After finally confirming his $77.25 million move from Atletico Madrid to AS Monaco, Colombia’s prolific striker Radamel Falcao has entered the record books as the fifth most expensive player of all time.
World most expensive soccer players ever
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The striker known as “El Tigre” was reportedly coveted by the majority of Europe’s top clubs, with reports placing him at Manchester United, City, Chelsea and Real Madrid among others before Falcao announced on Friday he will join the latest member of the French nouveau riche.
MORE: Colombia’s Falcao confirms transfer to Monaco
As well as putting Falcao on the books of one of the richest clubs in Europe- Monaco’s new owner Dmitry Rybolovlev is reportedly worth $10 billion and is ranked #109 on the Forbes rich list- the striker´s transfer fee of $77.25 million officially places the Colombian as the fifth costliest player in the history of professional football, ahead of Spaniard Fernando Torres’s 2011 move to Chelsea, legendary Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon’s move to Juventus in 2001 the 2012 move made by Russian club Zenit st. Petersburg for Brazilian forward, Hulk.
Falcao is among illustrious company at the top of the list, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Kaka the only players to have commanded a higher transfer fee. Monaco are making waves in the transfer market with their heavy spending as they look to establish themselves as a new force in Europe’s elite; the pressure is now on Falcao to live up to his price tag.
Sources
- Falcao, entre los cinco más caros de la historia (El Colombiano)
- Dmitry Rybolovlev Profile (Forbes)