Leeds struck gold on record signing who’d be worth £159m in 2024 money
The star sold by the Whites would be worth a mammoth fee in the current day financial landscape
Leeds United were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2022/23 campaign after they spent three years in the top-flight of English football.
The Whites failed to escape the drop one year after they sold star midfielder Kalvin Phillips to Manchester City for £45m and Brazil international Raphinha to Barcelona for £55m, with the latter being a club-record fee for the Yorkshire-based outfit.
Comparing those fees to sales from the past, however, does not provide the full context, as football fees have been affected by inflation over the years.
If you adjust for footballing inflation, using the Totally Money index, you could argue that the sale of Rio Ferdinand is the club’s most-valuable departure, when they sold him to Manchester United in the summer of 2002.
How much Leeds paid to sign Rio Ferdinand
Per Totally Money, Leeds paid £23.4m to sign the central defender from West Ham United ahead of the 2000/01 campaign, which would be worth £59.7m in 2024 money.
It was a deal that made him the most expensive defender in world football and the most expensive British signing in history at that point – making him a record-breaking signing for the club.
They swooped to sign the Rolls-Royce of a centre-back after he came through the academy set-up with the Hammers to make 149 first-team appearances, and he had already been capped by England.
