- Liverpool are close to completing the British record signing of Florian Wirtz
- The German player will turn into the tenth individual signed with a transfer price exceeding £100 million.
- LISTEN: Was 'Fergie Time' genuine? Former top-flight English football official Mark Clattenburg discloses everything in the inaugural episode of the Daily Mail’s new football podcast titled Whistleblowers.
At what point does something become excessive? That thought must have occurred. Liverpool Owner John W Henry has had his attention drawn to several matters recently, particularly during an in-person gathering in Boston, where he approved a significant investment for Florian Wirtz.
The Liverpool team is nearing a major summer transfer success after securing the deal. Bayern Munich and Manchester City for the signing of the German megastar.
Following revelations that the 22-year-old opted to sign with Premier League champions, all What remained was to finalize the transfer fee with Bayer Leverkusen for the playmaker.
Weeks of negotiating finally yielded an agreement. A base £100m fee, which could rise to £116m depending on bonuses including winning the Premier League and Champions League .
The move, expected to conclude next week after he passes a medical examination, would make Wirtz the 10th player globally to command a fee of at least £100 million. It’s worth noting that several players who previously crossed this threshold haven’t necessarily thrived.
There are nine additional stars who could potentially earn seven-figure salaries, but not all of them have delivered sufficient value.
Neymar - Barcelona to PSG, £200m
The Brazilian's transfer to Paris in 2017 concluded one era in footballing history and initiated a new chapter. Nevertheless, when the cash-rich Ligue 1 side significantly surpassed the previous world-record £89m fee Manchester United had paid for Paul Pogba, they anticipated achieving greater success, with one trophy specifically in mind.
It’s quite ironic and widely talked about that PSG managed to win the Champions League after parting ways with global stars such as Neymar.
However, even though he didn’t clinch Europe’s premier trophy while in Paris, it would be unjust to label his tenure in France an outright failure. During his time with the team, Neymar excelled remarkably, accumulating 118 goals and 79 assists across 173 appearances.
His primary concern was injuries. Ligue 1 defenders showed minimal interest in his daring moves and tricks, frequently responding with poorly timed or intentionally harmful challenges. Consequently, Neymar found himself sidelined during crucial parts of the season multiple times consecutively.
Incorporating his passion for celebrations and his unwavering dedication to his sibling’s special day makes him quite an unfavorable arrangement. The sole silver lining for PSG was their ability to deceive Al-Hilal into acquiring him for £78 million back in 2023, a move later deemed as the most disastrous transfer ever.
Kylian Mbappe - From Monaco to PSG, £163m
Despite PSG's efforts, they could not manage the financials required for signing both Neymar and Mbappé simultaneously during the same summer. Thus, the French player was first introduced on a one-year loan in 2017, followed by a permanent move worth £163 million the next year.
Seven years later, the lack of discussion surrounding his transfer fee indicates that he has lived up to the potential shown during his impressive spell at AS Monaco. However, it’s important to remember that it was quite absurd for PSG to invest such a significant amount in a player who was both very young and lacked substantial first-team experience.
But PSG were proved right, with Mbappe becoming the face of the club, French football and one of the global stars of the sport. His record of 256 goals makes him the club's all-time top scorer, while his 108 assists means he registered 364 goal involvements in 308 matches.
Given those statistics, it’s challenging to categorize his tenure in Paris as anything but successful, despite the chaotic departure and the inability to clinch the Champions League title.
Philippe Coutinho moved from Liverpool to Barcelona for €105 million.
If Liverpool supporters didn’t highly value how Coutinho’s transfer to Barcelona impacted the team's past, they might have felt resentment towards him. One cannot overstate the importance of Coutinho leaving; without it, there likely wouldn't be signings like Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker, nor would they possibly hold Premier League and UEFA Champions League trophies today.
Certainly, Barca could only agree to terms – thus becoming vulnerable to manipulation – since Neymar was taken by PSG. Therefore, in this regard, Liverpool emerged as the primary winners of the largest transfer ever recorded.
Although PSG supporters might hold onto fond recollections of Neymar’s tenure, Barça fans probably won’t feel warmly toward him. The forward was unable to find his footing during his time in Catalonia.
Frankly speaking, Coutinho’s initial six months following his transfer in January 2018 indicated that he could turn out to be a valuable asset; however, his performance waned in later years. This led him to spend time on loan at Bayern Munich during the 2019–20 season, where he notably netted two goals against his former team in an impressive 8-2 victory in the quarter-finals.
Joao Felix moved from Benfica to Atletico Madrid for £113 million.
Atletico followed PSG’s example by taking a chance on a promising forward who had shown great form both locally and in European competitions. However, much to their disappointment, this move didn’t pay off for the team from Spain.
Without doubt, Felix ranks among the most exasperating talents in contemporary elite soccer, due to his exceptional abilities paired with frequent underperformances.
