Rating every €100M transfer as Felix joins Chelsea on loan
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Chelsea introduced on Wednesday that Joao Felix, whose €126 million transfer to Atletico Madrid stays the fourth largest within the historical past of the sport, has joined them on loan for the rest of the 2022-23 season.
Sources have advised ESPN’s James Olley that the transfer carries a payment of round €12.5m, and whereas the Blues might be paying Felix’s wages in full till the tip of the marketing campaign, there isn’t any obligation to make the deal everlasting in the summertime.
That loan payment raised quite a lot of eyebrows, however it’s modest in comparison with the massive transfer payment that took Felix from Benfica to Atletico 3½ years in the past when the ahead was solely 19 years previous.
Indeed, his is one in all solely 12 gamers in soccer historical past to command an preliminary transfer payment of €100m or extra (not together with any add-ons, performance-related clauses, and so on.), with a number of the largest stars of the sport being added to the checklist for the reason that barrier was first damaged in 2013.
Here is a take a look at these dozen nine-figure offers remodeled the previous decade, as we decide which ones have been successful and which have been a miss. (Spoiler alert: Hits are skinny on the bottom.)
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Fee: €100M
Transfer: Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid
Year: 2013
Appearances: 258
Goals: 106
Assists: 67
A world document was set in 2013 when Bale’s transfer from Spurs to Real turned the primary to interrupt the €100m barrier, eclipsing the earlier document additionally set by the Spanish aspect after they signed Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United for €94m in the summertime of 2009.
Bale skilled the very best highs with Los Blancos, profitable three LaLiga titles and 5 Champions Leagues (and scoring in two finals) amongst a bunch of different main honours. However, persistent harm points and an typically strained relationship with the tabloid media, Madrid followers and the membership’s hierarchy took the shine off what was in any other case a wonderful eight-year spell on the Bernabeu.
Rating: HIT
11. Cristiano Ronaldo
Fee: €100M
Transfer: Real Madrid to Juventus
Year: 2018
Appearances: 134
Goals: 101
Assists: 22
While not fairly matching the absurdly prolific ranges he reached throughout his profession pomp at Real, Ronaldo nonetheless carried out extremely properly in Italy, profitable two consecutive Serie A titles and a Coppa Italia throughout his four-year keep.
The five-time Champions League winner was signed by the Bianconeri in no small half to carry European glory again to Turin, which didn’t occur, however he was named Serie A Footballer of the Year for 2019 and 2020 as properly as claiming the Capocannoniere trophy as the league’s prime aim scorer in 2020-21 with 29 targets in simply 33 video games.
Rating: HIT
Fee: €100M
Transfer: Chelsea to Real Madrid
Year: 2019
Appearances: 73
Goals: 7
Assists: 11
Hazard seemed to be on the peak of his powers when he left Chelsea a a number of Premier League and Europa League winner searching for attaining the last word prize — Champions League glory — at Real in the summertime of 2019.
However, the Belgium worldwide was rapidly stymied by varied harm and health woes that proceed to blight his post-Chelsea profession: The most appearances he has made in anyone season for Los Blancos is 23. He’s additionally solely as soon as managed to attain multiple aim throughout a complete marketing campaign in Madrid, netting a measly 4 targets in 2020-21.
Rating: MISS
Fee: €105M
Transfer: Juventus to Manchester United
Year: 2016
Appearances: 233
Goals: 39
Assists: 53
What ought to have been a euphoric homecoming rapidly turned a stagnant procession for Pogba. The midfielder’s perceived lack of software more and more turned a difficulty — significantly among the many fan base — as time wore on regardless of his occasional flashes of game-changing brilliance.
In mitigation, the Frenchman typically struggled with accidents and did play his half in a Europa League and League Cup win in the course of the six seasons he spent again at Old Trafford, however most would agree that his free transfer again to Juventus forward of the 2022-23 season was lengthy overdue.
Rating: MISS
Fee: €105M
Transfer: Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona
Year: 2017
Appearances: 173
Goals: 39
Assists: 41
Having performed simply 50 instances for Dortmund throughout his brief senior profession, Dembele was all of the sudden reworked into the second-most costly participant of all time on the age of 20 when Barcelona signed him in August 2017. Thereafter, any momentum the French winger managed to construct up was routinely spoiled by accidents, and whereas there have been remoted vibrant moments right here and there, the primary 4 seasons he spent at Barca have been largely one large disappointment.
Things have slowly picked up since 2020-21 to the purpose that Dembele signed a contract extension final summer time till June 2024, however in the meanwhile, at the least, it is arduous to argue that the Catalans have come anyplace near getting their cash’s value.
Rating: MISS
Fee: €115M
Transfer: Inter Milan to Chelsea
Year: 2021
Appearances: 44
Goals: 15
Assists: 2
Another grand “homecoming” that rapidly turned bitter noticed Lukaku make a prodigal return to Chelsea after firing Inter to the Serie A title with the intention of main their line for years to come back.
However, regardless of scoring on his second Premier League debut after which racing to 3 targets in his first three video games for the Blues, the burly Belgian participant scored simply two targets in his subsequent 20 league appearances earlier than step by step seeing himself phased out of the primary crew by then-coach Thomas Tuchel.
After falling out of favour, Lukaku then angered followers by publicly commenting on his frustrations earlier than selecting to finish his dismal plight at Stamford Bridge by rejoining Inter on loan.
