10 Most expensive defenders in football history

Here, we will take a look at the ten most expensive defenders in football history. Usually, we see that exorbitant amounts of money are paid for quality players, mainly playing in the midfield or in the final third. But defenders are those who are procured with comparatively smaller amounts. Their market value can never touchthe likes of Ronaldo, Messi or Gareth Bale. Today, this fact is about to become a myth as big-name clubs are shelling enormous amounts of money to get their man in defence rather than in attack, including Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United. So, lets go through some of the most costliestdefenders in transfer history.

#10 Jolean Lescott to Manchester City (27.5 million)

If theres one name on this list which has not impressed people, thatsJoleon Lescott. Riding high on the money of their new-found owner Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahnyan, Manchester City decided to splurge the cash even on average players. Yes, Lescott was good for Everton. But spending so much on him was like handing out a jackpot to the Toffees. Lescott spent much of his Manchester City career as a bench-warmer, a feat that he himself wouldnt want to remember.

#9 Fabio Coentrao to Real Madrid (30 million)

Marcelo had established himself as an exciting left-back at Bernabeu before Madrid openedtheir cheque books again to buy a better full back from Benfica in 2011, beating the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United Fabio Coentrao. With the team depth showing no signs of decreasing, Coentrao was expected to start as Marcelo had suffered a dip in form but, now, the Brazilian has been completely replaced by the intriguing Portuguese.

#8 Pepe to Real Madrid (30 million)

The hot-tempered Portuguese has been a solid rock in the defence when his country or his club beckons and , therefore, Real Madrid signed him up in 2007. But some rash techniquesin the beginning of his spell earned him a lot of criticism from fans but he bounced back through some impressive performances in the 2009-2010 and the 2010-11 seasons which earned him an integral place in the team.

#7 Ricardo Carvalho to Chelsea (30 million)

The Portuguese centre back played an integral part in Chelseas first English Premier League title win and has never looked back, giving masterclass performances consecutively. He made his mark for FC Porto and for Portugal in 2004 and Jose took Carvalho along with him while coming to Chelsea. After a few years he moved to Real Madrid andcontinued his consistency in La Liga as well, making him a force to be reckoned with.

#6 Alessandro Nesta to Milan (36 million)

The Italian centre-back has been touted as one of the finest that Italy has ever produced and is a four-time UEFA defender of the year. He was also a part of the UEFA team of the year four times. This has made the acquisition of a person of his caliber relatively cheap considering present circumstances.

#5 Lilian Thuram to Juventus (36.5 million)

Being the most capped player in the French national team, Lilian Thuram was the most expensive transfer in 2001 when he moved from Parma F.C. to Juventus. Mainly being employed as a right back then, he was trained to be a central defender in Juventus and did a good job of that.

#4 Dani Alves to Barcelona (41.5 million)

The explosive right-back displays his exquisite talent through both attack as well as defence. Playing his first season with the club, he won the Treble and also, became one of the best full backs in the international stage as well. Barcelona secured the deal by bringing him from Sevilla, who had recently won back-to-back UEFA Cups. Ironically, nobody talked much about the money spent on the defender who , since then, has continued to wreak havoc on the rightside of the pitch

#3 Thiago Silva to PSG (42 million)

The Brazilian defender impressed largely for Milan when he transferred from Fluminese for 10 million, collecting only one yellow card in 39 games in the 2009/2010 season and, later, becoming the club captain. He was linked to PSG in the summer transfer window of 2012 but Silvio Berlusconi blocked his move. Silva signed a new contract with the club till 2017 but was snapped up by the French side in the transfer window at the end of the season for a fee of 42 million pounds.

#2 Rio Ferdinand to Manchester United (46 million)

Whatever Rio has become of late, he should be proud of one thing being the most expensive defender since 2002. This feat explains the quality of the player that he was when Sir Alex Ferguson purchased him from Leeds for a fee that increased to 33.1 million pounds from 29.1 million pounds in four years. He has churned out some inspiring performances, winning 12 trophies with the Red Devils and also being the club captain for the epic 2008 Champions League triumph.

#1 David Luiz to PSG (50 Million)

The ex-Benfica player was brought to Chelsea for a hefty price of 25 million. Largely, he was impressive for Chelsea while going forward but lacked the defensive qualities to be considered high amongst the EPL elite. Thus, he was dropped in favour of Gary Cahill numerous times and due to this inconsistency, he became unsettled. Big-money club Paris Saint Germain bought him recently for this world record transfer fee as they thought that the Brazilian would work well with his international team-mate in defence, Thiago Silva. Let’s see how he fares.

Edited by Staff Editor