5 players who could break the £100 million barrier

Neymar: Lionel Messi’s heir apparent

On February 9, 1979, the football fraternity was left in a state of shock when Nottingham Forest signed Trevor Francis for a million pounds. Before that move, no footballer ever reached the 7-figure mark as Francis became the first of many world record-breaking deals.

The 8-figure mark was first touched by Gianluigi Lentini when he was bought by Milan for £12 million from Torino in 1992. 25 years later, it seems as though it is not long before the 9-figure mark is touched by someone among the best talents in the world currently.

Flashiness is the key aspect when deciding the transfer price of a player. Hence, attackers are the most definite ones to break that barrier. And here are the five players that could be the first £100 million footballer.

Honourable mentions

Before we start off the slideshow, there are some names that failed to make the cut, but could just be the first £100 million footballer if an anomaly takes place. One such player is Neymar. While there is no doubt that the Brazilian would break the barrier if he is ever sold, there is little chance that the Camp Nou outfit would let him go.

If this list was compiled some months ago, then the former Santos star would definitely have been among the five names, but given his outstanding form and improved maturity, he has well and truly cemented his place as Lionel Messi’s heir at Barcelona and it is hard to see the Catalans let go of him.

Paulo Dybala is another name that fails to make the cut due to the fact that Argentine, right now, would perhaps not command a fee of £100 million. Finally, Marco Verratti is another superstar that fails to make the cut because of the same reason.