World Record Transfers - 1973-1986

1973

 Johan Cruyff, Ajax to Barcelona

£922,000

Today's Price (Adjusted for Inflation) - £10.2m

Today's post starts off with an absolute worldie. Not many names in the beautiful game come as big as this one. After Pele won his last of three World Cups in 1970, the honour of being the world's greatest player was up for grabs, and many believe that Johann Cruyff was that player. Between 1964 and his transfer to Barca in '73, Cruyff had scored 190 goals in 240 games for his hometown club, Ajax, and was instrumental in the famous Dutch side winning three European Cups in a row in '71,'72, and '73. His legacy there is such that Ajax's current stadium is named The Johann Cruijff Arena (to use the Dutch spelling). It was on the strength of these phenomenal achievements that Barcelona decided to break a transfer record that had stood since Pietro Anastasi's £500k move to Juventus in 1968. Barcelona almost doubled the standing record, and were just £77k shy of making Johan Cruyff the first £1m player. Of course, the deal would have been paid in Spanish Pasetas, or Dutch Guilders, so whether or not they reached a million of a random currency was of no concern to the two clubs. Cruyff played for Barca for 5 seasons and won La Liga once and the Copa del Rey once. His Barcelona legacy was confirmed later as a manager, when he led Barcelona to their first ever European Cup success, in 1992.

1975

 Guiseppe Savoldi, Bologna to Napoli

£1,200,000

Today - £9.2m

A lesser known name became the world's first £1m pound player. Many fans will remember Trevor Francis as the first million pound player, when he moved from Birmingham to Nottingham Forest for £1.15m in 1979. Savoldi came 4 years earlier though, but as the transfer was paid in Italian Lira, there could be an argument that Francis really was the first player bought for a million pounds or more. Either way, Guiseppe Savoldi is the name you need to remember for pub quizzes or appearances on Pointless, he was the first transfer worth £1m or more. This was the second time Napoli had broken the transfer record and Savoldi hepled the club win the Coppa Italia in his first season. It would take there 3rd and final record transfer to clinch their first Serie A though; a certain Argentine in a decade or so time... stay tuned.

1976

 Paolo Rossi, Juventus to Vicenza

£1,750,000

Today - £11.6m

Paolo Rossi is probably best remembered for leading Italy to the 1982 World Cup title, in which he won the Golden Boot with 6 goals. Six years earlier though, he shot to prominence by becoming the world's most expensive footballer having played just 6 league games before his move to Vicenza. Rossi came through the ranks at Juventus but failed to make an appearance, he was loaned out to Como where he played six times without scoring a goal. Vicenza initially took Rossi on loan, and he impressed in his first season by scoring 21 goals and leading Vicenza to promotion to Serie A. This led to co-ownership of Rossi by both Juventus and Vicenza. When the two clubs were called to settle the property by way of a silent auction, Vicenza offered the massive sum of 2.6 billion lire, making Rossi the most expensive player in history at that point. 

1982

 Diego Maradona, Boca Juniors to Barcelona

£3,000,000

Today - £9.7m

Ah, Diego. As a 16 year old, Diego Maradona had started his career at Argentinos Juniors, here he managed 117 goals in 167 appearances. Still only 21 he moved to Boca for $4m USD, which would have been just shy of the £1.75m that Rossi had moved for in 1976. Aged 22 he moved again, to Barcelona, for a world record fee. Maradona spent two injury-hit years at Barcelona, but still managed to score 38 goals in 58 games in all competitions. He suffered a broken ankle against Athletic Bilbao after a poorly-timed tackle from Andoni Goikoetxea. When the two met again in the Copa del Rey Final of 1984, Maradona was taunted by the Bilbao fans, was on the receiving end of another rough tackle from Goikoetxea which wounded his leg, and Barcelona lost the game 1-0. At full-time Maradona lost it, Joey Barton-style, and squared up to Goikoetxea. When the Bilbao player made a xenophobic gesture, Maradona headbutted him and elbowed another Bilbao player, causing a mass brawl which left 60 people injured. This entire episode had been played out in front of Spain's King Juan Carlos and effectively secured Diego Maradona's transfer out of the club. Amazing footage of the brawl can be seen below.

                                       

1984

 Diego Maradona, Barcelona to Napoli

£5,000,000

Today - £14.7m

Following the brawl of a century, Napoli moved in quick to seal Maradona's signature. This transfer made Maradona the only player in history to have broken his own world transfer record. Two other players have been the world's most expensive player on two separate occasions, Original Ronaldo, and David Jack, but Diego is the only player to have done it consecutively. Whilst his ability was never in doubt, many clubs were wary of associating themselves with a player who could turn the Copa del Rey Final into a Gladiator-style fight to the death, in front of the King. The risk paid off for Napoli though, as Maradona led the club to their first ever Serie A title in 1986-87, the season following his remarkable exploits at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. Maradona scored 81 goals in 188 appearances for Napoli, and is widely remembered as the greatest player ever to play the game, in particular during these halcyon days of the mid-80s. To balance the video I offered above of his gruesome side, here's a compilation of Maradona's graceful side whilst at Napoli:

• Next up I'll be looking at the record transfers from 1987 to 1992.