Eden Hazard the most expensive player in busy transfer window
Friday 9 August 2019 07:24, UK
This summer's transfer window has seen huge sums spent across Europe. Here, we round up the top 10 most expensive deals…
It was the news Chelsea fans were fearing, but Eden Hazard finally completed his long-discussed transfer to Real Madrid in early July, moving to the club he dreamed of playing for as a boy for a huge £130m transfer fee, once all bonuses are taken into account.
Hazard will go down as one of Chelsea's greats, after making 352 appearances, scoring 110 goals, winning two Premier League titles, two Europa Leagues, an FA Cup and League Cup. Now his focus will be proving he can deliver on one of the biggest - and most scrutinised - stages in football.
Atletico Madrid won the race for the signature of Joao Felix from Benfica - but they had to pay an eye-watering £113m to land the 19-year-old and now all eyes will be on the forward to see whether he can back-up his breakthrough season.
Felix - who will be charged with replacing the goals and assists of Antoine Griezmann - caught the eye of many top European clubs after scoring 20 goals in 43 matches for Benfica in 2018/19 and going on to make his Portugal debut during their Nations League finals triumph.
Antoine Griezmann made a documentary last summer to say he was turning down Barcelona to stay with Atletico Madrid - but he's made the move this time around. The £108m buyout fee has caused controversy, with Atletico claiming they were entitled to more.
However, Griezmann is at the Nou Camp and, alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, is set to form part of a brilliant attacking unit. The France World Cup winner scored 133 goals across five seasons at Atletico but he'll now be targeting a major silverware haul with Barcelona.
Manchester United have been in need of central defensive reinforcements for some time but this summer they splashed the cash to try to solve the problem, making Harry Maguire the world's most expensive defender in the process.
United first tried to land Maguire after his impressive performances at the 2018 World Cup, but 12 months on they've secured the England international's signature and will hope he can bring some security to their defence.
Lukaku's United exit had been on the cards for much of pre-season, with the Belgian not involved in any United fixtures despite touring with the club to Australia and the Far East. When a swap deal with Juventus' Paulo Dybala fell through, Inter stepped up their interest to sign the frontman.
There had been speculation Arsenal were restricted to just a £45m transfer budget this summer but that assumption was blown away by their £72m purchase of Lille attacker Nicolas Pepe at the start of August.
The forward enjoyed a standout season in Ligue 1 last term, scoring 23 goals and recording 12 assists in 41 games, and looks set to combine with Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in a thrilling frontline.
Juventus spent big to bring Matthijs de Ligt to Italy this summer after the 19-year-old led his boyhood club to a league and cup double and starred during Ajax's run to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
De Ligt, the youngest captain in Ajax's history, was linked with Manchester United and Barcelona but it was Juventus who beat off the competition to complete a deal.
Bayern Munich broke their club transfer record to bring French World Cup winner Lucas Hernandez to the club from Atletico Madrid, backing the 23-year-old to keep on improving during his time in the Bundesliga.
Interestingly, Hernandez's medical with Bayern revealed ligament damage in his knee which required an operation - but the German club completed the deal regardless and the defender is expected to be fit for the start of the season.
Matthijs de Ligt isn't the only talented young player Ajax have waved goodbye to this summer, with 21-year-old talented midfielder Frenkie de Jong joining Barcelona for £65m.
That's some profit for Ajax, who bough De Jong from Willem II for £260,000 in the summer of 2015, and the Dutch ace is now being touted as a long-term fixture in the Barcelona midfield.
While Lyon had only paid £7m for the central midfielder 12 months earlier, Tottenham spent big to secure the services of the 22-year-old who looks set to be a key figure for Mauricio Pochettino this season.
Like London buses, there were two quickfire inbound transfers for Tottenham in July - after 18 months without a new arrival. Just hours after Jack Clarke was signed from Leeds and loaned back to the Championship club, Spurs smashed their transfer record and paid £63m for Tanguy Ndombele.
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