Goalkeeper
Gianluigi Buffon
Club moved from: Parma
Club moved to: Juventus
Transfer fee: €52 million
The Italian became the most
expensive goalkeeper in the
history of the game in 2001 as
he moved from Parma to
Juventus.........
........................
Right-back
Kyle Walker
Club moved from: Tottenham
Hotspur
Club moved to: Manchester
City
Transfer fee: €57 million
Walker became the most
expensive right-back of all-time
in 2017 as Manchester City
paid Spurs their asking price in
order to secure the services of
the Sheffield-born England
international.
He was one of the three full-
backs to create five assists in
the Premier League in 2016/17
– no other defender created
more.................
..........................
Centre-back
John Stones
Club moved from: Everton
Club moved to: Manchester
City
Transfer fee: €55.6 million
Another Manchester City
signing to top the charts in
their respective position,
Stones is regarded as the most
elegant defensive talent of his
generation in England, and
that’s why he was signed up for
a record-breaking sum in 2016
as the Pep Guardiola era began
at the Etihad Stadium..............
..................................................
Centre-back
David Luiz
Club moved from: Chelsea
Club moved to: Paris Saint-
Germain
Transfer fee: €49.5 million
In 2014, David Luiz left Chelsea
for PSG, three-and-a-half years
after he joined the Blues in a
€25 million move from Benfica,
with Nemanja Matic going the
other way. The Serbian
midfielder would return to
Stamford Bridge in January
2014 with the Brazilian making
his own way back to west
London in the summer of 2016
as a last ditch deadline day
signing.................................
.............................................
Left-back
Benjamin Mendy
Club moved from: Monaco
Club moved to: Manchester
City
Transfer fee: €58.1 million
A teenage prodigy who first
made his name with Le Havre
and Marseille before moving to
Monaco to win the Ligue 1 title
and reach the final four of the
Champions League in 2016/17,
Manchester City set a new
record for a fee paid for a
defender in 2017 when they
signed him up in the summer
of 2017...................................
...............................................
Defensive midfielder
Tiemoue Bakayoko
Club moved from: Monaco
Club moved to: Chelsea
Transfer fee: €45 million
Monaco’s combative ball-
winner, who added an extra
layer of steel to Monaco’s silky
midfield play to help them to
win the Ligue 1 title in 2017,
Bakayoko became the most
expensive defensive midfielder
ever when he moved to
Chelsea ahead of the 2017/18
season. More than a destroyer,
he was second only to
Bernardo Silva for completed
take ons for his team in the
French top flight in 2016/17.
..............................................
Central midfielder
Paul Pogba
Club moved from: Juventus
Club moved to: Manchester
United
Transfer fee: €105 million
The most expensive footballer
of all-time, Pogba returned to
United in a record-breaking
deal in 2016 after leaving the
club as a youngster in 2012 to
win four Serie A titles and the
Coppa Italia with Juventus. He
was the most creative player in
Jose Mourinho’s squad in his
first season back in Manchester
following his return and won
the EFL Cup and Europa
League in 2017.....................
..............................................
Attacking midfielder
James Rodriguez
Club moved from: Monaco
Club moved to: Real Madrid
Transfer fee: €79.8 million
The Colombian is one of the
most marketable players on
the planet and after winning
the Golden Ball award at the
2014 World Cup, Real Madrid
splurged on the Monaco to
playmaker to bring him to the
Bernabeu, a year after the
Ligue 1 club paid Porto €45
million for his services – the
second highest transfer fee in
Portuguese football history.
Yet while he arrived in Spain
amid great fanfare, he lost his
place in the team under
Zinedine Zidane and was
allowed to leave on-loan to join
Bayern Munich in 2017 in a
deal that could see him sign for
the German club on a
permanent basis once his two-
year stay in Bavaria comes to
an end....................................
................................................
Right wing
Gareth Bale
Club moved from: Tottenham
Hotspur
Club moved to: Real Madrid
Transfer fee: €100 million
The most expensive British
footballer in football history,
Bale broke the world transfer
record when he left Spurs for
Real Madrid in 2013 to become
one of the most decorated
players ever.
In his four seasons in La Liga
he has won three Champions
League trophies, the Spanish
league title, the Copa Del Rey
and the Club World Cup in
2014...........................................
...................................................
Left wing
Cristiano Ronaldo
Club moved from: Manchester
United
Club moved to: Real Madrid
Transfer fee: €94 million
The world’s most expensive
player prior to Bale and
Pogba’s moves to Real Madrid
and Manchester United,
respectively, Ronaldo left Old
Trafford for the Bernabeu in
2009 after winning every prize
on offer to him in England,
including three Premier League
titles and the Champions
League in 2008.
In Spain, he found himself up
against Lionel Messi and
Barcelona, creating one of the
greatest rivalries in the history
of sport as the Portuguese
forward and his Argentinian
contemporary pushed each
other to ever higher levels of
performance. On the European
stage, it is Ronaldo who takes
the plaudits as a goalscorer
with an unbeaten record of 105
goals in 140 Champions League
games.........................................
...................................................
Striker
Gonazlo Higuain
Club moved from: Napoli
Club moved to: Juventus
Transfer fee: €90 million
The Argentinian left Napoli in
controversial circumstances in
2016 after Juventus triggered
his release clause, instantly
turning the striker from a local
favourite to a figure of hate.
No stranger to big transfer
fees, he left Real Madrid for
the club that Diego Maradona
lead to greatness and glory in
2013 after six-and-a-half years
in Spain.
In the 2015/16 season, he
scored 36 league goals to end
the campaign as Serie top
scorer, equalling a 87-year
record for goals scored in an
Italian top flight season,
triggering Juventus’ interest in
breaking Napoli hearts to sign
Higuain.