June 11, 2009

Football: world record transfer signings

With Cristiano Ronaldo set to sign for Real Madrid for £80m, we count down the world's top 10 most expensive footballers

record transfers: Andrei Shevchenko scores his 1st goal for Chelsea — 10th: Andriy Shevchenko was already past his best when Roman Abramovich and Chelsea splashed out just over £30m to bring him to Stamford Bridge Photograph: Tom Jenkins

Gallery expensive signings: Dimitar Berbatov — 9th: Dimitar Berbatov joined Manchester United from Tottenham Hotspur last summer for a fee of £30.5m Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty

Gallery expensive signings: Vieri — 8th: Christian Vieri cost Internazionale the princely sum of £31m in 1999, breaking the world record transfer fee of £23 that Real Betis had paid for Denilson. It proved a wise investment as Vieri bagged 103 league goals during his six-year stay at the club Photograph: Claudio Villa/ Grazia Neri/Getty Images

Gallery expensive signings: Robinho — 7th: Robinho shunned a move to Chelsea in favour of a lucrative last-minute offer from Manchester City last September. The Brazilian came with a Premier League-record price tag of £32.5m Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

record signings: Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus — 6th: Gianluigi Buffon set a new world record for goalkeepers when Juventus paid £32.6m to take him from Parma Photograph: Tom Jenkins

Gallery expensive signings: Crespo — 5th: Lazio bought Argentine striker Hernan Crespo for a then world-record £35.5m in 2000 and were rewarded with 26 league goals in his first season Photograph: Reuters Photographer / Reuters/Reuters

Gallery expensive signings: Figo — 4th: Luis Figo committed a cardinal sin in the eyes of the Catalans later in 2000 when he swapped allegiances from Barcelona to Real Madrid for a then record of £37m. He helped Real to win the league title in his first season and the Champions League the following year Photograph: Gary M. Prior/Getty Images

Gallery expensive signings: Zidane — 3rd: Zinedine Zidane took Figo's mantle as the world's most valuable player, switching from Juventus to Real Madrid in 2001 for £47m Photograph: Firo Foto/Getty Images

record signings: AC Milan's Kaka shoots and scores a fourth goal against Lazio — 2nd: Kaka replaced Zidane as the most expensive footballer, in sterling if not in euros, when he joined Real Madrid for £56m on Monday Photograph: Alessandro Garofalo/Reuters

record transfers: Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring from the penalty spot — 1st: But Cristiano Ronaldo is set to trump them all by moving to the Bernabeu from Manchester United for £80m Photograph: Tom Jenkins

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