Florian Wirtz became only the 17th player in history to command a transfer fee of €100m (£84m/$113m) or more when he joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen in a British record €136m (£116m/$156m) deal earlier this month. However, there will likely be at least one more entrant in that exclusive club this summer.
Ever since Neymar's €222 million (£198m/$247m) move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, the fees exchanged between top European sides have skyrocketed to previously unimaginable levels, and there has been no sign of the bubble bursting anytime soon. In fact, inflated transfer fees have become commonplace, partly due to the rise of the Saudi Pro League, and also because there now appears to be a surplus of game-changing talents in the Pep Guardiola era of strict tactical systems.
The truly world-class performers, particularly those who operate at the top end of the pitch, are now valued more highly than ever before as all the top clubs scramble to make the marginal gains necessary to win major silverware. The question is: who will be the next €100m (£85m/$117m) superstar?
GOAL has ranked the top ten contenders below, starting with an English teenager who has already experienced the highs and lows of life in the Premier League...