After signing Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona have gained their fourth deal in the table of the most expensive transfers of players over 30.
It’s fair to say that the five-time European Cup winners have had a terrific summer window. They successfully signed Raphinha from Leeds and recently pried Jules Kounde from Chelsea’s clutches. But on July 19, they secured their biggest deal yet.
Following a long-running transfer saga, the Pole finally made the move away from Bayern Munich. In a £42.5 million transfer, Lewandowski signed on the dotted line and officially became a member of the Barca dressing room.
Despite entering the twilight of his career, the 33-year-old clearly has a lot left to offer. Having bagged over 300 goals in the Bundesliga, 100 of which came after his 30th birthday, the powerhouse appears to be ageing like a fine wine.
With height, power, technique and natural goal-scoring instincts in spades, Spanish fans expect the forward to make a huge impact in La Liga next season.
However, he doesn’t just make for a great addition to the squad. He also gives the club another place on an important list.
Barcelona now have four places on top ten most expensive deals for players over 30
Following Lewandowski’s move to the Nou Camp, Sports Lens looked far and wide to put together a list of golden-oldies. However, the forward himself only comes in at number three, and number one doesn’t feature Barcelona at all.
In 2018, at the age of 33, Cristiano Ronaldo cemented his status as one of the greatest of all time with a blockbuster move. He left Real Madrid in favour of Juventus for a whopping £105 million. Although the club hoped he’d help them win the Champions League, he still had a successful spell, bagging 101 goals.
Barcelona bagged the silver medal by signing Miralem Pjanic for £57 million in 2020. In a bizarre move, the club swapped an exciting prospect in Arthur for a player coming towards the end of his career. But regardless, he still gets Barca another place on the table.
However, the club’s other two positions come via players they’ve let go. Coming in at number four, we have Paulinho’s £37 million move to GZ Evergrande. Despite producing terrific performances at Barca en route to winning La Liga, the Brazilian was shifted out of Spain without much explanation.
The Spanish giants take their final spot at number nine with Jasper Cillissen’s £31.5 million move to Valencia. Although the goalkeeper possesses world-class ability, he failed to make regular first-team appearances and thus, his expensive departure made great business sense for Barcelona.
The full list is as follows:
- 10) Leonardo Bonucci: £31.5m (AC Milan to Juventus)
- 9) Jasper Cillissen: £31.5m (Barcelona to Valencia)
- 8) Gabriel Batistuta: £31.5m (Fiorentina to Roma)
- 7) Radja Nainggolan: £34m (Roma to Inter Milan)
- 6) Kalidou Koulibaly: £34.5m (Napoli to Chelsea)
- 5) Leonardo Bonucci: £37m (Juventus to AC Milan)
- 4) Paulinho: £37m (Barcelona to GZ Evergrande)
- 3) Robert Lewandowski: £42.5m (Bayern Munich to Barcelona)
- 2) Miralem Pjanic: £57m (Juventus to Barcelona)
- 1) Cristiano Ronaldo: £105m (Real Madrid to Juventus)
Featured Image Credit: Getty
