Grading the 25 Most Expensive European Football Transfers so Far

Every transfer window brings up the topic of how fiscally responsible should football clubs be when buying footballers.

Sometimes they are so desperate that they would buy a footballer at a price so disproportionate to their playing ability, like Roman Abramovich buying Andriy Shevchenko for £30.8 million and Fernando Torres for £50 million.

Most of us have been keeping up with some of the major transfers, so let’s grade the 25 most expensive European football transfers so far. 

25. Fabio Quagliarella

From Napoli to Juventus for €10.5 million/£9.2 million

Grade: C

Again, another player signed on loan and then signed outright.

The thing with Fabio Quagliarella was that he was pretty ordinary when I watched him.

I think he’ll just be a reserve forward, to which €10.5 million is not so cheap, but you know Quagliarella can conjure up some moments of magic.

It would seem Juventus are buying their way back into the upper echelons of Italian football.

24. Arturo Vidal

From Bayer Leverkusen to Juventus for €10.5 million/£9.2 million

Grade: A+

I had to recheck the transfer fee because I didn’t believe what I was seeing.

Rudi Völler should be sacked as Bayer Leverkusen sporting director.

• 1) Arturo Vidal had a world class season.
• 2) His contract ends in 2015.
• 3) Did you even try inflating the price?

If the English Premier League is known for inflating transfer fees, then the Bundesliga should be known for being push overs.

Nuri Şahin was sold for €10 million, Arturo Vidal was sold for €10.5 million, next thing you know, Mario Götze is sold for €11 million.

Now all Juventus need to do is to allow Vidal to play the same position he did at Bayer Leverkusen.

I know he played everywhere, but his best position was essentially given a free to do what he wanted in midfield.

My only worry for Vidal is if he is not disciplined enough to play in a structured tactical and perhaps defensive system.

23. Domenico Criscito

From Genoa to Zenit Saint Petersburg for €11 million/£9.7 million

Grade: C

Manager Luciano Spalletti has reinforced Zenit Saint Petersburg’s defence with the solid signing of Domenico Criscito.

He’ll do a solid job, and potentially Spalletti could have a back four of Criscito, Bruno Alves, Nicolas Lombaerts and Aleksandr Anyukov—talk about a lot of grit and determination from the aforementioned players.

The transfer fee is more of a win of Genoa than it is for Zenit Saint Petersburg. 

22. Kévin Gameiro

From Lorient to Paris Saint-Germain for €11 million/£9.7 million

Grade: B

With the financing backing of the Qatar Investment Authority, Paris Saint-Germain’s first priority is to buy the best players in Ligue 1, get into the UEFA Champions League and then buy the best continental players on the market.

Kévin Gameiro had an outstanding season for Lorient, and will join a Paris Saint-Germain side building for the future. 

21. Jérémy Toulalan

From Lyon to Málaga for €11 million/£9.7 million

Grade: B

Jérémy Toulalan will provide Málaga the steely reserve and leadership that Lorik Cana provided during his one season at Sunderland.

Sure, the transfer fee is slightly inflated, but given Málaga are financed by Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani, money isn’t an issue.

The issue is attracting quality footballers to progress Sheikh Abdullah’s vision of Málaga challenging Barcelona and Real Madrid. 

20. Ricardo Álvarez

From Vélez Sársfield to Inter Milan for €11.9 million /£10.5 million

Grade: D

Ricardo Álvarez’s performances during the Copa Libertadores have cast a blanket over his injuries, his three indifferent seasons.

Where will Álvarez fit in this Inter Milan midfield? How will it affect the development of Philippe Coutinho?

That being said, I watched him during Inter Milan’s preseason friendlies, and he’s looked like a superstar.

But it’s just preseason. I’ll change my view if he replicates his Copa Libertadores performances in the Serie A.

Also, the fiscally risky decision Massimo Moratti has taken seems odd, given that he has run up a very tight ship in the past two seasons. 

