Top 10 Football Transfers of the Decade

Posted on 23. Dec, 2009 by Creasy in Football, Sports

Cristiano Ronaldo – Sporting to Manchester United (2003): A replacement for arguably the second best right midfielder in the world was needed, the infamous Manchester United number 7 shirt had been vacated. In stepped a skinny portugese teenager who terrorised Utd in a pre-season friendly and the next chapter of Manchester United’s history was written.

It took two to three years for him to fufill his potential, while Mourinho aggravated Ferguson; but then came the first of three magaical seasons. The first being the 17 premier league goal season, followed by the infamous 43 goals in 49 games (amazingly most came from the wingers position), then his last. Most reported that he wasn’t interested in playing for the club, yet still he managed to score 18 premier league goals. £68m transfer monetary profit, three premier league titles, two FA Cups, two champions league finals, a champions league trophy, possibly the best premier league transfer ever made.

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Ronaldinho – PSG to Barcelona (2003): He brought street football to the professional stage. He brought us the look away pass, re-ignited the long lost Maradona “Flip-flap” and dazzled the Nou Camp faithful and the rest of the world with skills, pace, power, precision and most notably that smile. His one aim was to please the crowd and that he did; Remember when he ran through the immovable object that was John Terry, scored “that” goal against Chelsea?

The list could go on… Two La Liga titles, One Champions league title and an array of “street” skills that pleased the world of football. His demise however came too soon for the legacy under-construction at Barcelona. The best three years of his career made the transfer fee (£30m) worth while.

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Zinedine Zidane – Juventus to Real Madrid (2001): What more can be said about this man. The most expensive footballer in history (at the time), and all due to what he can do on a football pitch. The pivot in the El Classico was immense, he made it look so easy. There isn’t enough adjectives to described the way he graced a football pitch.

If you saw him play, you were one of the lucky one’s, if you were too young, youtube isn’t enough but it’ll have to make do. One La Liga title, One Champions League title doesn’t underline how good he was at the club. His influence was highlighted in his final game, where below the Real Madrid crest on the match shirts, read “Zidane 2001 - 2006”. Zizzu!

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Ronaldo (Luís Nazário de Lima) – Inter Milan to Real Madrid (2002) – Arguably the best striker to have ever played the game. Pace, Power, Skills, Finishing ability of the highest standards. His jersey sales broke all records on the first day; such was the obsession and hype surrounding him. He had the greatest goal ratio since Eusebio, Gerd Muller and Van Basten.

The sharp end of the El Classico machine; he put the finishing touches to everything made. It is unbelievable that he has never won the Champions League, yet he has won every individual honour, and his injuries made defenses sleep better at night. A football icon, and a true legend along with Zidane, if there ever was one in the last ten years.

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Fernando Torres – Atletico Madrid to Liverpool (2007) – Stephen Gerrard needed a partner in crime, he needed someone to carry the burden of the kop faithful and Benitez’ acquired his best signature; Fernando Torres. In his first season, he became the first striker since the ever reliable Van Nisterooy and Henry to hit the 24 premiership goal season barrier. In his second season he fired Liverpool the closest they have ever got to the title in twenty years; second place, with a few defensive errors in one or two games eluding them of the title. 2008/09 season saw Liverpool finish as the team who scored the most goals in th3 38 game campaign.

Not many changes has been made to the team or the attacking options at Liverpool, so El Nino is largely the reason for this renaissance at Anfield. Not since Fowler and Owen, have Liverpool had a striker to strike fear in defenses across Europe. He will be the quickest striker to the reach 50-goal landmark in a Liverpool shirt, such a feat when comparing greats like Ian Rush.

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Ruud Van Nisterooy - PSV to Manchester United (2001): One evening a channel five news bulletin reporting on an afternoon game between Fulham and Manchester United, in which United won, included the pun it would be “Ruud” of him not to have scored. That is exactly what it was in the early 00’s. It took him four and a half years to get a goal outside the box in a united shirt, the king of the “fox in the box” a “box striker”; phrases that are thrown about in the football world.

Apart from Ronaldo (Luís Nazário de Lima) no one has a better goal scoring record than him in modern day football, he ALWAYS scored. An instant hit with the fans, he made Yorke, Cole and the £19m price fee a forgotten myth.

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Cristiano Ronaldo – Manchester United to Real Madrid (2009): The long awaited transfer had finally been made. Its taken 2 years in the making but finally it was made, and what a Blockbuster move it was. £80m, Real Madrid and the world awaits, he has started repaying already, a goal in almost every game, and his dribbling game is dazzling. What can a man do to prove he is worth every penny of £80m, most of the money is inevitably due to his off the field financial ability, which will emanate from what he can do on the pitch. He is the cog in the new look Los Galacticos.

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Luis Figo – Barcelona to Real Madrid (2000): The audacity of the man to even proceed with the transfer yet alone even think it allows this transfer on the list. He went through the kind of abuse that no other footballer has faced from fans on a football pitch, Barcelona fans have conjured up a lot of names to call their Spanish rivals over the years, and an association with the dirty animal that happens to be the pig has never been one of them. A brave man he was and most notably he was the first part in the jigsaw in creating the infamous Los Galacticos.

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Roman Abramovich – Russian Oil to Chelsea (2003): Yes do not adjust your screen or eyes, or look at the person sitting next to you, you are reading correctly. Roman Abramovich is in the top 4. The guy that changed the landscape of top flight British football and shifted the balance of football towards the British isles has got to be on the list.

His emergence has since increased the spending in the premiership, created the so called top 4 and opened the borders for the likes of Eggert Magnusson, Randy Lerner and most recently Abu Dhabi. Not everyone may agree but like everyone else on this list he has made a huge difference to his club.

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Kaka – Sao Paolo to Milan (2003): For £3.5m, Berlusconi was right to describe this transfer as peanuts and the best decision made by AC Milan in a long time. One Serie A, two champions league finals, one champions league winners medal, and sold price of £58.5. He brought excitement, flair and cutting edge to an Italian team, still buried in its defensive ideologies.

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