#5 Rui Costa – € 42m
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Rui Costa was an integral part of Portugal’s golden generation that came agonisingly close to winning Euro 2004, only to lose in the final to rank outsiders Greece. Spoken of in the same breath as Luis Figo and Eusebio, Portuguese fans revered Rui Costa to almost the same extent, and it was indeed a pity that he along with Figo could not guide Portugal to international glory, despite success at junior level.
Rui Costa was on the top of his game at the turn of the century, and his outstanding playmaking abilities prompted A.C. Milan to part with €42 million at the start of the 2001/02 season, to facilitate his transfer from Fiorentina.
With the Serie A fast transforming into a 2 horse race between Juventus and A.C. Milan, Juve’s capture of Pavel Nedved meant Milan had to up the stakes and they did so by bringing in Rui Costa. Despite Nedved emerging the better player between the two, Rui Costa had more reasons to feel satisfied as he won the Champions League in the 2002/03 season with A.C. Milan.
