Angel Di Maria
SEPTEMBER 2014:United transfer spending tops £150mManchester United were the biggest spenders in the summer transfer
market, splashing out a record £150.7m on new players, including record
signing Angel Di Maria from Real Madrid and a one-year loan deal for
Colombia striker Radamel Falcao from Monaco. United paid £59.7m
for Di Maria, a £6m loan fee for Falcao, £27m for Luke Shaw, £28m
for Ander Herrera, £16m for Marcos Rojo and £14m for Daley Blind.
United’s spending spree represented the biggest outlay by an English
club in the transfer window, eclipsing Manchester City’s reported £148m
in 2009 and Chelsea’s £111m in 2003, when billionaire owner Roman
Abramovich arrived at the club. Earlier this year, United announced
a record ten-year kit deal with adidas, worth a reported £750m.
THE PREM ERA 83RECORD BREAKERS
Jack Grealish
OCTOBER 2021:Grealish the most
eye-catching transfer of the summerTo describe Grealish’s huge £100m transfer – the
first British player to move for such a figure – as “eye-
catching” would be something of an understatement.
It is a transfer that prompts so many questions
about the player himself, his new manager, the club
he has joined and the one he has left behind, plus
how his status in the national team will be affected.
The most obvious query is why did Manchester
City prioritise the former Aston Villa captain over
other areas of the squad that needed strengthening,
namely at left-back and centre-forward? Is it an
indulgence on Pep Guardiola’s part, or does the
Catalan coach believe that Grealish is capable of
the kind of attacking numbers that Kevin De Bruyne,
Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero have delivered
in recent years?
How Guardiola deploys his new signing alongside
Sterling, De Bruyne, Ferran Torres, Phil Foden and
Riyad Mahrez is a mouth-watering prospect. The early
signs are that he will be happy to trust Grealish in
a midfield trio, and if he thrives there it will become
increasingly difficult for Gareth Southgate to continue
leaving him out of England’s first XI.
Jamie EvansPaul Pogba
OCTOBER 2016:Pogba leads record transfer spending“Never go back” used to be the mantra for stars looking for their next transfer.
Try telling that to Manchester United and Paul Pogba after the world-record
deal that saw United payJuventus€105m for the French midfielder, who left
England four years ago to join the Italian champions on a free transfer.
Gavin Hamilton