Most expensive XI in world football at the moment

We live in a world where crazy transfer fees have become the norm. A bid of £50 million no longer raises eyebrows as clubs armed with more and more financial might are ready to pay whatever it takes if they think that the player is vital for their teams and style of play.

Just last season, Manchester United smashed the World record transfer fee when they signed Paul Pogba from Juventus. The way this transfer market is going, it will not come as a surprise to anyone if the transfer record is broken again.

In this slider, we take a look at the world record transfers for each position. Let us start off with the goalkeeper:

Formation: 4-3-3

Ederson Moraes (Manchester City) – Goalkeeper (£34.7 million)

Manchester City are always huge players on the transfer market and they showed they meant business this season when they splashed out a world record transfer fee for former Benfica goalkeeper Ederson Moraes. The 23-year-old Brazilian was very impressive for Benfica in the 2016/17 season and Pep was determined to get his man at any cost.

With the Spanish tactician not comfortable with Joe Hart’s style and Claudio Bravo making a couple of high profile errors last season, City fans were desperate to see a solid goalkeeper come through and the 23-year-old Brazilian is one of the brightest young stars in the game at the moment.

Blessed with good reflexes and shot stopping skills, it will be interesting to see how the young Ederson copes up to the demands of the Premier League. The previous world record transfer fee for a goalkeeper was held by Gianluigi Buffon who cost Juventus £33 million when he made the move from Parma way back in 2001.

Luke Shaw (Manchester United) – Left-back (£28 million)

Still only 22, Luke Shaw’s nascent career has already been plagued by plenty of injuries. Busting onto the scene in Southampton, Shaw caught the eyes of all the top clubs around England with his consistent and tireless performances on the left-hand flank for Southampton.

Chelsea and Manchester United showed the greatest interest and Shaw after a long drawn transfer saga finally became the world’s most expensive left-back when he was signed by United in 2014 for a fee of around £28 million, Not only was he the most expensive left-back, he was also the most expensive teenager at that time (although the record was subsequently broken by his team-mate Anthony Martial).

Shaw will be looking to bounce back from his injuries and show the world why Manchester United were willing to break the world record transfer fee for a left-back on him. However, Shaw might soon be replaced on this list by Monaco full-back Benjamin Mendy, who has been heavily linked with a big money move to Manchester City.

John Stones (Manchester City) – Centre-back (£47.5 million)

Pep Guardiola is very determined to stick to his style of play and when he asked for a ball playing defender, Manchester City went out and splashed £47.5 million (with add ons) on John Stones to sign him from Everton. Undoubtedly talented and blessed with a great future, Stones, however, struggled to live upto the expectations in his first season making a number of errors which eventually led him to lose his spot in the starting XI.

The world’s second most expensive defender after David Luiz, Pep Guardiola will be hoping that the 23-year-old lives up to his promise and potential this season, While Stones was undoubtedly very good for Everton, there is no denying the fact that his transfer fee was inflated because of the fact that he is English.

Only time can tell whether Stones will be worth the money Manchester City paid for him in 2016.

David Luiz (Chelsea) – Centre-Back (£50 million)

Having won multiple titles with both Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, David Luiz has lived upto his world record transfer fee for a centre-back by delivering in crucial matches. While Luiz made a huge £34 million move back to Chelsea last season, he set the world record transfer fee when he was sold to Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain for £50 million by Chelsea in 2014.

In PSG, Luiz won all the 4 domestic trophies in the two seasons he was there and he widely cemented his reputation as one of the best centre-backs from Brazil. While his return to Chelsea raised a lot of eyebrows, Luiz repaid the faith of Conte by being an absolute rock in the heart of the defence for the Premier League champions.

Tipped to be the club captain along with Gary Cahill next season, Luiz’s world record transfer fee could be broken by Virgil van Dijk in this transfer window.

Kyle Walker (Manchester City) – Right-back (£50 million)

When you want any player from Tottenham, you know that you are in for a tough ride as Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is notorious for being a tough negotiator. After letting go off both Bacary Sagna and Pablo Zabaleta, City were desperate for a quality right-back.

While it looked for all money that Pep Guardiola would get his former favourite Dani Alves to The Etihad, the surprising decision of Alves to join PSG meant that Manchester City had no other option but to pay up Tottenham’s asking price to land Kyle Walker.

Known for his barnstorming runs and his ability to run up and down tirelessly, Walker will be hoping to settle in quickly and help Manchester City pose a serious challenge for the Premier League title this season. Needless to say, Walker now holds the world record for being the most expensive right-back in football.

Tiemoue Bakayoko (Chelsea) – Defensive Midfielder (£40 million)

Monaco had been the standout team of the 2016/17 season. Playing some brilliant and attacking football, Monaco earned rave reviews and admiring glances right throughout Europe. While their attacking prowess led by Mbappe, Falcao and Bernardo Silva rightly received plenty of plaudits, the man instrumental for their style of play was defensive midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko.

