Giant European clubs sometimes do not hesitate to spend large sums of money to bring in target players. Call it Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, Manchester City, and Liverpool....CONTINUE READING
However, not every transaction in the transfer market goes smoothly. Sometimes, clubs are forced to get players at prices far above their market value.
After getting the player, these clubs are left disappointed because of the player’s poor performance. But there are also those who are very satisfied because the player’s great performance made the club win many titles.
Here are five players who were considered expensive compared to their market value but turned out to be great players for the club, one of which belonged to Liverpool.
1. Jamie Vardy
Jamie Vardy came from Fleetwood City when he moved to Leicester City in 2012. Despite only playing in non-league competitions and having no experience in the Professional League, Leicester City dared to pay 1.7 million Pounds for his services.
However, Vardy answered all those doubts when he led Leicester to promotion from the Championship to the Premier League in 2014. He also surprised the world when Leicester City won the Premier League title in 2016. He also has a Premier League Golden Boot and Player of the Season Award under his belt.
2. Diego Maradona
Go back 38 years ago when 5 million pounds was worth a lot of money. But Napoli were willing to give it to Barcelona to sign Diego Maradona in 1984 and break the world record.
Many people questioned the decision because Napoli could hardly afford the transfer fee at the time. But the price paid off because thanks to Maradona, Napoli managed to win their only two Serie A Scudetto title to date.
Following his death in 2020, Napoli honoured the Argentinian Superstar by renaming their home stadium after him (Diego Armando Stadium).
3. Kyle Walker
Tottenham Hotspur could not possibly refuse Manchester City’s 50 million Pounds offer to sign Kyle Walker in 2017. At that time, Walker’s price tag was considered expensive.
But within five years of the deal, Tottenham failed to win a trophy. On the other hand, Walker won four Premier League titles with Manchester City, and many more domestic honours.
4. Yaya Toure
Former Arsenal player, Paul Merson, commented sarcastically when Yaya Toure sign for Manchester City from Barcelona in 2010 for 24 million Pounds. The price tag was considered too expensive for Toure.
But while at Manchester City, Toure didn’t just play with average quality. He captained the team to three Premier League titles and three domestic cups.
He cemented his legacy as one of the greatest midfielders in the Premier League, and probably the greatest African midfielder to ever play in the England.
5. Virgil van Dijk
“I haven’t seen much of his game at Southampton. But when you tell me it’s 75 million pounds, that’s a big amount of money,” said former Manchester United player Garry Neville, commenting on Virgil Van Dijk’s move to Liverpool in 2018.
But Neville’s view turned out to be wrong because Van Dijk was an important key to Liverpool winning a number of titles.
He won the Champions League and Premier League trophies with Liverpool, and was also recognised for his individual achievements on numerous occasions, including the PFA Player of the Year and Second place finish in the 2019 Ballon D’or and FIFA The Best Men’s Player of the Year.
