Top 10 record transfers for British players

Raheem Sterling has become the most expensive English player after moving from Liverpool to Manchester City

Raheem Sterling’s transfer from Liverpool to Manchester City has made him the most expensive English player of all time, and second in the list of British players preceded only by the Welsh star Gareth Bale.

Sterling’s transfer from the Merseyside club to Etihad was reportedly £49 million (Sky Sports) and the English international who has been capped 16 times for the Three Lions will spend his best years at City although he is far from being a finished article.

Gareth Bale’s transfer stands atop the list of world’s most expensive transfers when Florentino Perez spent £86 million for the player. The Welsh international has not lived up to his billing at Bernabeu since his arrival at the Spanish capital and has been linked to a number of clubs after being jeered by fans on several occasions.

Andy Carroll was signed on the last day of the January transfer from the Magpies for £35 million, which was then the highest ever fee for any English player, only to be eclipsed by Raheem Sterling this transfer season.

Carroll had a disappointing spell at Anfield and his stay at the Merseyside club was marred by injuries. The striker found the net on only six occasions for the Reds, and his most memorable moment to savour was his winner against Everton in 2012 FA Cup semi-final. However, the striker could not do justice to the whopping fee Liverpool had to pay for his services. Carroll moved to West Ham for a mere £15 million and continues to ply his trade at the London-based club.

Rio Ferdinand's signing from Manchester United’s old rivals Leeds United remains one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s most successful purchases during his tenure at the Theatre Of Dreams.

Rio went on to captain the side to Champions League crown in Moscow in 2008 against Chelsea, and won six Premier League medals and was named in PFA team of the year for 5 times. Rio moved To Queen's Park Rangers last summer before announcing his retirement.

Luke Shaw and Wayne Rooney, both bought by Manchester United round up the top 5 in the list. The table below summarizes the top 10 most expensive British player transfers.

	Players	From	To	Fee(in million £)
1	Gareth Bale	Tottenham Hotspur	Real Madrid	86
2	Raheem Sterling	Liverpool	Manchester City	49
3	Andy Carroll	Newcastle United	Liverpool	35
4	Rio Ferdinand	Leeds United	Manchester United	30
5	Luke Shaw	Southampton FC	Manchester United	30
6	Wayne Rooney	Everton	Manchester United	27
7	James Milner	Aston Villa FC	Manchester City	26
8	Adam Lallana	Southampton FC	Liverpool	25
9	David Beckham	Manchester United	Real Madrid	24.5
10	Darren Bent	Sunderland	Aston Villa	24