Cristiano Ronaldo’s £100million move to Juventus is on the edge of being eliminated from the top 10 transfer records of all time after Chelsea signed Enzo Fernandez for £107million.
Fernandez completed his British record move to Stamford Bridge from Benfica on deadline day following weeks of negotiations over whether the Blues would pay his release clause.
The World Cup winner’s sensational move is now the eighth most expensive in transfer history, slotting in above Ronaldo’s 2018 transfer to Turin.
When signing, Ronaldo declared himself the new Special One of football as he vowed to go on and on at the very highest level after sealing his move five years ago.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner left Real Madrid after a nine-year spell with the Spanish giants, in which he scored 451 goals and won four Champions League titles.
He is, of course, now playing his football at Al-Nassr after leaving Manchester United by mutual consent after his explosive interview with Piers Morgan.
The 37-year-old, who joined on a free transfer, is set to earn £175m-a-year in Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo’s £100m move to Juventus seems just a fraction of Neymar’s £198m move to PSG from Barcelona in 2017 – which still remains the world record transfer.
The Brazilian’s PSG team-mate Kylian Mbappe takes second-place after he sealed a £166m move to the Parc des Princes from fellow Ligue 1 side Monaco.
In an era of staggering fees across Europe, Eden Hazard, Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele fill the rest of the top five spots.
Former Chelsea winger Hazard completed a sensational £150m move to Real Madrid, where he became the club’s most expensive player ever.
Meanwhile Coutinho left Liverpool to join Catalan giants Barcelona in a deal worth £145m back in 2018.
Dembele was also a heavyweight signing at the Nou Camp, putting pen to paper in a deal worth £136m after leaving Borussia Dortmund in 2017.
Both Eden Hazard (£150m) and Philippe Coutinho (145m) joined Spain’s biggest clubs for sensational fees
Although Fernandez has broken the British transfer record, his massive fee is still trumped by Atletico Madrid duo Joao Felix and Antoine Griezmann.
Felix, who is currently on loan at Chelsea, signed for the Madrid side from Benfica for £114m, while Griezmann completed a £108m to join Barcelona, before returning to the Wanda Metropolitano last summer.
That leaves Ronaldo, Paul Pogba and Jack Grealish in joint ninth – all making £100m signings for their respective clubs.
Grealish’s whopping transfer from Aston Villa was the previous British record before Fernandez sealed his January move to Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Pogba who left United for Juventus for just £800,000 in compensation in 2012, returned to Old Trafford on a £100m deal four years later.
The France international is of course now back at Juventus – having returned to Serie A in the summer.
SOURCE: dailymail.co.uk