19. Gervinho

From Lille to Arsenal for £10.5 million/€11.9 million

Grade: A

Finally, he’s an Arsenal player because the transfer saga seemed it would go on forever and ever.

I like him a lot, he’s direct, he’s pacey and he’ll turn out to be a good player for Arsenal.  

Why should Arsenal pay £20 million for Gervinho when they could get him for free next year?

The high grade reflects how Arsenal pressured Lille into accepting a fair transfer fee as opposed to allowing Lille to inflate the transfer fee for a player who rejected a contract renewal and was willing to play out his contract like Marouane Chamakh.

18. Érik Lamela

From River Plate to Roma for €11.9 million /£10.5 million

Grade: B

He was the first player I profiled when I published "5 River Plate talents that European clubs must poach following River Plate’s relegation."

Érik Lamela just oozes of quality, and I won’t be surprised if Roma, in a few seasons, cash in big like what Palermo are trying to do with Javier Pastore.

I would have given an A grading if Roma managed to have signed Lamela for a lower price, as River Plate are in a position to negotiate.

€11.9 million for a 19-year-old from a relegated club seems a bit generous. 

17. Stefan Savić

From Partizan to Manchester City for £10.5 million/€11.9 million

Grade: D

I’m not too sure about this signing, as I watched him during the UEFA Champions League, and I wasn’t impressed.

You had Cléo looking like a stud up front and Stefan Savić looking like a dud at back.

He’s a very rough player, but I also remember Braga tormenting him, and then Andrei Arshavin routinely embarrassing him off the dribble.

If he made small mistakes, I probably would have forgotten, but he just looked so out of his depth during the Champions League that I haven’t forgotten. 

We’ll see if he ends up being Manchester City’s version of Laurent Koscielny. 

16. Bojan Krkić

From Barcelona to Roma for €12 million/£10.6 million

Grade: D

I’ve always been a fan of Bojan Krkić, but falling out of favour with manager Pep Guardiola and that guilt edged miss against Inter Milan two seasons ago pretty much cemented his exit from the Nou Camp.

Maybe he got a bit complacent, because Pedro not only was scoring more goals than him, but was also working a lot harder than him.

With rookie manager Luis Enrique at Roma, surely buying compatriot Bojan means Enrique will start him.

I would have given an A grading if not for Roma allowing Barcelona to insert an utterly money swindling and unjust clause.

After two seasons, Barcelona can buy back Bojan, and if they decide to do so, Roma have to pay an additional €28.4 million outright to stop the move.

So potentially, Roma could end up paying €40.4 million for Bojan. That’s ridiculous! 

15. Danilo

From Santos to Porto for €13 million/£11.4 million

Grade: N/A

To be honest, I don’t know a lot about Danilo, hence why I can’t give a grade. I watched several Santos games, and for the life of me, I cannot remember him.

Maybe that’s a bad thing or simply my fault because I was more focused on Neymar, Ganso, Elano and whenever Rodrigo Possebon came on.

We know how good Porto are at finding South American talent and selling them for substantial profits, but €13 million is pretty steep, so their scouts must rate Danilo very highly—world class potential for them to spend that much on a player that wasn’t even the best player in the team. 

14. Jérôme Boateng

From Manchester City to Bayern Munich for €13.5 million/£11.9 million

Grade: B

Jérôme Boateng’s attitude at Eastlands didn’t impress me at all.

From getting into a fight with Mario Balotelli, to forcing a move to Bayern Munich because he wasn’t given a chance to play at his preferred position of centre back—Bayern Munich will be expecting higher levels of professionalism.

When I watched him at Hamburg, he looked immense and very impressive. When I heard Manchester City signed him, I thought oh my, this is his chance to develop into a world class footballer.

Well, Vincent Kompany has taken that mantle, whereas Boateng now is hoping he’ll be given more chances at Bayern Munich. 

13. Balázs Dzsudzsák

From PSV Eindhoven to Anzhi Makhachkala for €14 million/£12.3 million

Grade: A

“Show me the money!”

