The 10 greatest bargain transfers in history.
Now that the transfer window is open, there will be some big deals that look like rip offs, but similarly, there will be some deals going under the radar that will prove to be an absolute steal. There have been many of these deals before, and here at CaughtOffside we’ve highlighted the ten best bargain deals ever!
10. Ole Gunnar Solskjær – Molde to Manchester United – £1.5 million
The Norwegian star represented an excellent value for money in 1996 when he linked up with United for a minimal fee of £1.5m from Norwegian club Molde. Widely recognised as the Premier League’s finest example of a ‘super sub’ with 29 of his 126 goals for the Red Devils coming from off the bench – highlighted best by notching a four-goal salvo in only 12 minutes as United thrashed Nottingham Forest 8-1 in 1998/99. However, he is best remembered for scoring the goal that won the club the Champions League in 1999 and has gone down as a legend in the club’s history.
9. Nicolas Anelka – Paris Saint Germain to Arsenal – £500,000
In 1997, before being established as ‘Le Sulk’ Arsene Wenger picked up a hot shot young striker for half a million pounds and then unleashed him on the Premier League to terrorise defences and help the club win their first Premier League title. He followed that up with an even more prolific turn in front of goal to win the PFA Player of the Year award before being sold on to Real Madrid for a massive £22m profit. Great piece of business.
8. Gareth Bale – Southampton to Tottenham – £7 million
The Welshman was tipped to be a star when coming through the ranks of Southampton’s youth academy, and Spurs recognised that potential by laying out £7m for his services in 2007. Life in London didn’t start well for the young Bale as the club always seemed to lose whenever he was in the side, but as he moved forward Tottenham found that they were a one-man team as Bale carried them single handedly towards the Champions League. He was sold to Real Madrid last summer for a €91m transfer fee.
7. Frank Lampard – West Ham United to Chelsea – £11 million
Lampard was part of a golden generation of talent being produced at Upton Park in the late 90s, and once the club were relegated in 2001 Chelsea were able to prize him over to the other side of London for a meagre £11m. The anger of the Chelsea fans at the time seems funny now, as Lampard went on to lift three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups, one Europa League and one Champions League. And if that wasn’t enough he became the club’s all time leading top goalscorer. Not bad for £11m.
6. Peter Schmeichel – Brondby to Manchester United – £505,000
The Dane was still a virtual unknown in the UK when Sir Alex paid a little over half a million for his services in 1991. He quickly established himself as the Premier League’s best and most fearsome shot stopper, forming a part of the United side that dominated the English football landscape in the 90s. Later went on to feature shortly for both Aston Villa and Manchester City, but there is still a strong case to suggest that United never truly replaced him.
5. Andrea Pirlo – AC Milan to Juventus – Free
What were Milan thinking when they neglected to offer the veteran string puller a new deal in 2011? Believing him to be past his best, Milan got shot of what they thought would be a massive liability only to regret it when Pirlo went on to slot right into a dominant Juve midfield and prove that he is still by far the best midfielder in the county. Oh how Milan could do with him now.
4. Thierry Henry – Juventus to Arsenal – £11m
A lot was expected of Henry when he joined Juventus as a youngster, however, he failed to establish himself in the first team and generally disappointed on the wing before Wenger saw the potential in him as a striker. One relatively small transfer fee later and Arsenal were equipped with one of the finest, classiest striker’s that the Premier League has ever known. He overtook Ian Wright to become the club’s all-time leading goalscorer before being sold on to Barcelona at the age of 30 for a massive €24m.
3. Raul – Atletico Madrid to Real Madrid – Free
Losing a player of Raul’s quality to your already more successful cross-city neighbours must be a real sickener, but Atletico have since learned to hold on to their best and brightest before selling them on once they’ve actually developed. Raul took Spanish football kicking and screaming into a new era, and became Real’s leading goal scorer and appearance maker in the process. The classy forward notched up 741 appearances across all competitions, scoring 323 goals and helping the club to six La Liga titles and three Champions League wins. He still holds the record for the all time leading Champions League scorer, with 71 goals.
2. Alessandro Del Piero – Padova to Juventus – £421,000
Another one-man club that became the face of the club during his long and illustrious time there. Arriving on the cheap as a raw youngster, he went on to win everything there was to win while at the club – including the World Cup, and lit up the football landscape whilst doing it. Ale sits at the top of Juventus’ scoring charts with 290 goals, 43 from free kicks (the most for Juventus), and earned legendary status for life amongst the fans when he followed the club down to Serie B after the Calciopoli scandal in 2006.
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.