Six years on from the transfer to Diego Simeone's side, Felix is yet to find a home among Europe's elite despite spending time with a host of top clubs. Chelsea took a chance on a loan move in 2023, after he had fallen out with Simeone, but didn't fancy signing him permanently and he made a temporary switch to Barcelona.
Strangely, the Blues revisited their interest in the attacking midfielder in 2024 and promptly sent him out on loan to AC Milan, though both clubs seem unsatisfied with his performance.
Even as of number 25, Felix has to move fast to maintain his position among elite players. The amount Atletico spent to acquire him appears to have had adverse effects rather than beneficial ones.
Enzo Fernandez - From Benfica to Chelsea, £107M
Siphoning off top-tier talents from Europe’s upper echelons has become a refined skill for Benfica, with their efforts during the latter part of the 2010s and early 2020s standing out as some of the most impressive seen.
Half a year following their acquisition of the midfielder from River Plate for approximately £15 million, the prominent Portuguese club finalized a deal worth £107 million to sell him off shortly after he made an impressive showing at the World Cup as a young player.
The young player, who is 24 years old, has made a positive impression at Stamford Bridge and created numerous crucial highlights for the team. However, it’s difficult to claim at this point that he has met the expectations set by the extremely high transfer price paid to secure his services.
Nevertheless, he still has ample time to realize that commitment, particularly since Chelsea is back in the Champions League this season.
Antoine Griezmann moving from Atletico Madrid to Barcelona for €120 million (£107m)
A another unfortunate transfer following Neymar’s departure saw the French player enter the stadium at Barcelona in 2019. During his half-decade tenure in Madrid, Griezmann became recognized among the elite athletes globally, yet he struggled to leave an impression at Barcelona.
His task wasn’t made easier by the financial turmoil that started to envelop the club after their inadequate reaction to Neymar's exit or his ineffective partnership with Lionel Messi.
Griezmann mustered only 35 goals along with 17 assists in his 102 outings for the La Liga heavyweights prior to reverting to Atletico on loan before making a permanent move back to them in 2022 for merely £17 million.
When it comes to transfers, few can be as bad as that one.
Jack Grealish - From Aston Villa to Manchester City, Transfer Fee of £100M
The initial £100 million Premier League star, Jack Grealish, secured his opportunity with one of the top six clubs in 2023 following an impressive stint with his hometown team, Aston Villa, over multiple seasons.
In Manchester, Grealish has undergone significant changes. He continues to showcase the captivating dribbling skills that earned him widespread fan adoration nationwide and his remarkable talent for drawing fouls which ironically led to resentment from some quarters. However, his output remains far from top-tier levels, and there doesn’t seem to be notable improvement in any aspect of his game.
His initial campaign was undoubtedly his finest, with him scoring five goals and contributing seven assists across 23 Premier League starts, playing a pivotal role in the team’s record-breaking Treble-winning season.
However, the statistics have consistently moved in one direction since then, reaching their peak during this term where he secured just a single goal and an assist across 20 league matches.
Grealish is scheduled to depart the club this summer following his marginalization by Pep Guardiola, having been left as an unused substitute in the FA Cup final and not included in City's roster for the Club World Cup.
It's safe to say that this signing never quite panned out as expected.
Declan Rice - Moving from West Ham to Arsenal for £105 million
'Declan Rice, we got him half price', sing the Arsenal faithful in recognition of the supreme talent they acquired from their London rivals West Ham in the summer of 2023.
Rice boasts one of the most compelling arguments on this list for being deemed a success. However, many believe that significant titles are essential for his acquisition to be unequivocally regarded as successful.
At an individual level, Rice has been exceptional for the north London team and is entering this period after his strongest season yet with Mikel Arteta’s side. His standout performance included two spectacular free kicks during Arsenal's UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg victory against Real Madrid.
If he helps the Arsenal squad end their lengthy drought for a league championship or secure their maiden European Cup, numerous supporters might join in with the popular chant heard at the Emirates Stadium.
Moises Caicedo - From Brighton to Chelsea, £115m
Two years following their unsuccessful bid to secure Caicedo and surpass the British transfer record, Liverpool appears poised to create history with Wirtz. However, back in 2023, they ended up looking foolish due to a poorly timed last-minute effort to acquire the Ecuadorian international player.
When the Reds joined the race for the defensive midfielder following Brighton’s unsuccessful negotiations with Chelsea, they were surprised by their fortune. Once Brighton accepted Liverpool's proposal, Caicedo remained steadfast in his desire to join Stamford Bridge, which led to the £115 million transfer fee being agreed upon.
Caicedo had a sluggish beginning to his time with Chelsea, struggling through a challenging first half of the season for the team. However, he has started to display the level of play that attracted significant interest during his tenure at the Amex Stadium.
His displays during the previous term earned him the club's Player of the Season award, and he's well on his way to ensuring everyone overlooks the amount spent to bring him to West London.
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