JUDE BELLINGHAM has become the most expensive British footballer of all time.
The 19-year-old midfielder completed a record-breaking £115million move from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid on Wednesday following months of negotiations.
He now sits at the top of an elite list of players including the likes of Jack Grealish, Harry Maguire, Jadon Sancho and Ben White – all of whom cost their respective clubs a substantial amount of money.
The majority of those stars have justified their hefty price tags with consistent performances, but some have struggled to impress.
SunSport’s Emillia Hawkins takes a look at the top 10 most expensive British players of all time to see if they have been a hit or missed the mark.
Jude Bellingham
Although we are yet to see Bellingham in a Real Madrid shirt, his performances for both Borussia Dortmund and England have largely warranted his record-breaking fee.
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At just 19-years-old, the midfielder is yet to hit his prime and still has at least a decade in the game ahead of him.
He already has 24 senior England caps under his belt along with 124 appearances for Borussia Dortmund, including some as captain, so he is more than comfortable on the big stage.
Jack Grealish
The fun-loving winger joined Manchester City in a huge £100m transfer from Aston Villa in 2021.
Although he struggled to find his feet during his first season at the Etihad, Grealish has since established himself as one of Pep Guardiola’s most important players.
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This season, he made 50 appearances for the Cityzens and helped them to a historic treble, so it would be fair to say that his £100m fee was justified.
He has entertained the nation both on the pitch and off it, on his four-day Treble bender.
Harry Maguire
Maguire joined Manchester United in 2019 for a then-world-record fee of £85m.
He has since made 175 appearances for the Red Devils, but his time at the club has been mixed.
The defender fell out-of-favour with new boss Erik ten Hag this season following a poor run of form.
And he is now expected to move away this summer – for a much smaller fee than what he was initially bought for.
Jadon Sancho
Another one of Man Utd’s marquee signings, Sancho signed for the Red Devils in a £75million transfer from Borussia Dortmund in 2021.
Like Maguire, his time at the club has been mixed.
He struggled to find his feet at Old Trafford, scoring just five goals in 38 appearances during his first season.
Sancho’s mixed form continued into the 2022-23 campaign, but his performances were also affected by injuries and illnesses.
He is now being linked with a move elsewhere, with Tottenham readying a £50m bid.
Ben White
The defender joined Arsenal in a £50m move from Brighton in 2021.
Although many fans were sceptical of his price tag, White quickly became a mainstay in Mikel Arteta’s squad.
He is now considered as one of Arsenal’s key players.
White played a crucial role in Arsenal’s Premier League title charge this season, appearing in all 38 games.
Raheem Sterling
Sterling made the blockbuster move from Liverpool to Man City in 2015.
The move set the Cityzens back £49m, which felt like a fortune at the time.
But that fee was certainly worth it.
He scored 131 goals in 339 appearances for Man City during his seven-year spell at the Etihad and won four Premier League titles, an FA Cup and five League Cups.
Sterling signed for Chelsea for a similar fee last summer and made 38 appearances across all competitions this season.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
The full-back joined Man Utd in a £49m move from Crystal Palace in 2019.
The majority of his time at Old Trafford has prompted mixed responses from fans.
But Wan-Bissaka flourished in the second half of the season under the management of Ten Hag.
John Stones
The £47.5m Man City paid for Stones back in 2016 now looks like a complete bargain.
It was considered a lot of money for a defender back then, but when you look at what the England ace has won during his time at the Etihad, it is easy to see that he was worth every penny.
Stones has five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups and a Champions League title to his name.
And he will go down in history as a crucial member of Man City’s historic Treble-winning squad.
Kyle Walker
Like Stones, there is not much on a club level that Walker hasn’t won.
He joined City one year after his England team-mate, but the full-back has the same number of accolades.
His £45m move from Tottenham can easily be justified by the impact he’s had on Guardiola’s squad.
Ben Chilwell
Chilwell joined Chelsea in a £45m transfer from Leicester in 2020.
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Since joining the Blues he has won the Champions League and the Club World Cup, but his time at Stamford Bridge has been slightly marred by numerous injury issues.
Nevertheless, when playing he offers a solid defensive presence with pace going forward.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
