Who will be the next player to break the world transfer record?
The domestic season in Europe is heading towards a climax and attention is already starting to switch towards potential transfer moves over the summer. Many of the big clubs will be ready to flex their financial muscles and with more money in the game than ever, there is the potential for the world transfer record to be broken.
The £1million barrier was broken in 1975 when Giuseppe Savoldi made the switch from Bologna to Napoli and fees have continued to rise, with the first £100m transfer deal now surely only a matter of time.
Our analysis shows how Real Madrid have been the big spenders in the 21st century, breaking the world transfer record five times between 2001 and 2013.
The television revenue enjoyed by English clubs was clear to see last summer, though, when Manchester United, helped by their popularity around the globe, splashed out a whopping £89m to take Paul Pogba back to Old Trafford from Juventus.
A number of factors need to fall into place for such mind-boggling sums to be invested in a single player. As our infographic shows, there are eight factors which can all influence the fee and which will determine which player takes over from Pogba as world football’s most expensive player.
With all that taken into account, we predict Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the player most likely to take the ‘honour’ following another impressive season for Borussia Dortmund, who will not be short of offers if they decide to cash in on their prize asset.
Goalscorers can be the difference between success and failure and Harry Kane and Antoine Griezmann also feature highly on our list of the biggest potential moves of the summer while Eden Hazard is another potential Premier League departure if rumours of a move to Real Madrid prove correct.
