid what is currently the biggest fee
of the summer - a staggering €88m - to bring the Premier League player
of the year to Spain.
New arrival | James Rodriguez is greeted by Real Madrid faithful after making the move from Monaco
Not to be outdone by their Clasico rivals, Real Madrid splashed out €80m on
James Rodriguez,
who captured the attention of the world with his Golden Boot-winning
performances in Brazil and promptly moved to the Spanish capital from
Monaco. Interestingly, this is the only transfer currently in the top 10
not to include a club from England's top flight.
David Luiz
will not be missed at Chelsea according to Jose Mourinho, but Paris
Saint-Germain will hope that their €49.5m outlay on the Brazilian - the
highest fee ever paid for a defender - will not go to waste. Chelsea, of
course, wasted little time in reinvesting the funds, paying €44m to
Atletico Madrid to bring
Diego Costa to Stamford Bridge.
Currently in fifth place is
Alexis Sanchez, who became Arsenal's second most-expensive player when he joined from Barcelona. Just behind him is
Luke Shaw,
whom Manchester United made the costliest teenager in football history
when they forked out just over €37.8m to Southampton for his services.
Shaw's new United team-mate
Ander Herrera
is seventh in the table, with Athletic Bilbao receiving €36.5m for the
midfielder, with Cesc Fabregas' return to the Premier League placing him
in eighth.
In ninth place - the fourth deal involving Chelsea in the table - is
Romelu Lukaku, who joined Everton in a club-record transfer, while
Adam Lallana completes the current top 10 after joining Liverpool for €31.5m.
A number of other significant summer moves just fall short of a place in our list.
Toni Kroos and
Antoine Griezmann both cost a fraction around €30m as they joined Real and Atletico, while
Mario Mandzukic - Costa's replacement at Atleti - is down in 15th with a fee of around €22m.
Juan Iturbe is the most expensive signing made by a Serie A side so far, with Roma's new attacker placed ahead of
Alvaro Morata.
Jeremy Mathieu became the most expensive defender ever over the age of 30 while
Ciro Immobile is the priciest Bundesliga arrival of the summer at €18.5m.
Ivan Rakitic and
Jan Oblak both make the top 25 along with Manchester City newboy
Fernando,
while Iturbe, bizarrely, appears again at No.24 after Hellas Verona
initially paid Porto to acquire the full rights to the player before his
Roma move.
| TOP 10 MOST EXPENSIVE TRANSFERS OF SUMMER 2014 |
| No. |
Player |
From |
To |
Total fee |
| 1 |
Luis Suarez |
Liverpool |
Barcelona |
€88m |
| 2 |
James Rodriguez |
Monaco |
Real Madrid |
€80m |
| 3 |
David Luiz |
Chelsea |
Paris Saint-Germain |
€49.5m |
| 4 |
Diego Costa |
Atletico Madrid |
Chelsea |
€44m |
| 5 |
Alexis Sanchez |
Barcelona |
Arsenal |
€40m |
| 6 |
Luke Shaw |
Southampton |
Manchester United |
€37.8m |
| 7 |
Ander Herrera |
Athletic Bilbao |
Manchester United |
€36.5m |
| 8 |
Cesc Fabregas |
Barcelona |
Chelsea |
€36m |
| 9 |
Romelu Lukaku |
Chelsea |
Everton |
€35.3m |
| 10 |
Adam Lallana |
Southampton |
Liverpool |
€31.5m |
The Super Eagles goal keeper shared the photos above on his instagram
page and wrote really loving messages to his wife and mother of his
three children. In one message, he wrote "I am blessed to be loved by
God, so much to let this diamond in my possession."...in another he
wrote "
