A combined XI of the most expensive footballers ever

A year after PSG took the transfer market to another level, the massive deals are still rolling in.

The Parisian side almost doubled the world record transfer fee in 2017 when they signed Neymar from Barcelona, and the effect it had on everyone else has been absurd. Since that incident, there have been countless mega deals, with records being shattered all over the place, for players in every position.

It’s not just been forwards that have seen their price skyrocket, but midfielders, defenders, and even goalkeepers. With that in mind, we’ve rounded up the world’s most expensive players by position and come up with a combined XI of the most expensive footballers ever. Who makes it into the side? Read on and find out!

Goalkeeper: Alisson

£65m – Roma to Liverpool – 2018

The newest entrant onto the list, Alisson has become the world’s costliest goalkeeper after Liverpool more than doubled the previous record to bring him to Anfield. The Reds were sensational last season and the only major weakness left in their side was a true top-class goalkeeper.

Many have said this fee is too much “for a goalkeeper” but this line of thinking betrays the fact that goalkeeper is one of the most important positions on the pitch. They’re not fashionable, but you can’t have a great team without a top-class goalkeeper. Alisson is exactly that, a supremely rounded shot-stopper with no real weaknesses in his game.

Right-back: Kyle Walker

£53m – Spurs to Manchester City – 2017

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City got off to a rough start because in his debut season the full-back situation was a joke. City had to remedy this and Kyle Walker wanted to get paid his worth, so it was a happy medium. Spurs still demanded a premium fee, one that could rise to £53 million if add-ons are met, and for a while Walker was the most expensive defender in the world.

Walker has been supreme since moving to City, picking up on Pep Guardiola’s system quickly and becoming a flank-dominating force. Walker’s pace, ability to read the game and great instincts allowed him to thrive in a pass-heavy system, providing key thrust in both attack and defence. He has proven tremendous value for money, helping City to win the Premier League in record fashion.

Centre-back: Virgil Van Dijk

£75m – Southampton to Liverpool – 2018

Liverpool’s defence was rickety and prone to being cut apart like confetti. Liverpool remedied that by signing Virgil van Dijk in January for an eye-watering world-record fee. As they just did with Alisson, the Reds weren’t put off by position and threw a colossal amount of cash at Southampton to secure the man they wanted.

And to be fair, it worked out for them. Van Dijk organised and stabilised Liverpool’s defence as he was brought in to do, giving the Reds enough of a platform to drive all the way to the Champions League final. He’s only been there six months but you can see how he will prove to be the defensive leader they have needed for a decade.

Centre-back: Aymeric Laporte

£57m – Athletic Club to Manchester City – 2018

When Athletic Club kept bumping Aymeric Laporte’s release clause up, the idea was to take him out of the range of bigger sides as “no one spends that kind of money on a defender” – except when Liverpool signed Van Dijk, City were effectively given a green light to spend an enormous amount of money on Laporte.

The Frenchman (although he could yet switch allegiance to Spain) is a phenomenal defender who has shown so in spurs. He’s not shown his best in sky blue yet, but the argument could obviously be made that he is still adapting and learning the system. Much more is expected of him in 2018/19.

Left-back: Benjamin Mendy

£52m – Monaco to Manchester City – 2017

Not satisfied with having the most expensive right-back, City continued their full-back revamp with gusto by signing Benjamin Mendy for a record fee for both a full-back specifically and a defender in general.

Mendy was going to be the supercharging force for City on the left. A player of almost limitless offensive potential; he instead spent the whole season injured. So the jury’s out on if he ever brings value for money, although one could argue he’s already done that through his Twitter game.

Centre midfield: Paul Pogba

£89m – Juventus to Manchester United – 2016

This is the only signing that predates PSG’s game-changing transfer shenanigans, and is almost antiquated now. £89m was a world record when it happened, and looked to be an obscene (although affordable) amount of money. Now it looks like brilliant business because a player of Pogba’s prowess and potential would cost twice that.

Pogba has endured a mixed time at Old Trafford since returning; there have obviously been stupendous performances and dominant displays, but then he has also let himself get dragged down by José Mourinho’s tactics too much. That said, he did just win the World Cup, so let’s see if that gives him a huge boost. If he plays to his potential; watch out!