Standing well over 6 foot, the towering defensive midfielder’s biggest strength is his ability to break up opposition play and put in some stunning last ditch tackles. Blessed with excellent reading of the game and positional awareness, Bakayoko after intense speculation finally put pen to paper and signed a 5 year deal with Chelsea.

With Kante and Bakayoko manning the midfield for Antonio Conte, teams will find it very tough to break down the Premier League champions next season. Bakayoko’s arrival could signal the departure of Matic, who has been linked with a big money move to rivals Manchester United.

Paul Pogba (Manchester United) – Central Midfielder (£89.3 million)

Ever since this article started, you had to know that the world’s most expensive player would obviously feature on this list. Making the move back to Manchester United after a very successful spell at Juventus, Pogba broke Bale’s record to become the world’s most expensive player of all time.

Playing in a slightly withdrawn and unfamiliar role under Jose Mourinho, Pogba after struggling initially hit top form and played a crucial role in many of United’s good performances this season. An integral part of United’s Europa League winning campaign, Pogba’s all action displays were extremely valuable to Mourinho.

Also, the Frenchman proved that he was not just about the dab by opening the scoring in the final against Ajax and we might just see the full potential of Pogba being unleashed in the 2017/18 season.

James Rodriguez (Bayern Munich) – Central Midfielder (£63 million)

The most expensive Colombian footballer on the planet, James Rodriguez made a shock loan move to Bayern Munich in this transfer window. The talented playmaker was always considered to be good, but he truly burst into the limelight with his stunning performances in World Cup 2014.

Immediately after the World Cup, Real Madrid came calling and spent £63 million to make James their galactico. After having a good first season under Carlo Ancelotti, James struggled to gain his place in the starting XI under Zidane with the Frenchman preferring to start Isco and even youngster Marco Asensio over the Colombian superstar.

Things really came to a head when James was left out of the Champions League final squad completely. After being heavily linked with a move to Manchester United, Rodriguez finally made a move to Bayern Munich where he will be looking to rediscover his best form under former manager Ancelotti.

Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) – Right Winger (£85.3 million)

The world’s most expensive player before Paul Pogba, it can arguably be said that Bale has been successful at Real Madrid. Plagued with niggling injuries ever since he made the move to the Santiago Bernabeu in 2013, Bale has nevertheless played a vital role in Real Madrid’s 3 Champions League wins in the 4 seasons he has been there so far.

Blessed with electric pace and a deadly left foot, Bale has time and again stepped up in the big games for Madrid scoring in the Champions League final against Atletico Madrid and scoring a memorable solo goal in the King’s Cup final against Barcelona.

The speedy Welshman has time and again been linked with a move to Manchester United though he put all the speculation to rest recently. Speaking to reporters, Bale said:

"I am happy playing in Madrid, logically interest is interest, but if there has been nothing concrete, no offer, there is nothing to discuss."

Real Madrid will be hoping that the 28-year-old has an injury free 2017/18 season.

Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus) – Striker (£76.5 million)

Juventus’ main man Gonzalo Higuain completed one of the most expensive transfers of all time when he made a move to Juventus from Napoli for a ridiculous fee of £76.5 million last season. Higuain, however, repaid the Old Lady’s faith in him by finishing with 32 goals last season and helping Juventus win the Serie A title and reach the Champions League final.

Since the last two seasons, Higuain has been one of the best strikers in club football banging in goals left, right and centre. Forming a good partnership with countryman Dybala and Mario Mandzukic, Higuain has provided a real cutting edge to the Juventus attack.

Recently, the Argentine has been linked with a sensational move to Chelsea although reports state that Juventus are not willing to sell their star striker at any cost. At 29, Higuain is at the peak of his career and Juventus will be hoping that the Argentine continues his good form this season.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) – Left Winger (£80 million)

The only bargain World record transfer signing, Cristiano Ronaldo has shown us with his performances at Real Madrid that he is well worth the £80 million Florentino Prerez splashed out on him in 2009. The Portuguese superstar during his spell at the Spanish capital has cemented his legacy as one of the greatest (if not the greatest) players of all time with his superlative scoring record and hunger to win every match and competition.

Having spectacularly guided Real Madrid to back-to-back Champions League titles, Ronaldo is also Los Blancos’ highest scorer and has arguably surpassed the legendary Alfredo Di Stefano as the greatest player to ever pull on the famous White Shirt.

Favourite to win the Ballon d’Or this time and draw level with his great rival Messi, Ronaldo recently caused a furore by saying that he wanted to leave Real Madrid. However, it looks like the gifted forward has been convinced to continue his long and successful partnership with Real Madrid for at least another season.