The 50 most important transfers of all time (40-31)

FT Desk
FT Desk
  • Updated: 23 May 2023 08:55 CDT
  • 12 min read
Didier Drogba, Chelsea
© ProShots

So here it is, the 50 most important transfers in football history.

FootballTransfers global team of experts - including Paul Macdonald, Robin Bairner, Carlo Garganese, Stefan Bienkowski, Martin Macdonald and Ronan Murphy – considered every major and noteworthy transfer dating back to the end of the nineteenth century.

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We focused on influential, legacy-making transfers that changed or had a huge impact on the beautiful game.

It could be because of a record-breaking or history-making transfer fee. It could be a transfer that broke down a social or cultural or racial barrier. It could be a transfer that transformed the fortunes of a team and led to a period of dominance. It could be a transfer that simply transcended the sport.

Our team of experts compiled a shortlist before voting on their most important transfers of all time. We added up all the votes to form a list of the top 50.

Only transfers that actually took place were considered, so we did not include Jean-Marc Bosman himself.

Youth transfers also were discarded, only first-team to first-team deals are allowed.

Therefore, Lionel Messi’s move to Barcelona as a young kid does not count.

We have five articles counting down the top 50: 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-11 and then finally 10-1.

In this article, we will reveal those placed 40 to 31.

READ MORE: The 50 most important transfers of all time (50-41)

READ MORE: The 50 most important transfers of all time (30-21)

READ MORE: The 50 most important transfers of all time (20-11)

READ MORE: The 50 most important transfers of all time (10-1)

40. Yaya Toure & David Silva

THE TRANSFER: Barcelona/Valencia to Man City (2010)

THE BACKGROUND: Manchester City's Abu Dhabi project moves to the next level in the space of a fortnight as both Yaya Toure and David Silva move to the Etihad for a combined fee of £50m.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: While Robinho's deadline day move is more memorable, it had nowhere near the impact of this duo being signed from Barcelona and Valeniai respectively within the space of two weeks in 2010. Silva and Toure would go on to become both club and league legends and delivered a series of Premier League titles. But this was a shift in more ways than one; City's signings until that point were expensive but not transformative. This duo, however, were current talents, coveted by many teams, and they chose City. From there, many others made that choice too.

THE LEGACY: The double transfer that catapulted City from rich club to serious contenders.

39. Ashley Cole

Ashley Cole, Chelsea
© ProShots

THE TRANSFER: Arsenal to Chelsea - £5m (2006)

THE BACKGROUND: A transfer that still leaves somewhat of a bitter taste, Arsenal finally allowed Ashley Cole to leave for Chelsea amidst a tapping-up scandal.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: Chelsea stalked Cole, illegally tapped him up, and yet the transfer still happened, which was an indictment of how aggressive they were in their recruitment process at the time and how brazen they had become. They chased Steven Gerrard and while he ultimately never joined, Cole became the finest left-back in the world at Stamford Bridge, showcasing all of the modern attacking elements that would come to define the position much later. But it also represented Arsenal lacking their transfer market strength as they moved out of Highbury, and had a new stadium to pay for.

THE LEGACY: A seedy transfer, one that represented a seemingly permanent power shift.

38. Andrea Pirlo

Andrea Pirlo, Juventus
© ProShots

THE TRANSFER: Milan to Juventus - Bosman (2011)

THE BACKGROUND: A Juventus team in crisis since the Calciopoli crisis - with consecutive seventh-placed finishes - needed a savior. Enter, Andrea Pirlo.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: Juventus were relegated to Serie B following the Calciopoli scandal, a punishment that had a devastating impact on the club. By the summer of 2011, they were in crisis after finishing seventh for two seasons in a row. Serie A champions Milan then made the fatal mistake of allowing a 32-year-old Andrea Pirlo to join Juventus on a Bosman Transfer. Pirlo - along with new manager Antonio Conte - resurrected the Old Lady. They stormed to the Scudetto unbeaten and dominated Italian football for the next decade.

THE LEGACY: A reborn Juventus won a record nine Scudetti in a row.

37. Pele

THE TRANSFER: Free Agent to NY Cosmos (1975)

THE BACKGROUND: The world's most famous footballer comes out of retirement to take soccer global in the Unied States.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: When Pele came out of retirement to join the New York Cosmos, football – or soccer – was far from a popular sport in the United States. Pele transcended the sport and single-handedly made soccer glamorous in the United States. He opened the door for many other superstars from Europe and South America – some of them still in the peak of their career – to move to the NASL too. Superstars such as Giorgio Chinaglia, Franz Beckenbauer (who played with him for the Cosmos), Johan Cruyff, George Best, Carlos Alberto, Bobby Moore and many more. Pele was a celebrity on the level of any Hollywood star, musician or politician and he mixed with presidents and many celebrities.

THE LEGACY: The NASL and Cosmos collapsed in the 1980s after Pele's departure but the Brazilian will always be remembered as the footballer who first made America interested in soccer.

36. Gianluigi Lentini

THE TRANSFER: Torino to Milan - £13m (1992)

THE BACKGROUND: With Serie A the centre of world football, Milan spent £13m on winger Gianluigi Lentini - shattering the world transfer record in the process.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: From 1984 until 1992 Italian teams broke the world transfer record six times, and three of those were Milan, whose deal for Lentini was so big it led to criticism from the Catholic church. The Serie A excess took a pause - it would be another five years, and Ronaldo, before it was broken again - but the legacy was in the tragedy. Lentini suffered a horrific car crash the following season, fracturing his skull and never retaining his balance and poise that made him such a skilled wide player.

THE LEGACY: A testament to Italian excess and a story that has a tragic conclusion.

35. Sergio Aguero

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