That was a famous line shouted out by Jerry Maguire, and that’s what Balázs Dzsudzsák must have been like when in negotiations with ambitious new Russian owner Suleyman Kerimov.

Dzsudzsák has looked a class above the rest when playing in the Eredivisie, which has a habit of its best players moving to bigger leagues and becoming world class players or momentous flops.

Anzhi Makhachkala signed Roberto Carlos as a publicity stunt, whereas recruiting quality players like Dzsudzsák is the way to go if Kerimov wants success in the Russian league let alone in Europe.

The Russian Premier League is increasingly getting stronger due to the financial backing, which allows quality imports to come in. 

12. Alessandro Matri

From Cagliari to Juventus for €15.5 million/£13.7 million

Grade: B         

Another Serie A example of being signed on loan, performing well, then being signed outright.

Matri has improved in leaps and bounds, and he offers a complete offensive game to Juventus by being able to win aerial challenges, holding the ball up and now scoring goals.

With Juventus spending to win, as long as Matri is on his A-game, I expect a career best goal return tally from him. 

11. Edinson Cavani

From Palermo to Napoli for €16 million/£14.1 million

Grade: A+

Napoli took out insurance on Edinson Cavani by signing him on loan, with the option of buying him outright at the end of the season.

Well, Cavani turned out to be this season’s best player in Serie A, not just the way he inspired Napoli to their best finish since the Diego Maradona days, but his determination to produce the goods with the chips down, with late game-winning or equalising goals in the 86th minute, 87th minute, 88th minute, 92nd minute, 93rd minute and 97th minute.

10. Gökhan Inler

From Udinese to Napoli for €17.5 million/£15.4 million

Grade: C

It’s a pity that Walter Gargano is set to leave Napoli after periods of the season warming the benches following arguments with manager Walter Mazzarri.

Though out with Gargano, in with Gökhan İnler, who, for me, was one of the best midfielders in Serie A last season.

The substantial transfer fee is perhaps to merit his contributions to Udinese this season, but the transfer fee seems slightly inflated given he is more expensive than Edison Cavani.

Inler made a peculiar arrival at Napoli with a lion mask, and Mazzarri will be expecting lion hearted performances from Inler. 

9. Jordan Henderson

From Sunderland to Liverpool for £16 million/€18.2 million

Grade: D

I simply do not understand why English footballers garner an extra £10+ million because of their nationality.

Jordan Henderson strikes me as a top class professional, a hard worker and a fundamentally solid footballer, but that’s about it.

For a player so young, he controlled the tempo of the Sunderland midfield to a good effect, but he is not worth £20 million.

Real Madrid bought Nuri Şahin, the best player in the Bundesliga, for €10 million. 

8. Ashley Young

From Aston Villa to Manchester United for £16 million/€18.2 million

Grade: F

Five problems.

1) His contract ended next season, and he was frustrated, refused to sign a contract renewal and would have played out his contract just like he stalled the entire season in signing a contract renewal.

2) Where does he fit in the Manchester United team? This isn’t Manchester City. The Glazers have run up an absurd debt to burden Manchester United, and they can’t be spending £16 million on a bench warmer.

3) If Ashley Young starts, what happens to Nani?

4) Manchester United need quality in centre midfield or a deep lying midfielder; surely that should be the main prerogative.

5) As good as Young is, he isn’t worth £16 million, considering Edinson Cavani, Serie A’s best player, was signed for £14.1 million. 

7. Phil Jones

From Blackburn Rovers to Manchester United for £16.5 million/€18.7 million

Grade: D

Phil Jones is a solid centre back, which is quite impressive given he is still a teenager, but he is not worth the money that was flaunted for his services.

It’s also a bad career move, as Chris Smalling is a better centre back than him, and he’s waiting for Rio Ferdinand to break down with another injury in order to get into the first team.

What’s Jones going to do? Warm the benches and play in the reserves for the next few seasons.

