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Expensive signings used to be a rarity back in the day. It is very commonplace now and over the course of the last decade, we've seen several transfer records being broken. Clubs haven't shied away from breaking the bank or breaking their own transfer records to bolster their squads.
A transfer fee above €100 million was unthinkable about 10 years ago. But we've seen a dozen transfers that have cost in excess of €100 million inside the last five years. Goalkeepers and defenders used to cost way less than forwards and midfielders in the past. But the gap is reducing drastically now.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the most expensive footballers in each position.
Goalkeeper - Kepa Arrizabalaga | Chelsea | €80 million
Chelsea signed Kepa Arrizabalaga from Athletic Bilbao in 2018. They were looking for Thibaut Courtois' successor and shelled out €80 million for the Spaniard who had made a name for himself in La Liga.
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However, the transfer is widely regarded as ill-advised. Kepa has not hit the heights expected of him at Chelsea and proved to be a liability in his first two seasons at the club. He was eventually replaced as the club's first-choice goalkeeper by Edouard Mendy.
Kepa has been a lot more mature and efficient in recent times but he is currently playing second-fiddle to the Senegalese international. The 27-year-old has started just four Premier League games this season.
Defender - Harry Maguire | Manchester United | €87 million
Manchester United were in desperate need of shoring up their defence in the summer of 2019. They were extensively linked with Harry Maguire, who had impressed at the back for Leicester City. The Foxes were ready to play hardball and named a steep price for their defender.
Manchester United, tactless in their transfer dealings at the time, decided to meet Leicester City's demands and roped Maguire in for a whopping €87 million. He was immediately made the captain of the club.
While the Englishman has his qualities and was thoroughly impressive in the 2020-21 season for the Red Devils and the Three Lions, the price tag cannot be justified.
Maguire's form has dipped considerably this season and the amount that United had to pay to secure his services is constantly brought up in discussions. The 28-year-old's transfer epitomizes the inflation in the Premier League transfer market where even above average players cost a fortune.
Midfielder - Philippe Coutinho | Barcelona | €135 million
Philippe Coutinho was setting the Premier League alight for Liverpool on a regular basis when Barcelona registered a concrete interest in him. The Brazilian international had been vocal about the fact that Barcelona was his dream destination and Liverpool were not too keen to stand in the way of that.
But the form that Coutinho was in, he was not going to come for cheap. Barcelona, rich after the Neymar deal, coughed up €135 million to sign Coutinho. Strangely enough, it became clear that they did not really have a cogent plan in place for the new signing.
Coutinho, who was arguably the best attacking midfielder in the Premier League before his departure, was deployed on the left wing at Barcelona. Although he impressed in his first half-season at the Camp Nou, his influence deteriorated considerably in his first full campaign with the Catalans.
He was subsequently sent out on loan to Bayern Munich. The Brazilian international then suffered a serious knee injury which saw him miss the majority of the 2020-21 season.
Coutinho is currently on loan at Aston Villa from Barcelona and is likely to go down in history as the biggest transfer flop in the history of the La Liga giants.
Winger - Neymar Jr. | Paris Saint-Germain | €222 million
Neymar Jr. is the most expensive signing of all time. PSG paid a then-unbelievable sum of €222 million to sign the Brazilian from Barcelona in 2017. Neymar was doing incredibly well for the Catalans alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez but he had made up his mind to leave the club in the summer of 2017.
Neymar has been phenomenal for PSG since joining the club. In 132 appearances across all competitions for the Parisians, the 30-year-old has scored 91 goals and provided 56 assists. He even led them to the final of the Champions League in the 2019-20 season where they eventually fell to Bayern Munich.
Striker - Romelu Lukaku | Chelsea | €113 million
When Chelsea decided to bring their former striker Romelu Lukaku back last summer, it looked like a decent idea. The price tag, which was in excess of €100 million, seemed a bit much. But Lukaku had just played a starring role in Inter Milan's Serie A triumph and he was going to cost a fortune.
Chelsea had the money and were in desperate need of a striker who was better at converting chances than Timo Werner. Unfortunately, the move hasn't worked out to anyone's liking thus far.
Lukaku also fell out of favor with the management and fans after he undermined the club and publicly flirted with his former club Inter Milan in an interview with Sky Sports.
His performances have been very lackluster of late and it remains to be seen whether the Belgian international will be able to redeem himself. Otherwise, he will go down in history as one of Chelsea's biggest transfer flops of all time.
