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Top 10 most expensive transfers of all time ranked as Moises Caicedo enters list

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Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo has ended a summer of speculation by sealing his switch to Chelsea from Brighton for a new British record transfer fee of £115m

At just 21, the Ecuadorian midfielder has already entered the record books following his £115m move from Brighton to Chelsea. Opting to head to Stamford Bridge after turning down Liverpool, it means the man who only a year ago was playing on loan at Belgian side Beerschot now holds the British transfer record.

And the fee involved also catapults him into the list of the top 10 most expensive footballers of all time, bumping Paul Pogba down to No.11. Now the question remains as to whether Chelsea’s new star will live up to the billing having been instrumental in Brighton qualifying for Europe last season.

Mirror Football has reflected on the 10 most expensive transfers of all time prior to Caicedo’s move. And we rank those who were worth the money, along with those who definitely weren’t….

Moises Caicedo explains £115m Chelsea transfer after snubbing Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp

1: Neymar £198m (Barcelona to PSG, 2017)
Six years on from the transfer that shook for the world, Neymar leaves for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia without a Ballon D’or to his name or a Champions League title with the Parisians.

There was 118 club goals, numerous moments of brilliance, five Ligue 1 titles and three Coupe de France wins – but the man charged with elevating PSG to the European glory they craved ultimately fell short of his task. It’s a brutal standard to hold him to, but then £198m is brutal money.

2: Kylian Mbappe £163m (Monaco to PSG, 2018)
A total of 212 goals in 260 games is a staggering ratio regardless of the domestic dominance of the team you’re in.

Mbappe’s star has undoubtedly shone brighter since he made his own move to Paris, but like Neymar, you sense that if there is no Champions League winners medal in their grasp by the time he inevitably heads to Real Madrid, the jigsaw will remain incomplete. On the field, Mbappe has been worth the money, but the current power struggles and transfer sagas off it could yet see him walk away a villain.

3: Philippe Coutinho £138m (Liverpool to Barcelona, 2018)
Philippe Coutinho winning three league titles and a Champions League after leaving Liverpool suggests a man who lit up the Nou Camp alongside Lionel Messi and co.

In truth, he spent one-and-a-half underwhelming years in Spain before tasting European glory on loan at Bayern Munich, returned to Barca but failed to hold down a first team place, and was eventually shipped off to Aston Villa for £17million. The Brazilian who wowed so regularly in red may argue the medals were worth the move – but that would mask the reality of a precocious talent who saw his career stall.

4: Ousmane Dembele £127m (Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona, 2017)
If a loss of form plagued Coutinho at Barcelona, then it was injury woes that did for Ousmane Dembele.

The amount of add-ons that came with the initial fee for the Frenchman underlined how the Spanish giants saw him as a star of the future, but during his six years in LaLiga, only once did he hit the 30-game mark in a league season.

He’s now joined PSG on a £43m deal, and like Coutinho, has represented a huge net loss for the Spanish giants. At 26, Dembele still has time to prove his place among the elite, as he often did in flashes in Spain, but steering clear of the treatment table will be critical.

5: Jude Bellingham £115m (Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid, 2023)
In this era of a madly inflated market, an initial £88.5m fee potentially rising to £115m represents a good price for a player with the limitless potential of Bellingham.

The early signs are good, with the England star impressing – and scoring – on his LaLiga debut at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. To say there is a long way to go for him at the Bernabau would be a ludicrous understatement, but this is one extortionate deal that may just end up being worth every penny for Real.

6: Joao Felix £106m (Benfica to Atletico Madrid, 2019)
The 2023/24 campaign could be a defining one in the career of potentially mercurial Joao Felix.

He was 19 when he joined Atletico in a deal that made him the second most expensive teenager in history, behind Mbappe. Injury issues hampered his first two seasons before his apparent breakthrough, winning the club’s player of the year award in 2021/22. But a subsequent fallout with Diego Simeone saw him sent to Chelsea on loan last January.

The Blues have opted not to pursue a permanent move, with Felix now fighting to get back in favour under Simeone. In order to justify the fee, he needs to.

7: Enzo Fernandez £104m (Benfica to Chelsea, 2023)
One performance doesn’t make a player, especially one that cost £104 million.

But the display of Enzo Fernandez against Liverpool on Sunday was enough to excite fans that Mauricio Pochettino has the playmaker he needs to bring success back to Stamford Bridge. And the 2022 World Cup winner will soon be complimented in the middle by having Caicedo alongside him, a partnership which oozes promise.

Fernandez has shown enough to suggest he can be a long-term Premier League star. And just as well, he’s tied down to Chelsea for eight-and-a-half-years after all.

