Transfer fees have long been an obsession of the modern football fan, especially at Leeds United, where money on the table is proof of an owner’s ambition.
Andrea Radrizzani agreed to shell out the best part of £15m for Helder Costa across a long-term arrangement which includes an initial loan this summer.
It’s the first fee, in a long time, which feels ambitious at Elland Road, but, as the world knows, large fees were commonplace during the Premier League era, too commonplace for some.
You may feel Rio Ferdinand in 2000/01 or Robbie Keane in 2001/02 are the biggest fees United shelled out during those halcyon days, but you may not as accurate as you think.
TotallyMoney, a credit eligibility and comparison specialist, have listed the 100 most expensive transfers from each season across Europe’s five biggest leagues since the start of the Premier League in 1992.
With those fees they have created a new index of what historical fees would fetch in the modern market using inflation.
Here is a run-down of the 10 biggest transfer fees in and out of Elland Road from 1992 until the club’s relegation from the top flight, adjusted with inflation.
The original fee data has come from transfermarkt.com
Top-10 most expensive sales
- Alan Smith (04/05) to Manchester United for £8.1m - £29.1m today
- David Rocastle (93/94) to Manchester City for £2.2m - £33.4m today
- Robbie Fowler (02/03) to Manchester City for £8.8m - £33.8m today
- Robbie Keane (02/03) to Tottenham Hotspur for £9.5m - £36.2m today
- Harry Kewell (03/04) to Liverpool for £9m - £37.8m today
- Gary Speed (95/96) to Everton for £4.4m - £41.6m today
- Jonathan Woodgate (02/03) to Newcastle United for £12.2m - £46.6m today
- Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (99/00) to Atletico Madrid for £15m - £51.8m today
- David Batty (93/94) to Blackburn Rovers for £3.4m - £52.6m today
- Rio Ferdinand (02/03) to Manchester United for £41.4m - £158.7m today
Top-10 most expensive purchases
- Lee Bowyer (96/97) from Charlton Athletic for £3.4m - £25m today
- David Hopkin (97/98) from Crystal Palace for £4.4m - £25m today
- Tony Yeboah (95/96) from Eintracht Frankfurt for £2.9m - £27.8m today
- David Rocastle (92/93) from Arsenal for £2.2m - £30.4m today
- Robbie Fowler (01/02) from Liverpool for £15.1m - £34.2m today
- Robbie Keane (01/02) from Internazionale for £16.2m - £36.6m today
- Carlton Palmer (94/95) from Sheffield Wednesday for £2.8m - £40.4m today
- Lee Sharpe (96/97) from Manchester United for £6.1m - £44.4m today
- Rio Ferdinand (00/01) from West Ham United for £23.4m - £59.7m today
- Brian Deane (93/94) from Sheffield United for £3.9m - £60.7m today
