What happened to the seven players Spurs signed with the Gareth Bale money
At the time, Garth Crooks memorably declared that Tottenham had "sold Elvis and signed the Beatles" when they brought in the so-called 'Magnificent Seven'. So, where are they now?
Back in the summer of 2013, after Gareth Bale was sold to Real Madrid for a then world-record fee of £85 million, those behind the scenes at Tottenham made a statement of intent.
To add strength in depth following the departure of Bale, who had been their standout performer across the 2012-13 season, the North London club spent £105 million in the space of just 55 days.
Vlad Chiriches was the first player to walk through the doors when he joined from Romanian side Steaua Bucharest for around £8.5 million.
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He was followed by Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela, Etienne Capoue, Nacer Chadli, Paulinho and Roberto Soldado, who joined Andre Villas-Boas's side for a club-record fee, believed to be £26 million, from Valencia.
So, how did they get on at Spurs? And what are they doing now?
Vlad Chiriches
Much was expected of centre-back Chiriches, who was brought in to replace Steven Caulker and William Gallas.
He joined Tottenham from Steaua Bucharest in a deal worth £8.5 million but ended up making just 43 appearances in two seasons for the North London club. He was sold to Napoli in 2015 for around £3.5 million.
The 36-year-old defender now plays for Steaua after returning to the club in 2023 following spells at Sassuolo and Cremonese. He has made 78 appearances for Romania.
Christian Eriksen
Without doubt the best signing from Tottenham's seven-signing haul in 2013. Eriksen joined Spurs from Ajax for a measly £11.5 million and went on to establish himself as one of Europe's top playmakers.
In total, Eriksen notched 51 goals and 59 assists in 226 Premier League appearances during his seven-year stint in North London.
The 34-year-old now plays for Bundesliga side Wolfsburg following spells at Inter Milan, Brentford and Manchester United. He is the all-time leading appearance holder for Denmark, having earned 147 caps since his debut in 2010.
Erik Lamela
Much like Eriksen, he is widely regarded as one of the best signings of 2013. Lamela joined the ranks from Roma for around £25 million and soon established himself as a first-team regular.
The Argentine made over 250 appearances across eight seasons, recording 37 goals and 44 assists in that time.
Back in 2025, Lamela announced his retirement at the age of 33 after ongoing problems with injuries. He played for Sevilla and AEK Athens after leaving Spurs in 2021.
Etienne Capoue
Capoue joined from Ligue 1 club Toulouse for around £9 million, but unlike Lamela and Eriksen, he struggled to nail down a regular place at White Hart Lane and made just 36 appearances before joining Watford in 2015.
He went on to spend six years at Watford before joining Villarreal in 2021.
The French midfielder enjoyed arguably the best spell of his career in Spain, and claimed the Player of the Match award for his performance against Manchester United in the Europa League final.
Capoue retired in 2024 before making a career change, which has helped him fulfil a childhood dream. He played basketball and linked up with Spanish third division side CB Jovens L’Eliana, who are based in Valencia.
Nacer Chadli
Deemed by many as the bargain of the bunch, Chadli joined the ranks from FC Twente in a deal worth £7 million.
In total, he scored 25 goals in 119 appearances for Spurs before West Brom broke their transfer record to sign the winger in 2016.
The 36-year-old, who made 66 appearances for Belgium between 2011 and 2021, is currently without a club following spells at Monaco, İstanbul Başakşehir, Westerlo and Standard Liege.
Paulinho
Tottenham beat a number of top clubs, including Real Madrid, to the £17 million signing of Paulinho.
After scoring 34 goals in 167 games for Corinthians prior to the move, expectations were high coming into his debut campaign in England.
He scored three times in his first eight games and things were looking up, but after falling out of favour with Mauricio Pochettino, he was sold to Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande for around £10 million.
The Brazilian announced his retirement in 2024 following spells at Barcelona and Al Ahli. He finished his career at his beloved Corinthians.
Roberto Soldado
After scoring 30 goals in 46 appearances for Valencia across the 2011-12 campaign, the hype around Soldado's arrival was huge, especially after Tottenham splashed out a club record fee of £26 million.
Like the previously mentioned Paulinho, Soldado made an incredible start to life in North London, scoring four times in his first three games.
Unfortunately for the Spaniard, his form dropped off a cliff in the coming months. In fact, he managed just three goals from open play, and seven in total, across 50 league appearances for the club.
He went on to play for Villarreal, Fenerbahce, Granada and Levante before retiring in 2023.
Topics: Tottenham Hotspur, Premier League
Jack Kenmare