Centre midfield: Coutinho

£145m – Liverpool to Barcelona – 2018

When Barcelona want to sign your star player, you usually get plenty of warning. There will be a big campaign of public comments by players (former and current) praising the target. To this end, Liverpool had a year of warning that the Blaugrana were coming for Philippe Coutinho.

The time finally came at the end of summer 2017, but the Reds refused and held onto their star man for another half season. But Coutinho’s desire to play for Barcelona was so strong he forced through a colossal transfer (at the time the second biggest in history) in January.

After some initial teething problems, Coutinho played brilliantly for Barcelona. He settled into his role well, setting up teammates nicely and mostly scoring lots of goals. Expect more excellence in 2018/19 from this brilliant Brazilian.

Centre-midfield: James Rodriguez

£71m – Monaco to Real Madrid – 2014

File this one as another Pogba-esque transfer that looked a lot more punchy prior to PSG’s . Arguably, in fact, James Rodriguez is Real Madrid’s last Galactico signing.

The moment came in July 2014, James a newly-crowned Golden Boot and Goal of the Tournament recipient from that summer’s World Cup with Colombia. He has established a respectable goals tally and produced the occasional moment of brilliance, but this transfer has not been an overwhelming success, as illustrated by the fact Los Blancos shipped him off on loan to his current club, Bayern Munich. James does have two Champions League winners medals to show for his time at the Bernabeu, though, and a La Liga title.

Right-wing: Ousmane Dembélé

£97m – Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona – 2017

When PSG pulled off their stunning transfer coup of summer 2017, Barcelona suddenly had a huge hole in their attack. They needed a winger or wing-forward to bring pace, dribbling and quality. So they went straight for Ousmane Dembélé.

The 20-year-old winger had only played one full-season of top flight football but had proven himself such a special talent that Barça were willing to make him the (at the time) second-most expensive player on the planet. Dortmund didn’t want to lose him, however, and the youngster had to go on strike to force the move to his dream club.

In the end, he got what he wanted and joined Barcelona… then a hamstring injury (and subsequent complications) basically kept him out until late February. After all this he struggled to fit in both and off the field, but when he played his quality was obviously. Nearly all of Barça’s best performances in 2017/18 came when Dembélé was on the field. There is so much more to come.

Left-wing: Neymar

£198m – Barcelona to PSG – 2017

Neymar was comfortably the world’s second-best player, but the problem was he was playing for the same club as the world’s best player. Pushed by a baying Brazilian media, Neymar (and his dad, well, mainly his dad) engineered an earth-shattering move to PSG.

Barcelona would never have countenanced selling him, so PSG had to smash the world transfer record to pay Neymar’s buyout clause. The €222m figure is more than doubled the fee United had paid for Paul Pogba and blew the roof off the transfer market. Suddenly players that would cost £50m were costing £100m (see: Ousmane Dembélé) and football went kind of loopy.

As for Neymar being worth it… duh? He’s been supreme for PSG, and he led the charge as they romped to another domestic treble. Off the pitch he’s had squabbles with Edinson Cavani over set-pieces, but the only downer for his season was getting injured and bailing on PSG’s campaign to prepare for the World Cup. He’s brilliant, though, so expect greatness.

Striker: Kylian Mbappé

£166m – Monaco to PSG – 2018

You’d think it would be hard for a club to sign Neymar and then make a better signing in the same summer window, but PSG pulled it off in 2017 (although the deal wasn’t made permanent until 2018) when they agreed to spend £166m on Kylian Mbappé.

The youngster left title-winning Monaco, where he had broken records on records, snubbed Real Madrid, and joined his hometown club. He donned the No. 29 and began playing supreme football, being simultaneously subservient to Neymar (and Edinson Cavani) while also showcasing the skills that could make him superior.

Then the World Cup happened, and while Neymar was relatively underwhelming and left at the quarter-final stage, Mbappé was sensational and broke yet more records on records as France fired their way to World Cup glory. He returns to PSG as a national hero having drawn comparisons with everyone from Pelé to Ronaldo (the original).

Many said that Neymar joined PSG for a team of his own, or to “escape Messi’s shadow” as some put it. And that seems right, but you have to feel sorry for Neymar because now he’s going to be in the shadow of the teenage titan that is Kylian Mbappé. That’s no slight on Neymar, almost anyone in the footballing world would fail to shine in comparison to the colossal King Kylmonger.

 

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