8: Antoine Griezmann £103m (Atletico Madrid to Barcelona, 2019)
There are two schools of thought over Antoine Griezmann’s spell at Barcelona.

Some viewed him as a flop whose fee unnecessarily contributed to Barca’s current financial woes before he was sent packing back to Atletico. Others argued that often deployed out of position, his displays merited far more credit that the merciless Spanish media were prepared to give him.

Griezmann is now back at Atletico for a relatively paltry £17m fee. Regardless of mitigating factors, it was stint that represented another financial disaster for Barca. There’s a theme developing here.

9: Jack Grealish £100m (Aston Villa to Manchester City, 2021)
If we were rating this move 12 months ago, the analysis would have fallen short of complimentary.

Fast forward a year, and the player who underwhelmed in his first season at the Etihad has since played a pivotal role in their 2022/23 treble. Work rate, creativity, threat – the 27-year-old now looks the player that Guardiola envisaged him being when he sanctioned the eye-watering fee to get him from Aston Villa.

The challenge for Grealish now, is to maintain standards. Should he do so, the extortionate fee will soon be forgotten.

10: Romelu Lukaku £97m (Inter Milan to Chelsea, 2021)
He scored just eight Premier League goals in his first season, was sent back to Inter Milan on loan as Chelsea played a season without a recognised striker, and then the Blues rejected the chance to have him back.

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Barcelona’s salary limit drops massively from €648m to €270m

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Barcelona’s new salary limit for this season has been set at €270 million, a huge drop from the €648m limit set in February.

La Liga have told informed all clubs of their salary levels for the next five months, when they will be reviewed again following the close of the January transfer window.

Barca’s new limit is €270m, the third highest in La Liga, behind Real Madrid and Atletico.

Los Blancos lead the way on €727m, while Atletico Madrid’s salary cap has been set at €296m.

Barca have been busy in the summer in a bid to reduce their wage bill. There were a host of outgoings with Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Ousmane Dembele among those players to be shifted off the wage bill.

Incoming players have arrived on free transfers, or for small fees, and have had to take significant wage cuts. Marc-Andre ter Stegen has also taken a downward contract renewal in a bid to help his club during their financial difficulties.

It’s worth noting that Barcelona are still thought to be way over the limit with a current wage bill of around €404m, meaning there’s still a lot of work needed to do on the financial front.

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Meet 10 highest paid players in the Premier League

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The Premier League is one of the richest leagues in the world and a lot of the star players are on incredibly lucrative contracts.

The likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City are all willing to offer huge pay packets to help convince players to join their clubs.

Using data from Capology, a look at the 10 Premier League players with the highest weekly wage.

Note: All figures mentioned are before tax and do not include the array of bonuses that are included in the fine print of every contract.

  1. Kai Havertz – £280,000
    Havertz spent three years at Chelsea before moving across London and joining Arsenal in a £65millon deal in the summer of 2023.

Alongside the transfer fee, the Gunners also shelled out a significant pay packet as they are giving him a reported £280,000-per-week.

The Germany international is the highest-paid player at the Emirates, earning £15,000-a-week more than teammate Gabriel Jesus.

He has faced some criticism for a slow start to life in north London but still has plenty of time to prove his doubters wrong.

9= Jack Grealish – £300,000
Grealish left boyhood club Aston Villa and completed a £100million move to Manchester City in the summer of 2021.

The England international then got a significant wage increase, going from £125,000-per-week at Villa Park to £300,000-per-week at the Etihad.

He had an underwhelming debut season at City but rediscovered his best form in 2022/23, helping Pep Guardiola’s side win the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League.

Alongside his huge wages, the 28-year-old earns £10million a year from Puma and also has a lucrative endorsement contract with fashion house Gucci.

9= Marcus Rashford – £300,00
A Manchester United academy graduate, Rashford earned just £500-a-week when he broke into the first team in February 2016.

The 25-year-old has since developed into one of the best players in the Premier League and his wages have subsequently skyrocketed.

He put pen to paper on a new five-year contract ahead of the 2023/24 season and is now pocketing around £300,000-per-week.

According to The Athletic, Rashford rejected more lucrative proposals from England and abroad to remain at his boyhood club.

9= Bernardo Silva – £300,000
Since arriving from Monaco in the summer of 2017, Silva has helped Manchester City win 14 trophies, including five Premier League titles and the Champions League.

He was heavily linked with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain in 2023 and was also offered a £500,000-a-week contract by Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal.

But the Portugal international rejected that lucrative offer and signed a contract extension with City until the summer of 2026.

The new deal, which reportedly includes a release clause, rewarded Silva for his impressive performances and doubled his £150,000-a-week salary.

