Already in the 2017 summer transfer window, Romelu Lukaku and Alexandre Lacazette have made moves for absurd transfer fees, joining Manchester United and Arsenal respectively. As absurd as these financial figures are, it is the norm in modern day football.
Most of the clubs out there are regularly breaking their own transfer records in an attempt to keep up with the competition. While the majority of clubs spend the bulk of their budget on attacking players, it is not uncommon for defenders to move for large sums of money.
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Especially nowadays, where full-backs are an important part of a team’s attacking unit and top quality centre-backs are hard to find, clubs are demanding higher transfer fees to part ways with their top defensive players.
In fact, the transfer record for a defender was broken in the ongoing transfer window itself.
With that in mind, let’s look at the 10 most expensive defenders of all time, according to transfermarkt.co.uk.
Jose Mourinho’s first transfer business as Manchester United manager was to pay over £30 million for Villarreal’s Eric Bailly. The Ivorian quickly became the first choice centre-back at United and earned a lot of praise for his performances in his first PL season.
Like Shaw, Bailly is still very young for a defender at 23-years old and looks like a very wise, long-term investment for the Red Devils
#9 - Javi Martinez to Bayern Munich (£34 Million)
Javi Martinez is often the unsung hero of Bayern Munich’s star-studded squad. He is a consistent and versatile player who can play both in central defence or in a holding midfield role.
The Spanish International has spent the last five seasons at Bayern. However, a large portion of his time there has been interrupted by injuries, in particular, a knee ligament injury suffered in 2014.
However, Martinez has shown that whenever he is fit, he can play a key part in the Bundesliga champions’ success.
#8 - Shkodran Mustafi to Arsenal (£34.85 Million)
Mustafi joined Arsenal from Valencia at the start of the 2016/17 season and quickly became the first choice in Gunners’ central defence, alongside Laurent Koscielny.
However, that’s not to say his first season with Arsenal was a successful one. The German has shown glimpses of his talent that convinced Arsene Wenger to spend such a large amount of money on him, but he has also made a number of mistakes that have drawn the ire of the Arsenal faithful.
At 25 years of age, Mustafi still has time to improve as a defender and he will need to do so in order to justify his hefty price tag.
#7 - Lilian Thuram to Juventus (£35.28 Million)
Lilian Thuram is one of the all-time great defenders. He was a dominant and consistent player for both club and country in his 17-year-long career.
He remains the most capped player for the French national team, having racked up 142 appearances for the side. Thuram helped France become the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 champions.
Such performances forced Juventus into paying over £35 million for the defender back in 2001.
#6 - Thiago Silva to Paris Saint-Germain (£35.7 Million)
Thiago Silva is widely considered as one of, if not the greatest, defender of his generation. Some critics and peers have even gone as far as calling the centre-back one of the best defenders in football history, comparing him to the likes of Franco Baresi.
It’s not just his individual talents that Silva is often lauded for, but also his strong leadership skills. The £35.7 million investment that PSG made in Silva in 2012 has been justified by the fact that they have lifted the Ligue 1 trophy in every season since the Brazilian’s arrival.
#5 - Nicolas Otamendi to Manchester City (£37.91 Million)
Manchester City are no strangers to splashing out the cash, particularly on defenders over the last few seasons, having spent £20-plus million on the likes of Joleon Lescott and Eliaquim Mangala in the past.
Therefore, it wasn’t a huge surprise when City decided to spend £37.91 million to capture Otamendi from Valencia. However, having now spent two seasons at Manchester City, it’s fair to say he hasn’t lit up the Etihad with his performances.
Otamendi has shown glimpses of his capability but may well find himself out of Pep Guardiola’s first team plans.
#4 - Rio Ferdinand to Manchester United (£39.10 Million)
Rio Ferdinand’s transfer from Leeds to Manchester United in 2002 was an extortionate fee for a defender at the time and was a transfer record when it happened.
Despite the large fee, many United fans would argue that he justified the price as he enjoyed a very successful period with the Red Devils during his 12-year stay with the club, winning six league titles in the process.
Ferdinand is one of the most successful British defenders of all time and is regarded as one of the best centre-backs of the Premier League era.
#3 - David Luiz to Paris Saint-Germain (£42.08 Million)
David Luiz divides opinion amongst fans, he is clearly talented but is often seen as inconsistent and unreliable.
Therefore, it was seen as an excellent piece of business when Chelsea sold him to PSG for over £40 million. However, the London club raised more eyebrows when they decided to resign him just two years later for just under £30 million.
In hindsight, this has to be seen as another wise piece of business by Chelsea as Luiz was a key part of their title-winning campaign of last season.
#2 - John Stones to Manchester City (£47.26 Million)
John Stones emerged as one of the hottest prospects in European football while at Everton and was rumoured to have attracted the interest of a number of huge clubs, including Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
He would ultimately join Manchester City in August 2016 and while he has impressed at times, he still has a long way to go to justify his £47.26 million price tag.
Stones’s transfer was the highest fee ever paid for a defender until his club would break the record again in the 2017 transfer window.
#1 - Kyle Walker to Manchester City (£48.03 Million)
The most expensive defender of all time is Kyle Walker, who left Tottenham to join Manchester City for almost £50 Million on Friday.
The fee for Walker shocked a lot of fans as they do not believe he is worthy of holding this record.
While he has improved and developed into a much more reliable performer than he was when he first burst onto the scene, it is an extortionate fee for a player who was not even necessarily the first choice right-back at his previous club, Tottenham Hotspur, with the emergence of Kieran Trippier towards the end of last season.
However, City were desperate to improve their defence and he is seemingly a perfect fit for the Pep Guardiola-managed side.
