It's been said before but we'll say it again. Steve Daley? Nearly one and a half million quid back in 1979? Surely some mistake? What is clear looking over the record breaking British transfer fees of years gone by is that most of the players were at the top of their game and worth a punt - albeit an almightily huge punt - when the deal went down. And everything has changed. When John Charles went to Juventus from Leeds in 1957 the average annual wage in the UK was £600, and the average house price £2,300. Taking that into account you can see that . . . oh, sod it: footballers today are paid a grotesque amount of money in comparison to almost anybody on Earth, anywhere, at any point in the history of mankind.
February 1905 Alf Common, Sunderland to Middlesbrough - £1,000
November 1913 George Utley, Barnsley to Sheffield United - £2,000
February 1914, Percy Dawson, Hearts to Blackburn Rovers - £2,500
February 1922 Syd Puddefoot, West Ham United to Falkirk - £5,000
March 1922, Warney Cresswell, South Shields to Sunderland - £5,500
December 1925, Bob Kelly, Burnley to Sunderland - £6,500
October 1928, David Jack , Bolton Wanderers to Arsenal - £10,890
March 1938, Bryn Jones, Wolves to Arsenal - £14,500
September 1947, Billy Steel, Morton to Derby County - £15,000
November 1947, Tommy Lawton, Chelsea to Notts County - £20,000
February 1948, Len Shackleton, Newcastle to Sunderland - £20,500
February 1949, Johnny Morris, Man United to Derby County - £24,000
December 1949, Eddie Quigley, Sheff Wed to Preston - £26,500
October 1950, Trevor Ford, Aston Villa to Sunderland - £30,000
March 1951, Jackie Sewell, Notts County to Sheff Wed - £34,500
July 1955, Eddie Firmani, Charlton Athletic to Sampdoria - £35,000
April 1957, John Charles, Leeds United to Juventus - £65,000
June 1961, Denis Law, Manchester City to Torino - £100,000
July 1962, Denis Law, Torino to Manchester United - £115,000
June 1968, Allan Clarke, Fulham to Leicester City - £150,000
June 1969, Allan Clarke, Leicester City to Leeds United - £165,000
March 1970, Martin Peters, West Ham to Tottenham - £200,000
December 1971, Alan Ball, Everton to Arsenal - £220,000
August 1972, David Nish, Leicester City to Derby County - £225,000
February 1974, Bob Latchford, Birmingham City to Everton - £350,000
June 1977, Kevin Keegan, Liverpool to Hamburg - £500,000
January 1979, David Mills, Middlesbrough to West Brom - £516,000
February 1979, Trevor Francis, Birmingham to Notts Forest - £1,180,000
September 1979, Steve Daley, Wolves to Man City - £1,450,000
September 1979, Andy Gray, Aston Villa to Wolves - £1,469,000
October 1981, Bryan Robson, West Brom to Man United - £1,500,000
May 1984, Ray Wilkins, Man United to A.C. Milan - £1,500,000
May 1986, Mark Hughes, Man United to Barcelona - £2,300,000
June 1987, Ian Rush, Liverpool to Juventus - £3,200,000
July 1989, Chris Waddle, Tottenham to Marseille - £4,250,000
July 1991, David Platt, Aston Villa to Bari - £5,500,000
June 1992, Paul Gascoigne, Tottenham to Lazio - £5,500,000
January 1995, Andy Cole, Newcastle United to Man United - £7,000,000
June 1995, Dennis Bergkamp, Internazionale to Arsenal - £7,500,000
June 1995, Stan Collymore, Notts Forest to Liverpool - £8,500,000
July 1996, Alan Shearer, Blackburn to Newcastle United - £15,000,000
August 1999, Nicolas Anelka , Arsenal to Real Madrid - £22,500,000
July 2001, Juan Sebastián Verón, Lazio to Man United - £28,100,000
July 2002, Rio Ferdinand , Leeds United to Man United - £29,100,000
July 2006, Andriy Shevchenko, A.C. Milan to Chelsea - £30,800,000
Sep 2008, Robinho, Real Madrid to Man City - £32,500,000
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