The top five most expensive defenders ever

4. Rio Ferdinand – Leeds United to Manchester United, £29.1m

Ferdinand had been building a case for himself as one of the country’s most exciting young defenders at West Ham and Leeds, so it was only a matter of time before one of the Premier League’s established big guns pounced for his signature. When Leeds hit financial difficulties after shooting for the stars too vigourously United were there to cherry pick the best talent and brought Rio on board with striker Alan Smith, though the less said about that the better!