Progression of the British football transfer fee record

Bryan Robson was the subject of a record transfer in 1981.

The progression of the British football transfer fee record tracks the increases in the record for the highest transfer fee paid or received by British association football clubs. A transfer fee is the sum of money paid by one club to purchase the contract, and therefore the playing services, of a professional footballer. Fees are not generally formally disclosed by the clubs involved, and discrepancies can occur in figures quoted in the press. Trevor Francis, for example, is regarded as Britain's first £1m player but was officially transferred for £975,000. The generally reported figure of £1,180,000 included Value Added Tax, fees to the Football League and Francis' signing fee.[1] Discrepancies may also occur due to deals which involve additional sums to be paid at a later date after a player has made a certain number of appearances, joint fees for two or more players, or deals in which one player is exchanged for a sum of money plus another player.

The first ever three-figure transfer fee was the £100 paid by Aston Villa in 1893 for Willie Groves. Eleven years later, Alf Common joined Middlesbrough for the first ever four-figure fee, a sum which caused a national sensation and outrage amongst the football authorities.[2] The £5,000 mark was first reached in 1922 when Falkirk paid that amount for West Ham United's Syd Puddefoot, and six years later Arsenal paid the first ever £10,000 fee to acquire David Jack of Bolton Wanderers. After the Second World War, the spending power of clubs in mainland Europe outstripped that of British clubs for the first time, resulting in several substantial jumps in the transfer record. John Charles became the first British player to command a fee of £50,000 when he joined Juventus in 1957, and four years later Denis Law joined Torino in the first £100,000 transaction involving a British club.

The 1970s saw a rapid increase in transfer fees. Martin Peters became the first £200,000 player in 1970, but by 1977 Kevin Keegan's move to West Germany's Hamburger SV had taken the record to £500,000. In January 1979 David Mills became the first player to be purchased for £500,000 by a British club, but just one month later Nottingham Forest paid twice that amount to acquire Birmingham City's Trevor Francis. In 1981 Bryan Robson cost Manchester United £1,500,000, but fees paid by British clubs lagged behind those paid by clubs in Italy, France and Spain to take British players abroad until 1995, when Manchester United paid Newcastle United £7,000,000 for Andy Cole. The fees paid by the Premier League's top clubs began to increase at a rapid rate, with Alan Shearer commanding the first £15,000,000 fee in 1996, and the new millennium heralding the first £30,000,000 transfer, although sources differ as to whether this barrier was broken by Rio Ferdinand's move to Manchester United in 2002 or Andriy Shevchenko's transfer to Chelsea four years later for some reason, however Veron' s transfer to United in 2001 was £38m.

On 1 September 2008, Manchester City agreed a reported £32,500,000 fee for Robinho,[3] which remained the record amount paid by a British club until 31 January 2011, when Liverpool paid £35,000,000 for Andy Carroll from Newcastle United, which was also a new record amount paid for a British player. A few hours later, the record amount paid by a British club was broken again when Chelsea paid £50,000,000 for Fernando Torres from Liverpool.

On 11 June 2009, Manchester United announced that they had accepted an £80,000,000 bid from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo. The transfer was completed on 1 July 2009, setting not only a new British transfer record, but also a new world record (either in pounds or euros).[4] In turn, that record was broken on 1 September 2013 when Real announced that their £85.3 million (€100 million) purchase of Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur had been completed.[5]

This record was broken on 8 August 2016, when Manchester United signed Paul Pogba from Juventus for a fee of £89 million, and again on 6 January 2018, when Philippe Coutinho moved to Barcelona from Liverpool for a reported initial fee of £106 million, which could rise to £142 million with various clauses being met.

