The transfer window has come and gone for football clubs in Europe’s top leagues, at least for non-free agents, and many players have switched loyalty from one team to another.
The most dramatic moves involved two of the greatest players of all time, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and his Argentinian rival Lionel Messi. They broke the internet.
Messi’s god-like reign at Barcelona ended in a tear-filled press conference after it was discovered, as we were made to believe, that the club could not register their star man for the new season without breaking La Liga rules.
Messi is now on PSG’s team sheet. He signed a two-year deal with the option to extend it for another. That made it the second time Messi, 34, would move to another club in his entire career, and he did so for free on both occasions. Messi joined Barcelona Youth from Newell’s Youth in July, 2000. He now plays somewhere in Paris where he earns £25 million per year after tax…plus bonuses.
Ronaldo was going to stay at Juventus, we thought, until the news of his impending move to Manchester City went viral. There were even rumours that he could return to Real Madrid. But as Juventus and City haggled over a transfer fee, Manchester United walked in to steal the ageless forward and initiate a return to the club that minted Ronaldo.
United’s Instagram post to announce the acquisition of the 36-year-old surpassed 13 million likes, becoming the most liked post from a sports team in the history of the ‘gram. Ronaldo will earn £25 million per year.
Enough with the GOATs. Here are 20 other notable transfers that have occurred this side of the window:
1. Romelu Lukaku moved from Inter Milan to boyhood club Chelsea for £97.5 million.
2. Jadon Sancho switched from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester United for £72.9 million.
3. Jack Grealish moved to Manchester City for £100 million.
4. Sergio Ramos left Real Madrid to join PSG for free.
5. Raphael Varane joined Manchester United after a successful spell at Madrid. It cost United £50 million to complete the signing.
6. Achraf Hakimi , formerly of Inter, is now a PSG player. The Moroccan moved for a fee that could rise to 100 million euros, becoming the first African player to cost that much.
7. David Alaba joined Real Madrid from Bayern Munich. He moved on free transfer but will cost the Spanish giants tens of millions in wages.
8. Sergio Aguero is now a Barcelona player after leaving Manchester City. He left on free transfer.
9. Memphis Depay left Lyon for free to join Barcelona.
10. Eduardo Camavinga moved from Rennes to Real Madrid for a reported fee of 35 million euros. The French midfielder is just 18 years old.
11. Dayot Upamecano, who previously played for RB Leipzig, joined Bayern Munich for 60 million euros.
12. Manuel Locatelli left Sassuolo to join Juventus for 25 million euros.
13. Tammy Abraham left Chelsea to join Italian club, Roma, for £34 million.
14. Georginio Wijnaldum left Liverpool to join PSG for 30 million euros.
15. Gianluigi Donnarumma joined PSG for free. He previously played for AC Milan.
16. Ben White joined Arsenal from Brighton for £50 million.
17. Bayern Munich paid RB Leipzig 16 million euros to sign Marcel Sabitzer.
18. Ibrahima Konate left RB Leipzig for Liverpool after the Premier League club agreed a deal of £28 million.
19. Chelsea paid Atletico Madrid £4 million to sign Saul Niguez on a season-long loan with an option to buy.
20. Kurt Zouma joined West Ham for a fee of £26 million. He formerly played for Chelsea.
