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In this age of inflation, high-profile transfers have caused club profit-loss statements to swing to absolute extremities. Teams can pocket massive amounts of cash while selling their star players but are compelled to splash an equivalent fee in search of their replacements. Barcelona's transfer record post-Neymar perfectly highlights the risks involved in such transactions.
Transfers of academy prospects that earned their parent clubs a massive profit
However, teams that act as feeders to clubs with a much bigger stature usually prove to be exceptions to this cycle. Joao Felix rose through the ranks at Benfica, putting in some scintillating performances. This caught the eye of Atletico Madrid, who forked out a massive €126m to buy the youngster as a replacement for the outgoing Antoine Griezmann.
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The most expensive teenager of all time, Kylian Mbappe is second only to current teammate Neymar on the all-time transfer record list. Having scouted him for free, Monaco turned a €145m profit on the Frenchman after selling him to close rivals PSG. Most recently, Jack Grealish's €117.5m switch to Manchester City severed a 20-year connection between him and Aston Villa.
On that note, let's take a look at 8 transfers that yielded the biggest profits on their club's initial investments:
Disclaimer: None of the academy graduates who fetched exorbitant profits like Mbappe, Felix and Grealish are included on the list.
#8 Zinedine Zidane - Profit of €74m to Juventus
The fact that Zinedine Zidane's transfer statistics are still relevant speaks volumes of the Frenchman's impact on modern-day football. Having dazzled audiences for five seasons at Juventus, Zidane earned a €77.5m switch to Real Madrid in 2001, making him the world's most expensive player then.
His legacy at the Bernabeu is spread across numerous memorable performances. Perhaps the French international's sublime volley against Leverkusen to win the 2002 Champions League for the men in white stands out from the rest. Zidane went on to spend five successful seasons with Real Madrid, retiring as a club legend in 2006.
#7 Cristiano Ronaldo - Profit of €75m to Manchester United
Smashing his predecessor's record to pieces, Cristiano Ronaldo's €94m transfer to Los Blancos sent shock waves across the world. By 2009, the Portuguese superstar had already established himself as one of the best players in the world. When Real Madrid came calling, Ronaldo didn't hesitate one bit to side with the Spanish giants.
Following a €19m move to Manchester United in 2003, Ronaldo spent no time climbing up the ladder of excellence. The 36-year-old veteran took his game to a completely different level in Spain. He departed Madrid as the club's all-time top scorer in 2018. Even at the ripe old age of 33, Ronaldo commanded a fee in excess of €100m from Juventus, providing his former employees a sizeable profit on his way out.
#6 Jadon Sancho - Profit of €77.17m to Borussia Dortmund
The most recent transfer on the list, Borussia Dortmund pocketed a sweet profit of €77.17m from Jadon Sancho's €85m sale to Manchester United. A highly-rated wunderkind during his initial days at Manchester City's academy, Sancho left the Etihad Stadium in 2017, in search of greater first-team opportunities.
After four brilliant seasons with BVB, the 21-year-old playmaker secured a big-money move back to England, this time to the red half of Manchester. This transfer could fix the problematic right-wing position for United, fully furnishing Ole Gunnar Solskjær's squad.
Also read: 5 players with the highest combined transfer fee
#5 Eden Hazard - Profit of €80m to Chelsea
In a desperate transfer move, Real Madrid opted to splash €100m for the services of Eden Hazard, despite just one year remaining on his contract with Chelsea. This monumental fee completed a €355m spending-spree by Los Blancos, all the while imparting an €80m profit to the Blues in 2019.
Two years since that fateful signing, Hazard's move to the Bernabeu is now considered one of the worst transfers of all time. The Belgian international has spent the majority of the past two seasons on the treatment table, spending a grand total of 2,507 minutes on the pitch. At 30, Hazard has little to no time to save his Madrid career.
#4 Gareth Bale - Profit of €86.3m to Tottenham
For the third time since 2001, Real Madrid broke their own transfer record to bring Gareth Bale to the Bernabeu in 2013. His €101m signing fee fired him to the top of the costliest transfers in football history, eclipsing Ronaldo's 2009 move to the same club. Having purchased the Welshman from Southampton in 2007, Tottenham received a profit of €86.3m from this sale.
Bale's time with the Spanish giants has been bumpy, to say the least. While 173 goal involvements in 252 games is nothing to be scoffed at, the Welsh playmaker's latter years have tarnished his legacy at Real Madrid. After being a mainstay in his initial run, Bale is now regarded as a liability to the club with his €692k per week wages burning a hole in Florentino Perez's pocket.
#3 Ousmane Dembele - Profit of €100m to Borussia Dortmund
The first absurd piece of business sanctioned by Barcelona under the Josep Bartomeu-regime, Ousmane Dembele's €135m signing proved to be very fruitful for Dortmund. After harboring the French prodigy for a solitary season, BVB were able to recoup a gargantuan profit of €100m on him.
Ever since his transfer to the Camp Nou, Dembele has spent more time sidelined with multiple injuries than he has on the pitch. The 24-year-old winger has thus far failed to fill in Neymar's boots as well as justify his hefty price tag.
Dembele's first full season with the Blaugrana showed bags of hidden potential that the forward is yet to exploit. At the time of writing, Dembele is out with the 12th major injury of his Barcelona career.
#2 Philippe Coutinho - Profit of €122m to Liverpool
The quintessential signing to explain everything that was wrong with Barcelona's transfer policy, Liverpool were paid an initial €135m for the services of Philippe Coutinho. With no apparent plan to incorporate the record-signing into their setup, Coutinho was left out in the cold soon after his arrival at Barcelona.
Liverpool pocketed a massive profit of €122m from the sale of their No.10 and reinvested the money wisely to bring in Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk. In sharp contrast, Barcelona were financially crippled by this deal, adding to their insurmountable debt. One of the worst transfers in Barcelona's as well as footballing history, indeed.
#1 Neymar - Profit of €133.8m to Barcelona
The move that started the domino effect, Neymar's acquisition by PSG in 2017 redefined the norms of the transfer market. Barcelona almost tripled their initial investment of €88.2m on the Brazilian, after the French giants triggered his release clause of €222m.
The Blaugrana failed miserably to find a replacement, splashing over €350m on three players to no avail. Elsewhere in France, Neymar has established himself as PSG's main man, scoring 87 goals in just 116 appearances for the Parisians.
While the signing of the Brazilian international has transformed PSG into continental mainstays, European glory still evades the French giants. However, with the arrival of Lionel Messi, Neymar could blossom like never before at the Parc des Princes.
Also read: 5 big clubs with cursed jersey numbers
