From Ray Wilkins to Philippe Coutinho, via Paul Gascoigne and Cristiano Ronaldo: the British transfer record – in pictures

We look at how UK deals progressed from £1.5m to £100m

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  £1.5 million. RAY WILKINS: 1984, Manchester United to AC Milan. Wilkins’s performances for United and England brought him to the attention of the Rossoneri, where he would be joined by fellow Englishman Mark Hately. The midfielder would play more than 100 games for Milan over three seasons. Getty

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  £2.3 million. MARK HUGHES: 1986, Manchester United to Barcelona. Signed by English manager Terry Venables to play alongside his other signing from the UK, Gary Lineker. The Welsh attacker, though, failed to make his mark in Spain, scoring just five times in 36 appearances and lasting only one season. He would be sent on loan to Bayern Munich the following year and was back at United by 1988. Getty

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  £3.2 million. IAN RUSH: 1987, Liverpool to Juventus. The Welsh striker left for Italy after establishing himself as a prolific goalscorer on Merseyside. Rush would struggle to replicate his scoring feat against the mean Serie A defences and joined a Juve team in transition. In his sole season in Italy, Rush finished with a respectable 14 goals in 39 appearances before heading back to Liverpool the following summer. PA

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  £4.25 million. CHRIS WADDLE: 1989, Tottenham Hotspur to Marseille. The English winger became the world’s third most expensive player when he moved to Marseille. Waddle enjoyed a hugely successful three seasons in France where he would establish himself as a firm fan favourite, winning the league title three times and finishing runner-up in the European Cup. Getty

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  £5.5 million. DAVID PLATT: 1991, Aston Villa to Bari. England international Platt would score an impressive 11 goals from midfield for a Bari team that would be relegated from Serie A in his first season. Platt then spent a frustrating season with Juventus before enjoying a successful two years with Sampdoria. Allsport

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  £5.5 million. TREVOR STEVEN: 1991, Glasgow Rangers to Marseille. A month after Platt’s move, another English midfielder became the joint record holder when Steven signed for Marseille. The former Everton and Rangers player helped Marseille secure the league title in his only season in France. Financial troubles at the club would mean his spell was a short one and he was sold back to Rangers after one campaign.

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  £5.5 million. PAUL GASCOIGNE: 1992, Tottenham Hotspur to Lazio. One of the most talented English players of all time, Gazza had been due to move to Lazio a year earlier for £8.5m but he picked up a serious knee injury in the 1991 FA Cup final win over Nottingham Forest. Although hugely popular with fans, Gascoigne would struggle for form and fitness throughout his three years in Italy. He played just 47 times, scoring six goals before being sold to Scottish side Rangers. Allsport

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  £7 million. ANDY COLE: 1995, Newcastle United to Manchester United. Surprisingly sold by Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan after scoring 68 goals in 84 games for the Magpies. The goals would keep on coming at United as Cole enjoyed a hugely successful career at Old Trafford. He scored 121 goals in 275 games, winning five Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League over seven-and-a-half seasons playing for Alex Ferguson. PA

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  £7.5 million. DENNIS BERGKAMP: 1995, Inter Milan to Arsenal. For the first time, the British record was broken by a foreign import. The Dutchman had just spent a largely frustrating couple of seasons in Italy before Arsenal manager Bruce Rioch made him his first signing at the club. After failing to score in his first seven games, Bergkamp hit two stunning strikes at home to Southampton that set the tone for the rest of his 11 years in London. The supremely gifted attacker with a velvet touch would go on to score 120 goals in 423 games for the Gunners, winning the Premier League three times and the FA Cup four times. AFP

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  £8.5 million. STAN COLLYMORE: 1995, Nottingham Forest to Liverpool. Collymore had just enjoyed a prolific couple of seasons with Nottingham Forest before Liverpool came calling with a record bid. Despite a solid strike rate over his two seasons at Anfield, scoring 29 times in 67 games, off-the-field issues would result in the striker being sold to Aston Villa. AFP

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  £15 million. ALAN SHEARER: 1996, Blackburn Rovers to Newcastle United. Not only smashed the British transfer record to smithereens but also set a new world record. Shearer’s goals had helped propel Blackburn to the Premier League title the season before and England to the semi-finals of the 1996 European Championship that summer. Turning down Manchester United for a second time, the striker joined his hometown club that had just finished runners-up in the top-flight. He would overcome a serious ankle injury sustained ahead of his second season to go on and become the club’s record scorer with 206 goals in 404 appearances over 10 seasons on Tyneside. Getty

