RONALDO NAZARIO has been revealed as the most expensive footballer of all time, with the former Inter Milan striker costing a staggering £380million – after inflation.
The Brazilian cost Inter £25m in 1997, but the figure would be just under £400m in today’s market.
Ronaldo made his name at Barcelona in 1996, scoring 47 times in 49 matches, before making the move to Italy, where he scored 59 goals in 99 appearances.
After five seasons at the Giuseppe Meazza, Ronaldo moved to Barca’s rivals Real Madrid, winning one LaLiga title.
The 44-year-old won two World Cup’s during his career, with his Brazil side winning the 1994 and 2002 tournaments.
Italian market analysts PlayRatings came up with an algorithm to determine modern day transfer fees for top players of bygone eras.
Diego Maradona, who sadly died aged 60 in November, was the closest to Ronaldo, costing £300m when he joined Napoli from Barcelona in 1984.
Famous for his Hand of God goal against England at the 1986 World Cup, Maradona is regarded as one of finest footballers of all time.
He racked up an impressive 310 goals during his 21-year career.
Michel Platini and Christian Vieri are third and fourth on the list, respectively.
Platini, left French side Saint Etienne for Juventus in 1982 and the attacking midfielder went on to finish his career with the Italian giants after racking up 103 goals in 222 matches.
Despite costing just £1m 1987, the report revealed Dutch legend Marco van Basten would have cost £289m in the modern game.
Two more Argentinians are next on the list, with Gabriel Batistuta and Gonzalo Higuain costing a whopping £247m and £232m, respectively.
Batistuta left Fiorentina for Roma in 2000 and the striker bagged an incredible 292 goals during his 17-year career.
The 52-year-old also boasted an impressive 54 goals in 77 matches for his country.
Higuain played for some of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Real Madrid and Chelsea, but his transfer from Napoli to Juventus in 2016 would now amount to £232m.
Neymar is the world’s most expensive footballer, after joining Paris Saint-Germain for £199m from Barcelona in 2017, but that fee would have been the least-expensive of the eight players named in the report.
Club team-mate Kylian Mbappe may be the only man who can threaten that fee in the pandemic world.
Real Madrid are said to be hugely keen on the French forward and PSG would expect a mega fee if he wants to leave for Spain.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