Record progression

DatePlayerFromToFeeNotes
1893Scotland Willie GrovesEngland West Bromwich AlbionEngland Aston Villa£100[6]
January 1904Scotland Andy McCombieEngland SunderlandEngland Newcastle United£700[7]
February 1905England Alf CommonEngland SunderlandEngland Middlesbrough£1,000[8]
February 1911England John SimpsonScotland FalkirkEngland Blackburn Rovers£1,800[9]
November 1913England George UtleyEngland BarnsleyEngland Sheffield United£2,000[10]
February 1914England Percy DawsonScotland Heart of MidlothianEngland Blackburn Rovers£2,500[11]
December 1920 England David Mercer England Hull City England Sheffield United £4,500 [12]
February 1922England Syd PuddefootEngland West Ham UnitedScotland Falkirk£5,000[8]
March 1922England Warney CresswellEngland South ShieldsEngland Sunderland£5,500[8]
December 1925England Bob KellyEngland BurnleyEngland Sunderland£6,500[8]
October 1928England David JackEngland Bolton WanderersEngland Arsenal£10,890[13]
March 1938Wales Bryn JonesEngland Wolverhampton WanderersEngland Arsenal£14,500[8]
September 1947Scotland Billy SteelScotland MortonEngland Derby County£15,500[14]
November 1947England Tommy LawtonEngland ChelseaEngland Notts County£20,000[15][16]
February 1948England Len ShackletonEngland Newcastle UnitedEngland Sunderland£20,500[17][18]
February 1949England Johnny MorrisEngland Manchester UnitedEngland Derby County£24,000[8]
December 1949England Eddie QuigleyEngland Sheffield WednesdayEngland Preston North End£26,500[8]
October 1950Wales Trevor FordEngland Aston VillaEngland Sunderland£30,000[19]
March 1951England Jackie SewellEngland Notts CountyEngland Sheffield Wednesday£34,500[19]
July 1955Italy Eddie FirmaniEngland Charlton AthleticItaly Sampdoria£35,000[19]
April 1957Wales John CharlesEngland Leeds UnitedItaly Juventus£65,000[19]
June 1961England Gerry HitchensEngland Aston VillaItaly Internazionale£85,000[19]
July 1962Scotland Denis LawItaly TorinoEngland Manchester United£115,000[19]
June 1968England Allan ClarkeEngland FulhamEngland Leicester City£150,000[19]
June 1969England Allan ClarkeEngland Leicester CityEngland Leeds United£165,000[19]
March 1970England Martin PetersEngland West Ham UnitedEngland Tottenham Hotspur£200,000[19]
December 1971England Alan BallEngland EvertonEngland Arsenal£220,000[19]
August 1972England David NishEngland Leicester CityEngland Derby County£225,000[20]
February 1974England Bob LatchfordEngland Birmingham CityEngland Everton£350,000[21]
June 1977England Kevin KeeganEngland LiverpoolGermany Hamburger SV£500,000[22]
January 1979England David MillsEngland MiddlesbroughEngland West Bromwich Albion£516,000[22]
February 1979England Trevor FrancisEngland Birmingham CityEngland Nottingham Forest£1,180,000[19]
September 1979England Steve DaleyEngland Wolverhampton WanderersEngland Manchester City£1,450,000[19]
September 1979Scotland Andy GrayEngland Aston VillaEngland Wolverhampton Wanderers£1,469,000[19]
October 1981England Bryan RobsonEngland West Bromwich AlbionEngland Manchester United£1,500,000[19]
May 1984England Ray WilkinsEngland Manchester UnitedItaly Milan£1,500,000[19]
May 1986Wales Mark HughesEngland Manchester UnitedSpain Barcelona£2,300,000[19]
June 1987Wales Ian RushEngland LiverpoolItaly Juventus£3,200,000[19]
July 1989England Chris WaddleEngland Tottenham HotspurFrance Marseille£4,250,000[19]
July 1991England David PlattEngland Aston VillaItaly Bari£5,500,000[19]
August 1991England Trevor StevenScotland RangersFrance Marseille£5,500,000[23]
June 1992England Paul GascoigneEngland Tottenham HotspurItaly Lazio£5,500,000[19]
January 1995England Andy ColeEngland Newcastle UnitedEngland Manchester United£7,000,000[24]
June 1995Netherlands Dennis BergkampItaly InternazionaleEngland Arsenal£7,500,000[19]
June 1995England Stan CollymoreEngland Nottingham ForestEngland Liverpool£8,500,000[25]
July 1996England Alan ShearerEngland Blackburn RoversEngland Newcastle United£15,000,000[26]
August 1999France Nicolas AnelkaEngland ArsenalSpain Real Madrid£22,500,000[19]
July 2001Argentina Juan Sebastián VerónItaly LazioEngland Manchester United£28,100,000[27]
July 2002England Rio FerdinandEngland Leeds UnitedEngland Manchester United£29,100,000[28] Ferdinand's fee was also quoted as £30m,[29] with the potential to rise to £33.3m based on additional clauses.[30]
July 2006Ukraine Andriy ShevchenkoItaly MilanEngland Chelsea£30,800,000[31]
September 2008Brazil RobinhoSpain Real MadridEngland Manchester City£32,500,000[32]
July 2009Portugal Cristiano RonaldoEngland Manchester UnitedSpain Real Madrid£80,000,000[4]
September 2013Wales Gareth BaleEngland Tottenham HotspurSpain Real Madrid£85,300,000[33]
July 2016 France Paul Pogba Italy Juventus England Manchester United £89,000,000 [34][35][36]
