History of how the football transfer record was broken over the last century
Neymar is now the most expensive player in the worldThe first football transfer of a player between clubs took place in 1893 – a few years after the Football Association in England made the sport professional. Until then, only amateur teams with part-time players who had other jobs played for clubs. But once it became a professional sport, so did the players. With that move, players soon became in demand throughout the country and, later, throughout the world. Since that first transfer, more than 12 decades have passed and thousands of players have moved from one club to another.We look at the various transfers that broke the record over more than a century of football. Last updated: 3 August 2017
#1 1893-1925: British clubs pave the way
The first player to ever be transferred between two clubs was Willie Groves – a striker from Scotland. Back in 1893, Groves was sold by West Bromwich Albion to Aston Villa for £100 – a huge sum of money back in the day.
It was also probably the first ever case of a club poaching a player and convincing him to sign, a move which landed Villa in trouble with the FA who fined the Midlands club. However, the club would have no complaints as he would help them win the league title the next season.
It wasn’t until the turn of the 20th century that the record would be broken, again by another Scottish footballer, Andy McCombie. The right-back was bought by Newcastle from derby rivals Sunderland for £700. McCombie played for the Magpies for six years and eventually became a member of the coaching staff after his retirement.
English forward Alf Common then became the first player to be sold for £1,000 when Middlesborough bought him from Sunderland (who had allegedly paid £520 for him). But Middlesborough didn’t sign him to win the title – they needed him to avoid relegation. They would eventually survive the drop.
| Year | Player | From | To | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1893 | Willie Groves | West Brom | Aston Villa | £100 |
| 1904 | Andy McCombie | Sunderland | Newcastle United | £700 |
| 1905 | Alf Common | Sunderland | Middlesbrough | £1,000 |
| 1913 | Daniel Shea | West Ham | Blackburn Rovers | £2,000 |
| 1913 | Tommy Barber | Bolton Wanderers | Aston Villa | £2,500 |
| 1914 | Percy Dawson | Heart of Midlothian | Blackburn Rovers | £3,500 |
| 1922 | Syd Puddefoot | West Ham | Falkirk | £5,000 |
| 1922 | Warney Cresswell | South Shields | Sunderland | £5,500 |
| 1925 | Bob Kelly | Burnley | Sunderland | £6,500 |