Footballers from lesser known countries who commanded astronomical transfer fees
#Pogback – Paul Labile Pogba’s homecoming saw Manchester United break the transfer record for the costliest footballer ever transferred with the move costing them in the region of €105m. However, what that move has also done is, it has triggered a compelling argument – would Pogba would have cost The Red Devils the same amount of money had he been from a lesser known country say Togo or Morocco or any other country which is not a footballing superpower
While many of you can say that this is a hypothetical argument and Pogba would have cost the same irrespective of his nationality given the enormous talent that the Frenchman possesses, let’s just delve into this a little deeper and actually look at the transfers of footballers from lesser known countries who have commanded/ or can command a huge transfer fees.
And no, Cristiano Ronaldo fans, Portugal is not a small country and hence we cannot include his name. :P
Here we take a look at 5 footballers from lesser known countries, who have or can command astronomical transfer fees:
Honorable mentions:
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – Gabon
Last year’s Bundesliga player of the year has been the subject of only one major transfer so far in his career, his reported £11 million transfer from Saint-Etienne to Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2013. Now, while the transfer fee of the Gabonese isn’t exactly astronomical, why he makes it to our list is based on a potential move to one of the relatively bigger clubs (no offence to Borussia Dortmund) before the end of this transfer window or any subsequent ones.
Aubameyang’s move to Signal Iduna Park was a game-changer for him and the 27-year-old has not looked back since. His numbers do the talking for him, with the Gabonese having managed to score 39 and 25 goals in the last two seasons. Aubameyang has been linked with a big-money move to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City throughout the window and if the transfer figure that has been doing the rounds (read upwards of £50 million) is anything to go by, he will certainly rank much higher in this list, if and when he signs for another club.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Sweden
The Swedish hitman announced his transfer to Manchester United in a style only he could pull off. The 34-year-old has had a stellar career having won league titles in four different continents and with a quest for the fifth currently underway.
Ibrahimovic has commanded some hefty transfer fees during his numerous moves, but his move to Camp Nou from Inter Milan was the biggest of them all costing the Blaugrana in excess of €60 million, which included his transfer fee of €46 million, Samuel Eto’o’s transfer valuation of around €20 million and the loan move of Alexander Hleb – with the duo jumping ships from Barcelona to San Siro.
The 34-year-old is currently at Manchester United for what is deemed as his swansong and it will be interesting to note in what fashion will Ibrahimovic end his top-flight career.