  1. Raheem Sterling – £325,000
    After spending seven seasons at Manchester City, Sterling opted for a new challenge and joined Chelsea in a £47.5million deal in 2022.

The winger signed a five-year deal which is worth £325,000-per-week, making him the highest-paid player at Stamford Bridge.

He struggled to justify that huge pay packet during a turbulent debut season, registering just nine goals and four assists across 38 appearances in all competitions.

While a lot of Chelsea players got a pay cut for missing out on the Champions League, Sterling’s wages have reportedly stayed the same.

  1. Raphael Varane – £340,000
    Varane’s move to Manchester United in the summer of 2021 saw his wage packet double after he was reportedly paid £170,000-per-week at Real Madrid.

The 30-year-old arrived at Old Trafford with some serious pedigree, having won three La Liga titles, four Champions Leagues and the World Cup.

He’s widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the Premier League and has forged a promising centre-back partnership with Lisandro Martinez.

But the former France international has struggled to stay fit for prolonged periods and has already missed 35 United matches through injury.

4= Mohamed Salah – £350,000
After months upon months of speculation about a potential Liverpool exit, Salah committed his future to the Reds in 2022 by putting pen to paper on a new three-year contract.

The deal saw his wages go from £200,000-per-week to £350,000-per-week, making him the highest-paid player in the club’s illustrious history.

According to The Athletic, various bonuses written into the contract could see that rise closer to £400,000-per-week.

That still pales in comparison to the £2.45million-a-week wage that Al-Hilal are reportedly willing to offer the Egypt international.

4= Casemiro – £350,000
Casemiro enjoyed a trophy-laden career at Real Madrid, winning five La Liga titles, a Copa del Rey and five Champions Leagues.

The midfielder subsequently raised eyebrows in 2022 when he decided to leave Real and join a Manchester United side that had failed to qualify for the Champions League.

His reported wages of £350,000-a-week led to speculation that he only signed for a massive payday, but the Brazil international insisted that the money was not part of his thinking in accepting the switch.

“Those who think that don’t know me,” he said. “I’m not like that. If it was for money, then I could have left four or five years ago. The club always acted well with me. It was my decision. It was simply the feeling that my cycle here had come to an end. This was clear to me.”

He silenced his critics and had a brilliant debut season at Old Trafford, helping United win the EFL Cup and finish third in the Premier League.

But the 31-year-old has had a difficult start to the 2023/24 season and his £350,000-a-week contract doesn’t expire until 2026.

  1. Erling Haaland – £375,000
    Manchester City won the race for Haaland’s signature in 2022 after triggering the £51.2million release clause in his Borussia Dortmund contract.

Having signed Haaland for around a third of his market value, City agreed to make him one of their highest earners and are paying the 23-year-old a base salary of £375,000-per-week.

The striker is worth every penny as he scored 52 goals in 53 appearances in all competitions during a record-breaking debut season.

According to reports, Haaland’s contract also includes a number of relatively straightforward bonuses which could take his wage up to £865,000-per-week.

  1. Kevin De Bruyne – £400,000
    After Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United contract was terminated by mutual consent in November 2022, De Bruyne took his place as the Premier League’s highest earner.

The Manchester City midfielder last signed a contract extension in April 2021, which took his pay up to the £400,000-per-week mark.

He justified that wage increase by winning the Premier League Player of the Season award in 2021/22 before playing an integral role in City’s treble-winning campaign.

Culled from teamtalk.com

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NFF Budgets N14.4 Billion For 2024

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The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) says it will spend the sum of N14,494,469,293.00 (Fourteen Billion, Four Hundred and Ninety-Four Million, Four Hundred and Sixty-Nine Thousand and Two Hundred and Ninety-Three Naira) in 2024.

This was part of the resolution passed by the Congress of the NFF which held its 79th Annual General Assembly on Sunday, 10th September 2023 at Monty Suites Hotel, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State

Sports Marketing International reports that the Congress approved the NFF’s 2024 Budget proposal of the sum of N14,494,469,293.00 even as it considered and approved the NFF Financial Statements for the Year Ended 2022 among many other agenda that were looked into during the congress.

While passing a vote of confidence on the Executive Committee of the NFF led by Ibrahim Musa Gusau, the congress approved the change of name of the Nigeria Professional Football League to the Nigeria Premier Football League and pledged full support to the Super Eagles in its quest to qualify for the FIFA World Cup USA/Mexico/Canada 2026.

The football body, after appraising the efforts, commitment and passion of the Akwa Ibom State government to the development and real growth of Nigeria Football through its support and encouragement of the NFF and the National Teams, the Congress commended Governor Umo Bassey Eno and his cabinet and encouraged them to do even more as the Super Eagles are ready to make Uyo its home for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.

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