English wonderkid joins elite wonderkid list…
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Following Luke Shaw’s mammoth £33m move from Southampton to Manchester United, here are the ten most expensive teenagers of all time.
10) Javier Saviola: River Plate to Barcelona – £16m
The prodigal Argentine arrived at Barcelona for what in 2001, was an astronomical transfer fee. He’d scored 45 goals in 86 league starts for River Plate, but once in Europe, he arguably never properly fulfilled his talent, and is now at Olympiacos aged 32.
9) Sergio Aguero: Independiente to Atletico Madrid – £17m
Manchester City’s current superstar cost Atletico big money when they decided to bring him over from Argentina as a 17-year-old. It took him a while to adapt to European football, but when he did, he took La Liga by storm.
8) Alex Pato: Internacional to AC Milan – £17m
Pato was supposed to be the next big thing when Milan shelled out the whopping fee to secure the teenager wonderkid from his homeland. Like Javier Saviola though, he couldn’t quite fulfil his talent – and is now back in Brazil with Sao Paulo – where he’s on loan from Corinthians. Quite a fall from grace.
7) Antonio Cassano – Bari to Roma – £19m
Cassano’s fee in 2001 made him one of the most expensive players of all time, but injuries and off-field problems restricted him to a poor 39 Serie A goals in his five year stint, before joining Real Madrid in 2006. He’s currently at Parma.
6) Romelu Lukaku – Anderlecht to Chelsea – £20m
Lukaku cost Chelsea big money in 2011, but has spent the past two seasons on loan at fellow Premier League clubs, where, to be fair – he’s done extremely well. This still might not be enough for Jose Mourinho to trust him with a pivotal role next term though, and Chelsea are likely to make a profit out of him instead, with Tottenham interested.
5) Sergio Ramos – Sevilla to Real Madrid – £24m
Ramos cost Real Madrid big money in 2005, and he’s more than paid it back already. Aged only 28, he’s already won way over 100 caps with the national side.
4) Anderson: FC Porto to Manchester United – £25m
Probably the biggest flop on this list, Anderson spent the final six months of last season on loan at Fiorentina, where he did nothing to suggest he’ll ever make the grade at United. One of Sir Alex Ferguson’s biggest transfer mistakes.
3) Wayne Rooney: Everton to Manchester United – £27m
Rooney burst onto the scene with Everton as a 16-year-old, scoring a brilliant past David Seaman, and an exciting performance with England at Euro 2004 encouraged United to splash out the monstrous fee. Despite the occasional trouble, he’s on course to become their record ever goalscorer.
2) Marquinhos: AS Roma to PSG – £27m
Last summer, following one excellent season in Italy, PSG made Marquinhos the world’s most expensive teenager for the time being. In France though, he failed to get into the side behind Thiago Silva and Alex, and he could move to Barcelona now for a similarly massive sum this summer.
1) Luke Shaw: Southampton to Manchester United – £33m
The Red Devils are set to make the Southampton defender the most expensive teenager of all time, splashing out a jaw-dropping £33m for his services. He’s already a full England international, and could well start for United for much of the next decade.
