The 50 most important transfers of all time (30-21)

FT Desk

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:55 CDT
• 11 min read

So here it is, the 50 most important transfers in football history.

FootballTransfers global team of experts - including Paul Macdonald, Robin Bairner, Carlo Garganese, Stefan Bienkowski, Martin Macdonald and Ronan Murphy – considered every major and noteworthy transfer dating back to the end of the nineteenth century.

We focused on influential, legacy-making transfers that changed or had a huge impact on the beautiful game.

It could be because of a record-breaking or history-making transfer fee. It could be a transfer that broke down a social or cultural or racial barrier. It could be a transfer that transformed the fortunes of a team and led to a period of dominance. It could be a transfer that simply transcended the sport.

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Our team of experts compiled a shortlist before voting on their most important transfers of all time. We added up all the votes to form a list of the top 50.

Only transfers that actually took place were considered, so we did not include Jean-Marc Bosman himself.

Youth transfers also were discarded, only first-team to first-team deals are allowed.

Therefore, Lionel Messi’s move to Barcelona as a young kid does not count.

We have five articles counting down the top 50: 50-41, 40-31, 30-21, 20-11 and then finally 10-1.

In this article, we will reveal those placed 30 to 21.

READ MORE: The 50 most important transfers of all time (50-41)

READ MORE: The 50 most important transfers of all time (40-31)

READ MORE: The 50 most important transfers of all time (20-11)

READ MORE: The 50 most important transfers of all time (10-1)

30. Cristiano Ronaldo

THE TRANSFER: Sporting to Man Utd - £12m (2003)

THE BACKGROUND: Cristiano Ronaldo outplays Manchester United to such a degree that they go out and sign him for a fee of £12m as a teenager.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: There's another Ronaldo transfer further up the list but the journey starts here, and after an uneven first few years in Manchester, Ronaldo blossomed into a fantastic wide player and eventually an all-round forward capable of destroying teams all on his own. He perhaps stayed a season too long - Sir Alex Ferguson asked him to delay his inevitable transfer to Real Madrid until 2009 - but in 2007-08 there was no-one better in world football, and he helped return Man Utd to greatness after some difficult years when Jose Mourinho's Chelsea looked likely to dominate forever.

THE LEGACY: Sir Alex Ferguson helps to develop one of the greatest players of all time - even if his return spell is a little underwhelming.

29. Robert Lewandowski

THE TRANSFER: Dortmund to Bayern - Bosman (2014)

THE BACKGROUND: Bayern Munich once again plunder their own league, this time for Robert Lewandowski who arrives on a free transfer.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: Of all the signings that Bayern have made from inside their own league, Robert Lewandowski is perhaps second only to Manuel Neuer in terms of how their performances and style shaped the impact of the club for a number of years. His brilliance destroyed goalscoring records right left and centre and made the Bundesliga a foregone conclusion in Bayern's favour - something that was far from the case prior to his arrival. His ability to score against clubs of all levels, punching down as well as up, has continued unabated and he may still have a few years left doing exactly this.

THE LEGACY: Bayern double down on their Bundesliga dominance and help create the quintessential modern striker.

28. Gianluigi Buffon

THE TRANSFER: Parma to Juventus - £30m (2001)

THE BACKGROUND: Gianluigi Buffon smashes the world transfer record for a goalkeeper.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: In the summer of 2001, Juventus fans were furious when the club decided to sell Zinedine Zidane to Real Madrid for a world record fee. With the money they received, Juve signed three world-class players of their own; Pavel Nedved, Lilian Thuram and Gianluigi Buffon. The latter doubled the pre-existing world transfer record for a goalkeeper with a fee that would stand for 17 years. He was also Juventus’ most expensive signing for 15 years until Gonzalo Higuain’s arrival in 2016. Buffon paid back every penny and then some during 19 seasons in which he won 12 on-field Scudetti and a World Cup. He will be remembered as one of the greatest goalkeepers in history and certainly the one who lasted the longest at the highest level. He was still playing in Serie A at the age of 43 and is currently plying his trade in Serie B with Parma.

THE LEGACY: A timeless icon whose world goalkeeping transfer record lasted for 16 years and who is pushing on 30 years as a professional footballer.

27. Virgil van Dijk

THE TRANSFER: Southampton to Liverpool - £75m (2018)

THE BACKGROUND: Liverpool take a chunk of their Philippe Coutinho money and spend it on Virgil van Dijk from Southampton for £75m.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: Detractors baulked at the fee but Van Dijk's performances not only projected Liverpool back to the conversation of the best teams in Europe but solidified the Dutchman's position as the quintessential modern defender. Exemplary on the ball, in passing, in positioning, in discipline, that Liverpool look an infinitely worse team without VVD in the side. The fact that he has emerged from a cruciate ligament injury to be largely the same player he was before suggests that Liverpool can enjoy many years of his brilliance to come. And the fact that they - and not Manchester City - got him is a not-insignificant moment in modern English football history.

THE LEGACY: The best modern defender chooses Liverpool, and returns them to greatness as a result.

