5 most expensive signings in Serie A history
Throughout history, Italian Serie A has been home to some of the most respected footballing clubs in the world. The league has had world-class players playing top-drawer football, week in, week out, entertaining millions of fans across the globe.
Over the last decade, we have seen the Italian teams lose some ground to their Spanish, German, and English counterparts. No Serie A outfit have won the Champions League since AC Milan’s triumph in 2007, but it is not for lack of trying.
Serie A powerhouse Juventus have been the only Italian team in the last decade to play in two Champions League finals. They were beaten by Barcelona (2015) and Real Madrid (2017), respectively, but they are not throwing in the towel just yet. They have broken the Serie A transfer record time and again to get the best players in and conquer Europe.
Today, we will check out how they have flexed their financial muscle to dominate the transfer market in Italy.
Now, without further ado, let’s check out the five most expensive transfers (via Transfermarkt) in the history of Serie A.
Spoiler alert: All five slots belong to Juventus.
#5 Arthur Melo from Barcelona in 2020 - €76.0 million
In the summer of 2020, Barcelona’s highly-rated central midfielder Arthur Melo moved to Juventus for €12 million with Miralem Pjanic (rated €60 million) going the other way. The Brazilian midfielder was at the top of his game at the time at the Camp Nou and was dubbed to be the next big thing in Spanish football.
Unfortunately, the Blaugrana were strapped for cash and found the money-plus-player deal too good to refuse.
Alvaro Morata & Arthur are set to remain at Juventus. #GdS https://t.co/Xrj797B6C6
The former Gremio man has not been in the best of form since his transfer to Turin. He has shown flashes of brilliance here and there, but his spell has hardly justified his sky-high transfer fee.
So far, Arthur has only played 47 games for Juve, registering only a single goal and an assist.
#4 Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina in 2022 - €81.6 million
Following a riveting spell in Fiorentina’s colors, Dusan Vlahovic has moved to Juventus for a whopping €81.6 million fee.
His transfer, which was finalized on January 28th, has been this season’s most high-profile move in the winter transfer window.
#Juve
Official details of Dusan Vlahović deal from Juventus statement ⚪️⚫️ #Juve
€70m guaranteed to Fiorentina to be paid in 3 installments
€10m potential add-ons to be paid next years
€11.6m agents fees plus additional details
Vlahović will earn €7m net per season as salary. https://t.co/R1U2LUpF3x
Vlahovic, 22, moved to Fiorentina from Partizan in 2018. Between 2018 and 2022, he netted 49 times in 108 appearances for the Italian outfit, with 20 goals coming this season alone.
The Serbian has struck 17 times in Serie A in the 2021-22 season, emerging as the league’s joint-top scorer alongside Lazio’s Ciro Immobile.