Every time the British transfer record has been broken since 2000 – from £18m Leeds signing to £115m Chelsea capture

The Premier League has grown into the most financially powerful division in world football over the last quarter of a century.

And although the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Barcelona have been responsible for many of the most expensive transfer deals we’ve seen in recent years, the English top flight routinely tops the overall spending charts.

Even if Neymar’s £198 million move to PSG greatly outstrips anything English football has mustered in terms of outlay, Premier League clubs have been unafraid to splash the big bucks to acquire the game’s top talent.

Here is every deal that has broken the British transfer record since 2000.

2000: Rio Ferdinand to Leeds United – £18 million

The first time in the Premier League era that a defender broke the British transfer record – and only the second time by a non-striker – Rio Ferdinand’s £18 million move from West Ham to Leeds in 2000 raised eyebrows around the league.

The the-21-year-old centre-back had long been regarded as a top talent but was considered raw and error-prone. But in two years at Elland Road, Ferdinand would develop into one of the best and most consistent centre-backs in Europe, earning the captaincy and becoming an England regular before another record-breaking switch.

2001: Ruud van Nistelrooy to Manchester United – £19 million

No club has broken the British transfer record more often than Manchester United and the Red Devils didn’t wait long into the 2000s before setting a new high mark.

United had hoped to sign Ruud van Nistelrooy from PSV a year earlier only for the Dutch poacher to fail a medical and then suffer an ACL tear. They returned for their man the following summer, though, even paying an extra £1 million than the previously arranged fee, raising the price tag to £19 million. With 150 goals in 219 games, it’d prove money well spent.

2001: Juan Sebastian Veron to Manchester United – £28.1 million

United broke the British record for a second time in the summer of 2001 when they forked out an at-the-time staggering £28.1 million to sign Juan Sebastian Veron from Lazio.

The cultured Argentinian playmaker flashed evidence of his undeniable class throughout two seasons at Old Trafford, but he failed to make the impact expected of him and was sold to Chelsea for £15 million in 2003. He played just seven Premier League games for the Blues before returning to Italy with Inter.

2002: Rio Ferdinand to Manchester United – £29 million

United reset the high mark again in 2002. And once more Rio Ferdinand became British football’s costliest-ever player, this time swapping Leeds for their Old Trafford rivals after a stellar showing with England at the World Cup.

In 12 seasons with the Red Devils, Ferdinand would win six top-flight titles, two League Cups and one Champions League while being named to the Premier League Team of the Year five times. His centre-back partnership with Nemanja Vidic, who joined United in 2006, is remembered as one of the most formidable of the Premier League era.

2006: Andriy Shevchenko to Chelsea – £30 million

It was four years before Ferdinand’s second British transfer record was surpassed. And when it fell, it fell to one of the most decorated strikers of the decade.

Andriy Shevchenko had won a Serie A title, a Champions League and a Ballon d’Or over a seven-year, 173-goal spell with AC Milan. It is evidence of the Ukrainian’s pedigree that he commanded a £30 million fee when moving to Chelsea in the summer of 2006 despite being just a few weeks shy of his 30th birthday.

But Shevchenko never came close to replicating his Milan and Dynamo Kyiv prolific form at Stamford Bridge. He scored just nine Premier League goals in two seasons before being loaned back to the San Siro and then returning to Kyiv on a free.

2008: Robinho to Manchester City – £32.5 million

The player who eclipsed Shevchenko’s British record fee two years later ultimately fared no better in the Premier League than the Chelsea flop. Newly monied after their 2008 Abu Dhabi takeover, Manchester City splashed £32.5 million to sign Real Madrid superstar Robinho on the final day of the summer transfer window.

The uber-skilful Brazilian started brightly, with eight goals in his first 11 Premier League games. But Robinho failed to settle in England and his form faded quickly. After a loan spell with former club Santos, he was sold to AC Milan for £15 million in the summer of 2010.

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2011: Fernando Torres to Chelsea – £50 million

Those with a keen eye on Spanish football in the early 2000s had seen Fernando Torres coming. He’d broken through at Atletico Madrid as a 17-year-old and captained the club while still in his teens, while also scoring 91 goals in 244 games before his eventual departure in 2007.

It was Liverpool who won the race for the gifted hotshot’s signature and at Anfield Torres delivered on his potential to become one of the most fearsome strikers in Europe, scoring 81 goals in 142 games.

Then, in January 2011, came a shock, record-breaking £50 million switch to rivals Chelsea. But the Stamford Bridge side rarely glimpsed the best of Torres. He scored just 20 Premier League goals in 110 games for the Blues.

2014: Angel di Maria to Manchester United – £59.7 million

Fresh off his star turn for Real Madrid in the 2014 Champions League final, Manchester United swopped to break the British transfer record again when they signed Angel di Maria for £59.7 million.

The wiry Argentinian winger started brightly at Old Trafford, winning the club’s Player of the Month award for September after recording two goals and two assists in his first four matches.

But his form quickly faded as he struggled to settle in England. His finished the season out of the team and was sold that summer to Paris Saint-Germain for £44 million.

2016: Paul Pogba to Manchester United – £89 million

United not only reset the British high mark in the summer of 2016 but their re-signing of former academy standout Paul Pogba from Juventus for £89 million set a new world transfer record.

Pogba’s second spell at Old Trafford lasted seven seasons, with the gifted French midfielder scoring 39 goals and providing 48 assists. He was never able to consistently live up to his billing as one of the top creative players in Europe, however, and he again left to sign for Juventus as a free agent in 2022.

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2021: Jack Grealish to Manchester City – £100 million

Jack Grealish not only became the most expensive player in the history of British football with his move to Manchester City in 2018; he also became costliest Englishman ever – although Declan Rice, after his £105 million move to Arsenal last year, has since usurped him.

The wide man had shone with boyhood club Aston Villa, helping the Midlands side return to the Premier League and consolidate their top-flight status while thrilling fans with his throwback, maverick style of wing play.

Grealish was initially slow to settle at the Etihad, but in his second season he was key to Pep Guardiola’s side as they romped to a Treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup. The England international fell from favour somewhat last season, though, and has since been linked with a move away.

2023: Enzo Fernandez to Chelsea – £106 million

Enzo Fernandez found himself linked with almost every major club in Europe after he was crowned the best young player at the 2022 World Cup for his role in Argentina’s triumph. And with the tournament occurring mid-season, Chelsea wasted no time in gazumping rival interest with a record £106 million move in January 2023.

The Blues haven’t exactly thrived since the playmaker’s expensive arrival from Benfica, finishing sixth last term with manager Mauricio Pochettino relieved of his duties at the end of the campaign. But Fernandez has shown the quality that convinced Chelsea to spend so heavily.

2023: Moises Caicedo to Chelsea – £115 million

Just seven months after their Fernandez mega-deal, Chelsea broke the British transfer record again to snare Moises Caicedo from Brighton for £115 million.

The Ecuadorian had earned a reputation as one of the most dynamic midfielders in the Premier League during his time with the Seagulls and the Blues were forced into a bidding war with Liverpool to land their man.

Caicedo’s initial performances at Stamford Bridge fell short of the lofty expectations that accompanied his move, but his fine form over the second half of last season will encourage belief that he can be the bedrock of Chelsea’s middle third for years to come.