Far from the days of Alex Ferguson Irish hair dryer treatments and Briancraft’s nonsense approach, players have all the powers in modern football.
The team hovering in the lower half of the Premier League has felt the full strength of player power since the rise of the “Big Six.”
Leeds United have handled a significant share of stars starting for new meadows, including Baron de Ort candidate Rafina and Academy Starlet Archie Gray.
Leeds records set out
The biggest sale ever in Leeds | Signed – Fees |
|---|---|
10. Chris Wood | Burnley – £14 million |
9. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbain | Atletico Madrid – £14.5m |
8. Lewis Sinisterra | Bournemouth – £20 million |
7. Tyler Adams | Bournemouth – £23 million |
6. Crysencio Summerville | West Ham United – £25 million |
5. Rio Ferdinand | Manchester United – £30m |
4. Archie Gray | Tottenham Hotspur – £40m |
3. Georgia Lutter | Brighton – £40m |
2. Calvin’s Phillips | Manchester City – £42 million |
1. Rafina | Barcelona – £50m |
Despite Leeds’ status as a huge club with a rich history, some players are destined to be bigger as Pascal Struijk revealed how good Raphinha is from off Elland Road. “I was sure he could play with the top team.
“You saw his goals and support, he did for us too. When you go to a big team, it’s about how you react when you make such a move, and I always believed in his abilities, I had no doubt.
“My first impression of him was, ‘This guy is of high quality.’ Sometimes you have players and you see them on the pitch and you think he has a little extra.
The Brazilian left Yorkshire on good terms after scoring in a game that earned Whites Premier League status in another year, but not everyone on the list above would say the same thing.
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I was as good as Gerrard and Rooney on the youth level, but only scored three goals for Leeds.
Things actually didn’t go well on Elland Road.
Ferdinand: “I was a nightmare to sell me to Leeds.”
Rio Ferdinand was perhaps the most controversial transfer of his time, leaving Leeds to join Manchester United in 2002, winning Fergie’s six Premier League titles as one of the best centre-backs of all time.
And while this may be surprising to the loyal Elland Road who never forgives the legendary English defender, he told Turksport this week that he refused to leave the office of then-chairman Peter Liddale and pleaded with Leeds not to get their prices.
“If we agree, I’ll have him go out for a nightmare. I did that in Leeds. I heard Man United was interested in me. Leeds knew he had to let me go.
“I went to Peter Liddale and said, ‘Listen, I know you need to sell me, let’s make sure you’re not over millions here and there. Make a deal.”
“I waited for hours and he ended the deal.”
That doesn’t mean Leeds has become difficult from a financial standpoint. Given the inflation, Ferdinand is the second most expensive Premier League move in history, coming in at around £200 million on today’s terms.
Ferdinand certainly cost the Red Devils quite a bit, considering Southampton only received £75 million for Vandik, widely considered the world’s best current centre-back when he joined Liverpool in 2018.
However, his attitude towards his previous employers made it even worse than what was already a controversial move, taking advantage of the club’s financial difficulties when they plunged into the third tier of British football.