Rating: MISS
Fee: €117M
Transfer: Aston Villa to Manchester City
Year: 2021
Appearances: 59
Goals: 7
Assists: 7
Grealish turned the most costly English footballer ever when City flexed their monetary muscle to signal him from Villa in the summertime of 2021, after a season during which he had scored six league targets and chipped in with 10 assists — a formidable tally bettered solely by Harry Kane, Bruno Fernandes and Kevin De Bruyne.
The England worldwide has made a average begin to life on the Etihad, contributing six targets and 4 assists (in all competitions) in his debut season, however whereas he was a part of City’s 2021-22 title-winning aspect, he typically featured in an ancillary position. Grealish continues to slowly discover his toes beneath the strenuous tutelage of Pep Guardiola, however for now the very fact stays that he nonetheless has a protracted approach to go earlier than he is among the first names on the teamsheet to totally justify his payment.
Rating: MISS
Fee: €120M
Transfer: Atletico Madrid to Barcelona
Year: 2019
Appearances: 102
Goals: 35
Assists: 17
Griezmann turned a vital lynchpin for Atletico beneath Diego Simeone, offering inventive guile and tireless graft in equal measure for 5 seasons as the Rojiblancos loved a surge of success in LaLiga and in Europe.
He then made the pure step as much as Barcelona in 2019 and commanded a famous person’s payment, however sadly the 2 events struggled to mesh totally. While loads was anticipated of Griezmann, his performances have been typically just a bit too inconsistent to cross muster and he was unable to mix successfully with Lionel Messi within the Barca assault.
The French attacker spent two full seasons at Camp Nou earlier than making a mutually useful loan return to Atletico in 2021 with only a Copa del Rey winners’ medal to indicate for it.
Rating: MISS
4. Joao Felix
Fee: €126M
Transfer: Benfica to Atletico Madrid
Year: 2019
Appearances: 131
Goals: 34
Assists: 18
The astronomical payment paid by Atletico to signal Felix represented the second-biggest payment ever paid for a teen (extra on that in a second) and the very best payment ever recouped for a Portuguese participant leaving the home league.
Things began promisingly as the younger attacker helped Atletico finish their seven-year await a LaLiga title in simply his second season with the membership, however a drop in type and a souring of relations between himself and coach Diego Simeone has since seen Felix’s position dramatically diminished — to the purpose the place he has performed a full 90 minutes simply twice in all competitions this season.
Regardless, a brand new contract signed simply this week appears to sign that Felix retains sufficient potential for Atleti to put money into him long run and that his guardian membership are hoping {that a} well timed loan spell at Chelsea will assist clean up and reinvigorate their waning striker for years to come back.
Rating: MISS
Fee: €145M
Transfer: Liverpool to Barcelona
Year: 2018
Appearances: 106
Goals: 25
Assists: 14
After six trophy-less seasons at Liverpool during which he scored 54 targets and registered 45 assists in 201 video games, Coutinho left for Barcelona searching for silverware in a transfer that may ultimately come to be the third largest in soccer historical past.
An present harm flagged up in his Barca medical was a harbinger of issues to come back for the Brazil worldwide, who struggled to keep up a foothold within the first crew throughout his debut season with simply 18 appearances in LaLiga.
Four campaigns got here and went (two spent out on loan at Bayern Munich and Aston Villa, respectively) as Coutinho frequently failed to copy the bubbling ability and creativity he had demonstrated at Anfield, all of the whereas going through relentless criticism from the terraces. His most memorable motion in a Barca match arguably got here in opposition to them, when he scored for Bayern of their 8-2 mauling of his guardian membership within the 2020 Champions League quarterfinals.
He has since made his transfer to Villa everlasting for the 2022-23 marketing campaign however has thus far failed to search out the web in 17 video games this season.
Rating: MISS
Fee: €180M
Transfer: Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain
Year: 2018
Appearances: 193
Goals: 170
Assists: 77
After an preliminary 12 months spent on loan, Mbappe made his transfer from Monaco to PSG everlasting in the summertime of 2018 in a gargantuan deal that made the 18-year-old the second-most costly participant of all time as properly as the most costly teenager ever.
Regardless of the massive charges concerned, the Parisians clearly did not really feel Mbappe was a lot of a bet, and their confidence has since been substantiated as the ultra-mobile striker has rapidly established himself as probably the greatest gamers on the planet, profitable 4 extra Ligue 1 titles, an entire clutch of home cups and the World Cup with France — all by the age of 24.
Rating: HIT
Fee: €222M
Transfer: Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain
Year: 2017
Appearances: 165
Goals: 115
Assists: 73
The largest transfer payment ever recorded and in addition the one payment to have exceeded the €200m mark, the sheer scale of Neymar’s mega transfer from Barca to PSG in 2017 is unlikely to be eclipsed for fairly a while.
Now age 30, the Brazilian famous person has gained 12 honours over the course of six profitable seasons in Paris, together with 4 Ligue 1 titles and three Coupe de France triumphs. However, the Champions League stays elusive, with the closest he has taken PSG to European glory coming with defeat within the 2020 last.
There have been dips in type and even questions over his dedication ranges at instances, however Neymar stays a preferred determine on the Parc des Princes and his glimmering document of accomplishment speaks for itself.
Rating: HIT
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