Spending totals among Europe’s biggest clubs over the past six years have skyrocketed, with the threat of Financial Fair Play doing little to deter the richest in their quest for dominance.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s £80million move to Real Madrid from Manchester United in 2009 was surpassed by Gareth Bale’s £86m transfer to the same club four years later before Paul Pogba took up the crown as the world’s most expensive player last summer.
Pogba’s £89m switch from Juventus is part of the latest attempt made by United to replicate the success of the Sir Alex Ferguson era, but they are not among those to have recouped the most money through player sales in recent years.