5 most expensive Spanish footballers of all time

4) Juan Mata - £37.1m

Juan Mata joined Manchester United from rivals Chelsea

Another player who Valencia did not want to sell was Juan Mata but his £23.5m move to Chelsea was necessary for the club to survive. However, that's not the fee that puts him on this list.

After serving Chelsea well for two seasons where he even walked away with the Chelsea Player of the Year award in 2012 and 2013, he was suddenly cast aside for players such as Brazilian midfielder Oscar who put in a shift for the new manager - Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese manager considered Mata a luxury player and it was evident from the number of minutes he played. He was often substituted or came on as a substitute.

Manchester United decided to step in and put an end to his misery and Mourinho finally let him go (after Chelsea had played United) in the January transfer window.

At the time, £37.1m was a club record before they spent big on Anthony Martial, Angel Di Maria and Paul Pogba. And as fate would have it, Mata ended up playing under Mourinho again when he took over the hot seat at Old Trafford.