January 2018Brazil Philippe CoutinhoEngland LiverpoolSpain Barcelona£105,000,000[37]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Simon Briggs (9 February 2009). "The day Trevor Francis broke football's £1m mark". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  2. ↑ Davies, Hunter (2003). Boots, Balls and Haircuts: An Illustrated History of Football from Then to Now. Cassell Illustrated. p. 75. ISBN 1-84403-261-2.
  3. ↑ "Manchester City did not pay £47 million for Carlos Tevez, says Kia Joorabchian". London: telegraph.co.uk. 12 September 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Ronaldo completes £80m Real move". BBC Sport. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
  5. ↑ "Bale completes Real Madrid move". BBC Sport. 1 September 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  6. ↑ "Groves leads the droves to Villa". London: The Independent. 24 January 1998. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
  7. ↑ Helen Rae (18 October 2006). "Toon nostalgia on the cards for fans". Evening Chronicle. Retrieved 14 July 2008.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Barnes (2007), p. 309.
  9. ↑ "Jock Simpson: Blackburn Rovers: Biography". Archived from the original on 24 October 2011.
  10. ↑ Glenn Moore; James Mariner (5 April 2008). "Their last FA Cup final ... the glorious pasts of this year's four semi-finalists". The Independent. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  11. ↑ "Tynecastle Stadium: 1892–1914". Heart of Midlothian F.C. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  12. ↑ "England Players – David Mercer". www.englandfootballonline.com. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  13. ↑ "Wembley Stadium 84 years on". The Daily Telegraph. London. 17 March 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  14. ↑ "The History Of Derby County Football Club". Derby County F.C. 19 November 2011. Archived from the original on 28 December 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  15. ↑ Phil Shaw (7 November 1996). "Football: Tommy Lawton dies at age of 77". The Independent. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  16. ↑ Ivan Ponting (7 November 1996). "Obituary: Tommy Lawton". The Independent. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  17. ↑ Brian Glanville (29 November 2000). "Len Shackleton". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  18. ↑ Louise Taylor (18 February 2011). "The five non-league teams to reach FA Cup fifth round before Crawley". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2012.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Barnes (2007), p. 310.
  20. ↑ Jonathan Stevenson and Dan Warren (26 January 2007). "Were you there...when the Rams beat the Gas?". BBC. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  21. ↑ James Corbett (5 March 2006). "Bob Latchford". The Observer. London. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  22. 1 2 Albert Sewell (22 March 2002). "Ask Albert – Number 59". BBC. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  23. ↑ "Whatever happened to Trevor Steven?". Football Transfer Tavern. 23 December 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  24. ↑ "Cole's fresh challenge". BBC. 29 December 2001. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  25. ↑ "Collymore quits football". BBC. 7 March 2001. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  26. ↑ "Injury forces Shearer retirement". BBC. 22 April 2006. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  27. ↑ "Veron seals £28.1m Man Utd move". BBC. 12 July 2001. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  28. ↑ Stuart Roach (22 July 2003). "Duff is worlds apart". BBC. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  29. ↑ "Rio reaches deal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  30. ↑ "Rio seals deal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  31. ↑ "Chelsea deny Shevchenko reports". BBC. 7 December 2006. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
  32. ↑ "Man City beat Chelsea to Robinho". BBC. 5 January 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2008.
  33. ↑ Jeremy, Wilson (2 September 2013). "Gareth Bale joins Real Madrid from Tottenham for a world record fee of £86m". The Telegraph. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  34. ↑ "Paul Pogba signs with Manchester United for £89 million". Al Jazeera. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  35. ↑ Lake, Jefferson (9 August 2016). "Paul Pogba joins Manchester United for world-record £89m". Sky Sports. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  36. ↑ "Paul Pogba completes Man Utd transfer for world-record fee". The Daily Telegraph. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  37. ↑ "Philippe Coutinho: Liverpool agree £142m deal with Barcelona for Brazil midfielder". BBC. 6 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.

Bibliography

  • Barnes, Stuart (2007). News of the World Football Annual 2007/2008. Invincible Press. ISBN 978-0-00-725555-9.
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