Progression of the British football transfer fee record

A transfer fee is the sum of money paid by one club to purchase the contract, and therefore the playing services, of a professional footballer.

Fees are not generally formally disclosed by the clubs involved, and discrepancies can occur in figures quoted in the press.

Eleven years later, Alf Common joined Middlesbrough for the first four-figure fee, a sum which caused a national sensation and outrage amongst the football authorities.

In January 1979 David Mills became the first player to be purchased for £500,000 by a British club, but just one month later Nottingham Forest paid twice that amount to acquire Birmingham City's Trevor Francis.

The fees paid by the Premier League's top clubs began to increase at a rapid rate, with Alan Shearer commanding the first £15,000,000 fee in 1996, and the new millennium heralding the first £30,000,000 transfer, although sources differ as to whether this barrier was broken by Rio Ferdinand's move to Manchester United in 2002 or Andriy Shevchenko's transfer to Chelsea four years later.