The evolution of football from just a sport to a commercial juggernaut has been fascinating and interesting to fans.
Once upon a time, when footballers played the game of soccer, they usually do have a regular day job.
Presently however, footballers are among the richest sportsperson in the world, and a look at how the transfer fees have escalated over the years is amazing.
Even so, four of the ten most expensive signings in the last one decade involved the purchase or sales of English Premier League players.
Spanish La liga clubs have spent the most on top talents, signing six of the top 10 most expensive players of the last decade.
In 2017/18 season, the league secured a record revenue of 4.48 billion pounds.
Here are the shortlist of Players that made it into this list;
10. Cristiano Ronaldo
The superstar joined Real madrid from Manchester United for the then world-record fee of 80 million pounds in July 2009.
He became a legend at the Bernabeu with over 450 goals scored, alongside winning numerous titles and awards in his glittering career.
In July 2018, he joined Juventus from Real madrid for a fee of 88.3 million pounds at the age of 33 years.
So far in Turin, he has scored 46 goals in 70 games till date and has won a scuddetto title to add to his many laurels.
9. Paul Pogba
He returned to his boyhood club, after leaving as a free agent in his teenage years.
Manchester United had to coughed out 89.3 million pounds to Juventus in August 2016 to signed Pogba.
The fee paid for him remains the highest fee paid by an English club for a player.
He has 168 appearances with 31 goals so far, and he has won the league cup and the Europa league with the red side of Manchester.
8. Eden Hazard
The Belgian playmaker cost more than double of what was paid for the 10th priciest footballer signed between year 2000 and 2009 - Ronaldo Nazario cost 40.5 million pounds then.
Despite having just a year left on his contract, Real Madrid paid a fee of 90 million pounds to Chelsea in 2019 to obtain the service of Hazard.
So far, he has played 21 games with 2 goals and
2 assists to show for it.
7. Gareth Bale
The Welshman's transfer to the galaticos from Tottenham cost a fee of 90.9 million pounds back in 2014.
In Real Madrid, he has made 245 appearances scoring 104 goals and contributing 67 assists. A league title and 4 champions league titles are the laurels he has won so far with the team.
6. Ousmane Dembele
He was signed from Borussia Dortmund to replace Neymar in Barcelona for a record fee of 105 million pounds, plus a reported 40 million pounds add- ons on August 25, 2017.
With his buy-out clause set at 400 million pounds.
Despite not shining the light as expected yet, the former Rennes forward has played 81 games for the catalonia side, scoring 20 goals and making 14 assists.
5. Antoine Griezmann
The 208 World Cup winner was signed by Barcelona on a fee of 107.6 million pounds from Atletico Madrid in July 2019.
Since joining in the summer, the French jewel has made 26 appearances with 10 goals and 4 assists as his contribution.
4. Joao Felix
Atletico Madrid 's massive outlay of 126 million pounds in July 2019 for Benfica wizkid Felix is the second most expensive fee paid for a teenager after Mbappe in history.
He is regarded as one of the best talents in world football at the moment but has so far played 13 games and scored just 3 goals.
3. Philippe Coutinho
The Brazilian playmaker moved from Liverpool to Barcelona for 130.5 million pounds in January 2018.
He played 54 games and scored only 11 goals for the catalans before joining Bayern Munich on a loan deal for 2 years in the summer of 2019.
2. Kylian Mbappe
He is the most expensive teenager ever after joining Paris Saint-Germain on a loan deal from rival club Monaco in 2017. PSG later paid 165 million pounds to complete the deal.
So far with the Paris based club, the teenage World Cup star has played 114 games and has scored 82 goals.
1. Neymar Jr
At the moment, he is the most expensive player ever at 199.5 million pounds.
His 2017 transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain cost 236% of Cristiano Ronaldo's Real Madrid fee.
So far, he has been a decent player for the French giants, scoring 55 goals in 63 games.
His career in France though has been marred by controversies and injuries, which might be interpreted by some in certain quarters as being a wrong signing by PSG.
Which players will break the transfer record in the coming years?
Let's have your comments below.
Fabiyi Ridwan
Sports Writer and Analyst
