Sunday, August 17, 2014

Ronaldo, Suarez, Bale and the most expensive XI in football World

Following a string of big-money moves this summer, Goal takes a look at how a team with the most priciest players in each position would look
Although the summer transfer window remains open for about two more weeks, there have already been plenty of high-profile moves across the continent.

Barcelona paid a hefty transfer fee for Luis Suarez, Paris Saint-Germain spent big on David Luiz, Manchester City splashed the cash on Eliaquim Mangala, while Manchester United made Luke Shaw the most-expensive left-back - and teenager - in history.

Elsewhere, Real Madrid lured Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez to their squad to further increase the value of their team after the record-breaking buys of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale in recent years.

The Santiago Bernabeu side's heavy spending in the past few seasons saw them field a starting XI which has cost them close to €500 million in transfer fees in the European Super Cup win over Sevilla.

With Bale, Ronaldo and James, Madrid have three creative players for whom they paid a transfer fee of at least €80m, yet they have spent relatively little on their defensive options - an area PSG have certainly not overlooked.

Here, Goal takes a look at the most expensive players in each position based on the transfer fees paid for them, with the total value of the most expensive current XI sitting at €668m.

Between the sticks, Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is the most expensive player following his €51m move from Parma in the summer of 2001.

At right-back, Barcelona's Dani Alves makes an appearance, having joined his current team from Sevilla for a reputed fee of €35m in 2008.

Paris Saint-Germain made David Luiz the most expensive defender in the world earlier this summer when they paid Chelsea €50m for the Brazil international, only for Manchester City to spend even more on Eliaquim Mangala last week, with Porto receiving €30.5m for 56.67 per cent of his rights, making for a total transfer fee of €53m.

England international Luke Shaw takes the left-back spot following his €37m transfer from Southampton to Manchester United this summer.

The two holding midfielders in our 4-2-1-3 are Bayern Munich's Javi Martinez, who left Athletic Bilbao for €40m in 2012, and Zenit St Petersburg's Belgium international Axel Witsel, who cost the Russians the same fee.

Colombia international James Rodriguez earned himself an €80m move from Monaco to Real Madrid following his sublime performances at the World Cup to become the most-expensive attacking midfielder in the world.

Up front, a trio of La Liga stars represent the attackers for whom the highest transfer fees were paid in the history of the game. Real Madrid splashed out €100m to lure Gareth Bale away from Tottenham last summer, having previously paid €94m for Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United. New Barcelona signing Luis Suarez completes the XI following his €88m move from Liverpool earlier this summer.

Players who miss out in the most expensive XI despite commanding impressive fees themselves include Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kaka, Edinson Cavani, Radamel Falcao, Fernando Torres, Neymar, Hulk, Sergio Aguero, Juan Mata and Thiago Silva.

Courtesy: Goal.com

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