Modern day football has been a business phenomenon for decades now but has taken a quantum leap in 2017, and opinion will remain divided whether it was for the betterment of the beautiful game.
Clubs played hardball before letting go of their prized assets, some willingly, others not so.
These are the 10 biggest transfers in terms of value that took place in 2017:
1. Neymar, Barcelona to PSG for €222 million
Initially dismissed as too fantastical, especially by Barcelona, the transfer of the year or perhaps even the decade finally came through and the money involved was truly mind-boggling.
Only time will tell if the 25-year-old Brazilian’s move to the French capital will bring success on the pitch, but there can be no denying that Neymar’s move will have significant ramifications in the years to come.
2. Kylian Mbappe, AS Monaco to PSG on Loan*
€180 million to be paid next year
Not content with Neymar’s acquisition, PSG raided their rivals Monaco for Europe’s hottest talent.
With UEFA under pressure to enforce Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, Les Parisiens found a loophole by signing the 19-year-old on a season-long loan with an agreement to buy for a reported €180 million.
Any other window and tongues would have been wagging for months but Mbappe’s teammate had ensured that otherworldly figures would now be seen as commonplace.
3. Ousmane Dembele, Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona for €105 million
With Neymar gone, Barcelona scrambled to sign his replacement(s) and while Liverpool didn’t budge on their no-sale stance on Philippe Coutinho, Dortmund acquiesced after rejecting several bids.
The fact that he spent just one season at Dortmund before moving to the Catalan giants suggests he is not yet the finished article, but at 20, the ambipedal Frenchman only has an upside from here on out.
4. Romelu Lukaku, Everton to Manchester United for €85 million
For a while the most expensive move of the window and one that very nearly eluded United.
Chelsea were leading the race, but the Red Devils swooped in at the last minute to persuade the 24-year-old to come to Old Trafford.
On the verge of being world-class at Everton, the burly Belgian is at the perfect place to establish himself in the top echelon of strikers.
5. Alvaro Morata, Real Madrid to Chelsea for €75 million
After Diego Costa’s bust-up with Antonio Conte, Chelsea were in sore need of a striker and while United gazumped them for Lukaku, Blues fans heaved a sigh of relief when the club broke their transfer record for the 24-year-old.
Big money for a player who spent a majority of his time on the bench, but then again, nobody comes cheap these days. Fans will hope that his career goes off better than the last club-record signing, who coincidentally was also a Spanish striker.
6. Naby Keita, RB Leipzig to Liverpool for €70 million
Again, a transfer initially dismissed as fantasy or pure fiction made up by tabloids, actually came to light.
However, the Premier League will have to wait for a year to witness the 22-year-old in action for the Guinean midfielder remains a Leipzig player for another season.
The fact that the Reds paid such a premium for a player most of their fan base had to rush to YouTube to see, speaks volumes of the current transfer market.
7. Alexandre Lacazette, Olympique Lyonnais to Arsenal for €60 million
Among all the craziness that went on this time, Arsenal’s big move went almost unnoticed.
A proven goalscorer in the French League, Lacazette’s arrival should in theory at least, make the Gunners title contenders again.
The electric 26-year-old is all about goals and will definitely give their jaded attack a much-needed facelift.
8. Benjamin Mendy, AS Monaco to Manchester City for €57.7 million
Manchester City’s most expensive players of all time are two fullbacks.
Yep, you read that right.
The tall and powerful Mendy had impressed most of Europe with his performances in Ligue 1 and the UEFA Champions League and City had to pay a hefty premium to sign the 23-year-old left-back.
9. Kyle Walker, Tottenham Hotspur to Manchester City for €56 million
The Sky Blues have always been big-spenders but their purchase of Kyle Walker raised eyebrows for the English right-back briefly became the most expensive (joint) defender of all time, before new teammate Mendy broke that record.
A win-win for all parties involved, as Spurs got a hefty chunk of change for an expendable asset and City signed a proven defender in a position which has been a problem in recent seasons.
10. Bernardo Silva, AS Monaco to Manchester City for €50 million
Yet another player off Monaco’s conveyor belt to a club with deep pockets.
Touted as the successor to David Silva, Bernardo is expected to weigh in with a healthy tally of assists and goals in the years to come.
A typical Pep Guardiola player i.e. someone who can be effective from several positions, the 23-year-old Portuguese may take time to get settled to the pace of the Premier League but once he takes off, there won’t be any looking back.