Honestly, what were his advisors thinking? Clearly, they were seduced by the pound signs as opposed to looking out for Jone’s best interests. 

6. David De Gea

From Atlético Madrid to Manchester United for £17.6 million/€20 million

Grade: A

I rate David de Gea quite highly, and I think it’s taken some balls from Manchester United to make him the second most expensive goalkeeper in history.

Perhaps they’ve taken a leaf out of Juventus’ book, who took a massive gamble in making a then 23-year-old Gianluigi Buffon the most expensive goalkeeper ever at £33  million.

337 appearances later, and Buffon is still going strong.

Manchester United will be hoping de Gea can consistently be top quality for the next decade. 

5. Manuel Neuer

From Schalke to Bayern Munich for €22 million/£19.4 million

Grade: B

Logical transfer give the impressive season he had, but I have some serious reservations about Manuel Neuer.

For someone who is supposedly one of the best goal keepers in Europe, he has a propensity to make some big gaffes, like letting in a goal from 67 meters out and of course, his role in allowing Dejan Stanković to emulate Dragan Stojković.

Neuer is joining Bayern Munich after Oliver Kahn’s heir apparent Michael Rensing kept making gaffes, and never quite replaced Kahn.

Ironically, Rensing had a standout season for Köln. 

4. Stewart Downing

From Aston Villa to Liverpool for £20 million/€22.7 million

Grade: D

Liverpool could have signed Stewart Downing on a free transfer next season, yet knee-jerked by signing him for £20 million even though he had rejected a contract renewal.

I would have given a better grade if Downing was worth £20 million, but he isn’t.

Barcelona signed Ibrahim Afellay for just €3 million, and Downing isn’t that much better than Afellay.

Liverpool could have had one more season to evaluate if Downing is their man, but they jumped the gun. 

3. Zlatan Ibrahimović

From Barcelona to A.C. Milan for €24 million/£21.1 million

Grade: A

Some teams in the Serie A, maybe they’re forced too due to their debt, have exercised the option of signing a player on loan, and if he performs, then signing him outright.

So I guess an extended trial, but with the option of shipping the player back to where he came from if he flopped.

Zlatan Ibrahimović is a winner, and there was no doubt that he’d get back into the groove in the Serie A. 

2. Alexis Sánchez

From Udinese to Barcelona for €26 million/£22.9 million

Grade: C-

On paper, it looks like a splendid deal which gives an already lethal Barcelona side another dimension which could secure more success.  

However, Alexis Sánchez struggled to have any impact as a winger last season, and only started performing when Udinese manager Francesco Guidolin boldly moved him into a withdrawn striker role.

Who plays that position at Barcelona?

In effect, Sánchez played one brilliant half of season; the other half, he went missing. It’s not to say he’s inconsistent like Miloš Krasić, but he was really out of sorts on the flanks.

1. Fábio Coentrão

From Benfica to Real Madrid for €30 million/£26.4 million

Grade: D

In 2007, Real Madrid raised eyebrows when they bought Rambo style defender Pepe for €30 million.

Four seasons later, what we’ve found out is: He would have fit perfectly with the Crazy Gang, he isn’t worth €30 million and he could potentially be a world class defensive midfielder as opposed to a world class centre back.

It’s hard not to notice Fábio Coentrão given his marauding runs, but it’s moronic that Real Madrid were duped by Benfica into paying €30 million.

I believe this transfer has José Mourinho written all over it, just like when he pressured Massimo Moratti into buying Ricardo Quaresma for €18.6 million, who had failed at Barcelona.

What’s more baffling about this transfer was the progress Marcelo was making in improving his once nonexistent defensive abilities.

Maybe Mourinho will surprise us by playing a 4-4-2, with Marcelo as a left winger and Coentrão as a left back.

----------

You may also enjoy reading Javier Pastore Rumours: Manchester United, Chelsea and 5 Other Clubs To Sign Him.