Before Neymar at Paris Saint Germain, before the megalomaniac market operations in England with the purchases in defense between Manchester City and Liverpool. Before the bubble created by sheikhs and Asian funds, there was Italy which, like Klondike, was a gold mine for the number of talents and transfer market operations. But what were the most expensive operations that involved the Serie A both incoming and outgoing
Here is the top 10
# 10 Christian Vieri
In La Liga, with the Atletico Madrid shirt, he scored 24 goals in 24 games. First place in the top scorers and therefore the conquest of the Pichichi Trophy, the only Italian to win it. Cragnotti’s Lazio, therefore, decided to bring him back to Italy in the summer of 1998 after only one season in Spain. But Vieri, little remains in the capital: his move to Inter the following year is sensational with Moratti who wants to give Lippi the ram to aim for the Scudetto. The operation to bring the 25-year-old ex-Juve to Milan is, up to that moment, the most expensive ever: almost 90 billion lire offered to Lazio (the price includes Simeone’s card, valued at 21 billion) or 48 million of Euro.
# 9 Gaizka Mendieta
These are the years of the overwhelming power of Lazio and Cragnotti before the bankruptcy crash. The Lazio not only dominate in Serie A and also assert themselves in Europe on the pitch, but they also make a big voice in the transfer market. The object of desire is the Spanish Mendieta, captain and leader of Valencia with whom, after winning the King’s Cup and the Spanish Super Cup in 1999, he plays two consecutive Champions League finals, losing both against Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Elected best player of the competition in the 2000-2001 season, Lazio, in the same summer after having sold Nedved to Juventus, decided to place the shot by paying 89 billion lire (48 million euros) into the Valencian coffers, thus becoming the second most expensive purchase. in the history of the biancoceleste club after Hernan Crespo.
# 8 Gianluigi Buffon
Those at the beginning of the millennium are hot summers, very hot for the football market, especially in Italy which still has talents and maintains a precious charm at European and international level. So again in the summer of 2001, while Mendieta passes suitcases in hand from Spain to Italy, the reverse path – destination Madrid – is Zinedine Zidane who leaves Juventus to marry Real. With the money collected, Juventus decided to invest heavily in the market by raiding the best that is around. The scudetto faded also (but not only) due to some uncertainties of the goalkeeper Van Der Sar, Moggi knocks on Parma’s door and asks Buffon, 23 years old and a certain future as a champion. Thus, after having completed the purchase of Lilian Thuram from Parma, also from the Emilians, Juventus buys Buffon for 75 billion lire plus the definitive sale of Jonathan Bachini, valued at 30 billion (a total of 52.88 million euros). The goalkeeper was the most expensive acquisition in the history of the Juventus club that year, a record kept until 2016.
# 7 Hernan Crespo
We had already called him into question with the Mendieta operation. Yes, because Gaizka is the second most expensive acquisition in the history of Lazio: in first place there is the Argentine striker Hernan Crespo. Crespo was 25 years old in 2000, plays in Parma and with the ducals he won the Italian Cup, the Uefa Cup and the Italian Super Cup. Lazio with the tricolor on the piece invests 110 billion lire (56.81 million euros) to win el Valdanito. His transfer turned out to be the most expensive in the history of world football, albeit for a few days: in the same month, in fact, the Portuguese Luis Figo was bought by Real Madrid for 143 billion lire.
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# 6 Edison Cavani
Edinson Cavani has established himself as one of the most prolific players in Europe. He moved from Napoli to PSG in 2013 and is now part of what is arguably the best attack in Europe. The transfer of him from 64 million and a half euros now seems a bargain if you think of the inflated market and Edison, currently, is the best scorer in the history of the transalpine club. Soccer betting today sees PSG among the favorites to win the Champions League as they can also have Brazilian star Neymar to reinforce their attack. Take a look at the infographic to see the biggest Serie A salaries.
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#5 Kaka
Half a million more than the Cavani – PSG deal, in fifth position there is the sale of Kaka in 2009 to the usual Real Madrid which, cyclically, sets foot in the Italian supermarket. Kaka, Milan’s prodigal son, already promised in January at Manchester City decides to stay with the Rossoneri, but the transfer is only postponed and thus arrives in the Galacticos universe together with Cristiano Ronaldo. Florentino Perez’s pharaonic transfer campaign for Real Madrid continues with the signing of French Karim Benzema from Lyon for 35 million, Spaniards Raul Albiol from Valencia, Alvaro Arbeloa and Xabi Alonso from Liverpool and Esteban Granero from Getafe.
# 4 Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan in his obsessive search to win the Champions League, after having dominated in Italy first with Juventus and then with Inter, accepts the move to Barcelona, in the same summer as the double shot merengues Kaka – Cristiano Ronaldo. The Spanish club pays € 46 million to Inter plus the sale of the Cameroonian Eto’o, valued at € 20 million. Initially, the Belarusian Hleb’s loan for a year is also planned, with the right to buy from the Nerazzurri for 10 million, but it has been canceled, and therefore Barcelona pays another 3 million to conclude the deal for a total valuation of 69.5 million. of Euro.
# 3 Zinedine Zidane
We had already mentioned it. Here we are at the lowest step of the podium. Her majesty Zinedine Zidane who in 2001 moved from Juventus to the Real Madrid club which, to have him in its ranks, pays out 150 billion lire (77.5 million euros), making the most expensive transfer of a player in the history of football until at that moment. With the bianconeri, the French talent plays 212 games in total and scores 31 goals, including 24 in Serie A.
# 2 Gonzalo Higuain
Between purchases and sales, Juventus is always on the podium. Gonzalo Higuain, like him, has marked the history of Serie A: arrived in Italy in 2013, bought from Napoli to replace Cavani, el Pipita in the 2105-2016 season makes a bang. He enters the top ten of the best scorers in the history of Napoli, reaching 70 overall goals; he scores for six consecutive days, equaling Maradona’s streak in the 1987-88 season; overtakes Cavani for goals scored in a season, until then the best scorer of the season in the history of the Azzurri and on May 14, in the 4-0 of the last day against Frosinone, he scored the hat-trick that allowed him to close the championship with 36 goals in 35 games, winning the top scorers and breaking the all-time record for goals in a single Italian league, until then held by Nordahl in the 1949-50 season, and also equaling that of Rossetti who resisted from 1928-29, when the championship was played in several groups. With this pretty good business card, Juventus decides to go crazy and pays 90 million euros for it. His transfer is the most expensive in Serie A history.
# 1 Paul Pogba
But if Juventus was able to shell out this amount and because in the same market session, in the summer of 2016, Manchester United knocked on the Bianconeri’s door to bring home the jewel Pogba left too quickly. The figure is staggering: to buy back his former footballer outright, the English club pays out a total sum of 105 million euros. In Italy the 100 million euro wall is broken for a market operation. At that moment it was the most expensive transfer in football history, surpassed the following summer by the 222 million paid out by PSG for Neymar.
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