1. Cristiano Ronaldo – Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United – £12.2 million
When Alex Ferguson slashed out £12m on Ronaldo back in 2003, everybody knew United has signed someone special. However, he began a little raw, trying too many stepovers and sometimes being too clever for his own good. He soon got into the swing of things though and became arguably the most skilful and exciting player to grace Old Trafford. He won literally every personal and team accolade whilst in the northwest, and the club even made a (massive) profit on him when it came time to move on as Real Madrid shelled out a world record £80m transfer fee for his services in 2009.