26. Justin Fashanu

THE TRANSFER: Norwich to N.Forest - £1m (1981)

THE BACKGROUND: Justin Fashanu becomes the first £1 million black player.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: At the start of the 1980s Justin Fashanu was one of the most exciting youngsters in European football. A tall, strong and technically-gifted forward, he seemed destined for greatness when he scored the Goal of the Season for Norwich against Liverpool, a sensational turn and long-range volley. This prompted Brian Clough to make Fashanu the first €1 million black player in history a year later. But his time at Nottingham Forest – who had recently won back-to-back European Cups – was a disaster. He was bullied by Clough when the Forest manager found out he had been visiting gay clubs. His form and confidence shattered, he lasted only a year at the club before he slowly slid down the leagues. In 1990, he became the first – and still the only – professional footballer in England to come out as gay. Justin’s story had a tragic ending when he committed suicide at the age of just 37 in 1998, hanging himself in a disused garage in Shoreditch, East London.

THE LEGACY: A trailblazer for black and gay footballers but also a warning of the pitfalls of fame and a sometimes brutal football environment.

25. Sol Campbell

— Patrick Timmons (@PatrickTimmons1) April 25, 2020

THE TRANSFER: Tottenham to Arsenal - Bosman (2001)

THE BACKGROUND: In a move rare in English football, Sol Campbell wound down his Tottenham contract to leave for Arsenal on a Bosman transfer.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: Campbell collected a cool £100,000 a week from his new employers as Spurs fans lined up to brand him 'Judas' for the nature of the transfer, and it was a deal that showed that, largely, loyalty was dead as players understood what their value would be - and how much of the transfer fee could go to them - if they ran down their deals. Player power grew but the deal was also phenomenally successful, with Campbell helping to deliver two Premier Leagues, three FA Cups and within minutes of a Champions League triumph.

THE LEGACY: Player power and them receiving the equivalent of the transfers as part of their Bosman deals.

24. Sergio Ramos

THE TRANSFER: Sevilla to Real Madrid - £24m (2004)

THE BACKGROUND: A young centre-back emerged at Sevilla and Real Madrid took full advantage, spending £24m on the most promising defender in the country.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: For a club with such a glittering history of transfers, a real case can be made that Sergio Ramos is their best one of all. From performing a superb role at right-back, one that would see him win the World Cup with Spain in that position, his transition to centre-back was inevitable, as was the success that followed. A player capable of leading men, of winning matches, of scoring goals as an underrated attacking option, as well as manic moments that means he has many, many red cards on his CV. But he also has the World Cup, two European Championships, four Champions Leagues and countless domestic honours in a career that will be remembered forever.

THE LEGACY: Real Madrid's captain and leader for a decade and more.

23. Gareth Bale

THE TRANSFER: Tottenham to Real Madrid - £100m (2013)

THE BACKGROUND: After an incredible season for Tottenham, Real Madrid break the nine-figure transfer barrier to bring Gareth Bale to Spain.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: It's easy to forget now that Gareth Bale the golfer was also a simply fantastic player, and it could also be argued that he was the missing piece which propelled Real Madrid to their run of Champions League successes in the decade. A scorer of stunning goals as well a hugely important ones, he netted in two different Champions League finals, included one of the greatest goals ever scored in the defeat of Liverpool in 2018. It's not Bale's fault he was given a ludicrously large contract around the time he chose to lose interest in the game, but this transfer represents the re-rise of Madrid and also a cautionary tale on giving in to player demands on new contracts, as Arsenal can testify.

THE LEGACY: The legacy is one of contracts - make sure the player you are giving a new contract to is still interested in playing. See also: Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

22. Manuel Neuer

THE TRANSFER: Schalke to Bayern - £27m (2011)

THE BACKGROUND: Bayern tie down the goalkeeper of the future, signing Manuel Neuer from Schalke.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: The likes of Ederson and Alisson are credited with the development of the modern goalkeeper but Neuer was way ahead of them. It’s often said he could have played in central midfield for Bayern had they needed him to. Neuer's supreme comfort on the ball is now a pre-requisite for goalkeepers but then he was an absolutely unique shot-stopper, with his ability to create chances and participate in the play something that had been foreign until that moment. In that respect, this transfer set up the rush for ball-playing goalies we now currently see.

THE LEGACY: Transformed goalkeeping almost single-handedly.

21. David Beckham

THE TRANSFER: Real Madrid to L.A Galaxy - Bosman (2007)

THE BACKGROUND: David Beckham chooses to leave Real Madrid and move to the MLS and LA Galaxy for a huge contract that was among the biggest in the world at the time.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT: Beckham's time at Real Madrid isn't particularly well-remembered, and his success was nothing like what he achieved at Manchester United, but it was still a shock when MLS, a league whose last tradition of buying franchise players had come nearly 30 years earlier, landed Beckham. The unique nature of this was the way in which it was structured, with his salary he would receive front-and-centre of the coverage, as well as the value of his endorsements. The secondary thought was what he would bring on the pitch and in truth that never really changed in his time in the US, but the fact that Beckham was a star first, a footballer second, was unique at the time.

THE LEGACY: The franchise deal that was less about the football and more about the finance.

READ MORE: The 50 most important transfers of all time (20-11)