There was a time when the mega money deals were reserved for the attacking midfielders and forwards but in this day and age of transfer fees being through the roof and the world's most expensive defensive line is causing some reaction.
In 2002 Rio Ferdinand moved from Leeds United to Manchester United for a British record fee and world record fee for a defender of £30 million, it was still over £16 million short of the money Real Madrid had paid for Zinedine Zidane a year before.
Rio was a player of untold potential coming off the back of an incredible World Cup being sold to a rival Premier League side before Leeds really hit their financial trouble, it was big money at the time but ultimately worth it.
The Englishman's move back then was huge business. Image: PA
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It would take Thiago Silva's move from AC Milan to PSG to break that record for a defender a whole 10 years later and within four years there were five centre-backs more expensive than Rio, three of them signed by Manchester City!
Now the team from the Etihad Stadium are about to break another record to bring Kyle Walker to the club for a reported £50 million from Spurs and that will change the complexion of the world's most expensive defence:
The fact that it's made up of three Englishmen, who whilst all talented aren't exactly in the top defenders in the world list, shows just how much teams have to spend to sign English talent.
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And people are all but losing their minds over the cost of the signing:
Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi are the other centre backs to have been sold for more than Rio's price all those years back, who'd have thought it!
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Seems like spending that much on defenders doesn't always work out.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Manchester City, david luiz, England, Luke Shaw, Kyle Walker, John Stones
