Football: Top 10 most profitable transfers

David Beckham (left) signs papers with Real Madrid President Florentino Perez at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium after moving from Manchester United (Getty Images)

Huge sums of money get dished out every year on footballers, some of the being in a different orbit altogether. Football, ultimately though is a for-profit-business undertaking these days. And that’s why, its clubs that make the most profit out of a player’s transfer that are the biggest gainers at the end of the day. Here are the top 10 most profitable transfers in club football:

#10 Pavel Nedved (Lazio to Juventus, 2001)

Bought for: £3m Sold for: £36m Profit: £33m

Juve’s Pavel Nedved celebrates a goal during a Serie A game between Sampdoria and Juventus in 2006 (Getty Images)

The long-haired midfielder from the Czech Republic is amongst the finest players to have ever emerged from his country. Nedved was one of the most influential playmakers of his time known for his energetic and tireless running from midfield as well as his long range shooting abilities. He was nicknamed Furia Ceca by Italian fans and ‘The Czech Cannon’ by the English speaking media. Nedved won the Ballon d’Or in 2003 playing in Juve’s famous black and white strip.

Lazio pocketed a £33m profit when they sold him to rivals Juventus in 2001, as the Old Lady looked to replace their departed maestro in Zinedine Zidane.

9. James Rodriguez (Porto to AS Monaco, 2013)

Bought for: £5m Sold for: £39m Profit: £34m

James Rodriguez playing for Colombia celebrates a goal against France at the Sub-20 World Cup 2011 (Getty Images)

22-year old Colombian winger, James Rodriguez, is considered to be amongst the finest young players in the world at the moment. His playmaking skills have been compared to that of Colombian legend Carlos Valderrama, while his dribbling, speed, creativity, ball control and powerful shots bear resemblance to a certain Cristiano Ronaldo.

No wonder then that newly rich AS Monaco came calling this summer with a £39m bid for the winger who is nicknamed El Nuevo Pibe (The New Kid). Valderamma was the original El Pibe.

8. Luis Figo (Barcelona to Real Madrid, 2013)

Bought for: £3m Sold for: £37m Profit: £35m

Luis Figo of Real Madrid during the infamous match of 2002 at the Camp Nou where a pig’s head was thrown at him (Getty Images)

The dawn of the new millennium saw Portugal’s Luis Figo tread the blasphemous path of trading the Camp Nou for the Santiago Bernabeu as he made his switch from Barcelona to Real Madrid for £37m. Figo, the most capped Portuguese player in history, was the winner of the 2000 European Footballer of the Year and 2001 World Player of the Year awards.

His infamous move netted the Catalan club a £35m profit, and Figo a pig’s head, on his return to the Camp Nou.

7. Radamel Falcao (Porto to Atletico Madrid, 2011)

Bought for: £5m Sold for: £41m Profit: £36m

Radamel Falcao celebrates scoring the opening goal during the 2012 Europa League Final between Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao (Getty Images)

No, it is not his move to Monaco this summer. Atletico Madrid, in the summer of 2011, bought ‘El Tigre’ from Portuguese side Porto for a whopping £41m. Porto are one of the best when it comes to buying exceptional talent at a low price and then selling the player off after his price has skyrocketed. It’s their second appearance in this list as a beneficiary and they netted a £36m profit for the lethal Colombian forward.

6. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Internazionale to Barcelona, 2009)

Bought for: £22m Sold for: £60m Profit: £38m

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, then of Inter Milan takes a penalty kick during a a game against Club America in the World Football Challenge in 2009 (Getty Images)

What on earth were Barcelona smoking when they signed this deal? Not only did they offer £40m to Inter, but added in Samuel Eto’o for good measure, to make the potential value of the deal a ridiculous £60m. Although one of the best forwards in the world, even today, Zlatan was not really a success at Barca and left 2 years later, while Eto’o led Inter to a historic treble in his very first season there.

5. Edinson Cavani (Napoli to PSG, 2013)

Bought for: £14m Sold for: £55m Profit: £41m

Paris Saint-Germain unveil their new forward, Edinson Cavani (left) seen here with chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi (Getty Images)

The man who has joined Zlatan at PSG this season comes in a place higher, as he moved from Napoli to Paris this summer, which saw his previous employers earn a huge profit of £41m on the Uruguayan. The man they call ‘El Matador’ had scored 33, 33 and 38 goals respectively in his three seasons with the Naples based Serie A outfit.

4. Zinedine Zidane (Juventus to Real Madrid, 2001)

Bought for: £3m Sold for: £46m Profit: £43m

Real’s Zinedine Zidane after getting sent off during a La Liga match against Villarreal in 2005 (Getty Images)

Considered one of the greatest players to have ever played the game, ‘Zizou’ guided his French national team to a World Cup and European championship. The attacking midfielder, whose last international game ended with that famous head-butt of Marco Materazzi, won the World Player of the award 3 times during his career and the Ballon d’Or once. With Real Madrid he will be remembered for that famous swish of his left boot in Glasgow that won Madrid their last European Cup to date in 2002.

3. Hernan Crespo (Parma to Lazio, 2000)

Bought for: £2m Sold for: £51m Profit: £49m

Hernan Crespo of Lazio in action during the Serie A match between Piacenza and Lazio, in 2000 (Getty Images)

Probably the pioneering big money move in football, Lazio paid £35m plus Matias Almeyda and Sergio Conceicao (who were worth £16m put together) for Argentine striker Hernan Crespo. The striker rewarded the Roman side with 48 goals over 2 seasons before he moved on to Inter Milan. 13 years on, it is still the third most profitable transfer ever conducted.

2. Kaka (AC Milan to Real Madrid, 2009)

Bought for: £6m Sold for: £57m Profit: £51m

Kaka in action for Real Madrid during the friendly match against Paris Saint-Germain FC on July 27, 2013 in Gothenburg, Sweden (Getty Images)

Real Madrid have made it a habit of breaking the bank for marquee players over the years; never mind how much success it actually delivers. So, it is no surprise that they feature so prominently in this list (4 out of the top 10 involve them as the buyer). In 2009, the latest Galacticos era was kick-started with the acquisition of Brazilian ‘Trequartista’ Kaka, winner of the Ballon d’Or and World Player of the Year in 2007, for £57m, breaking the world record for transfer fee paid. Silvio Berlusconi scooped up a cool £51m quid to add to his coffers in Milan.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United to Real Madrid, 2009)

Bought for: £15m Sold for: £80m Profit: £65m

Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid prepares to take a free kick during the La Liga match against Sporting Gijon in 2011 (Getty Images)

Exactly 23 days after Kaka’s arrival, Madrid broke the record for transfer fees again when they landed Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United for a mind-numbing £80m. In 2003, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and a few other seniors urged Sir Alex Ferguson to shell out £15m to buy the youngster from Sporting Lisbon, after an inspiring performance against the Red Devils in a friendly.

6 years later, when the Gaffer was convinced that one of his favourite son’s thoughts were set on a move to Madrid, he extracted a huge fee as a compromise ringing in a profit of £65m, making it the most profitable deal to date.

Perhaps until ‘Los Blancos’ do a deal for a certain Gareth Bale!