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  £22.5 million. NICOLAS ANELKA: 1999, Arsenal to Real Madrid. A remarkable profit for Arsenal who had paid just £500,000 for the French striker in 1997. Nicknamed ‘Le Sulk’ in England for his moody disposition, Anelka would last only one season in Spain, scoring seven goals in 31 appearances, although he helped the club win the Champions League. AFP

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  £28.5 million. JUAN SEBASTIAN VERON: 2001, Lazio to Manchester United. Argentine midfielder Veron became the first non-European player to break the British record when he joined Alex Ferguson’s side. Despite his undoubted quality, he struggled to adapt to the relentless pace of English football, although he did help United win the Premier League in his second and final season at Old Trafford. Veron scored 11 goals in 82 appearances for the club before being sold to Chelsea. AFP

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  £29.1 million. RIO FERDINAND: 2002, Leeds United to Manchester United. The only appearance of a defender on the record list. The dire financial situation at Leeds had helped facilitate United’s move for the classy English centre-half. Ferdinand would go on to enjoy a stellar career at Old Trafford, making more than 450 appearances over 12 seasons, winning the Premier League six times, League Cup twice, the Champions League and Club World Cup. Getty

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  £30.8 million. ANDRIY SHEVCHENKO: 2006, AC Milan to Chelsea. After a prolific and trophy-laden seven years in Italy, the Ukraine striker joined Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea - much to Milan’s frustration. It is safe to say the 29-year-old’s best years were behind him and he would score just 23 times in 77 appearances for the London club before being loaned back to Milan. Reuters

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  £30.8 million. ROBINHO: 2008, Real Madrid to Manchester City. A marquee signing for City’s new Abu Dhabi owners, the Brazilian attacker would enjoy a decent opening season in England, scoring 15 goals in 41 appearances. But Robinho struggled for form and fitness in his second campaign and, after a loan spell at Brazilian side Santos, was sold to AC Milan in 2010. Getty

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  £80 million. CRISTIANO RONALDO: 2009, Manchester United to Real Madrid. The Portuguese attacker had established himself as one the world’s best players at United and had long been linked with a move to Real. Ronaldo proved a remarkable success in Spain, scoring an astonishing 450 goals in 438 appearances, winning everything from La Liga and the Copa del Rey to the Champions League and Club World Cup during his nine years in Spain. Getty

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  £85.3 million. GARETH BALE: 2013, Tottenham Hotspur to Real. Bale has had a roller-coaster spell in Spain, scoring 105 times in 249 appearances and winning the Champions League three times so far. But he also has been criticised by supporters, fallen out with current manager Zinedine Zidane and struggled with injuries throughout his time at Madrid. Getty

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  £89 million. PAUL POGBA: 2016, Juventus to Manchester United. For the first time since 2002, a British club breaks the record and again it is United, who brought back the player they had lost to Juventus, for free, in 2012. Pogba had been a huge success in Italy, winning Serie A four seasons in a row. He has struggled for form and fitness at United, although he did help the club win the Europa League in his first season back. The French midfielder has scored 31 goals in 143 appearances in his second spell at Old Trafford so far. Getty

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  £105 million. PHILIPPE COUTINHO: 2018, Liverpool to Barcelona. The Brazilian midfielder had been a consistent performer over five-and-half seasons in England but eyebrows were certainly raised at the huge fee Barca were willing to fork out. Coutinho’s dream move quickly turned sour and he has struggled to justify the huge price tag, finding himself the target of abuse from his own supporters. Loaned out to Bayern Munich after two seasons. Getty

Before the Premier League behemoth emerged in 1992, the British transfer record had started to take on a familiar pattern.

To put it simply, the UK's top talent was routinely being picked off by cash-richer leagues across Europe.

So the likes of Mark Hughes, Chris Waddle and Paul Gascoigne would all be packing their suitcases and heading for sunnier climes – and bigger wage packets – in Spain, France and Italy, respectively.

But that would all change with the emergence and rapid growth of the re-packaged English top-flight, which meant that clubs were now in the market to bring top foreign talent over to the UK – and keep local talent in Britain.

Huge TV deals and investment from foreign ownership would mean the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Juan Sebastian Veron, Robinho and Andriy Shevchenko would soon be plying their trade in the Premier League after record-breaking moves.

In recent years, though, it is Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona who have taken over as the biggest buyers, paying mammoth fees for Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Philippe Coutinho.

Take a look through the photo gallery above, of the movers and shakers who made record-breaking moves to and from British clubs.

To move on to the next image, simply click on the arrows or swipe on your device.