"Top 50 most expensive footballers - adjusted for inflation"

That's "soccer players" for us Americans. Christiano Ronaldo is, barely, number one.

Comments

[Tim Worstall]

And now for the inevitable pedantry!

Their inflation adjustment is for the retail price index.

However, since we are talking about the price of securing labour we should probably correct for earnings inflation, not retail prices. Thus the calculation as currently done overweights recent transfers and underweights old ones.

[Vasco]

This is a very silly chart. These people do not understand the notion of value added: if a player keeps being sold around, that's hardly a sign that he is particularly good and it is wrong to add the value of his several transfers (many of which are often made at a loss). What counts is your value in a single transfer and on that criterium Cristiano (no h!) is by far the most expensive footballer ever.

[Chris]

Completely agree. Craig Bellamy's sale from club to club increases his total on this chart. He is in no way comperable to players like Zidane who's number only reflects a transfer or two.

[whosonfirst]

At least the athletes are entertaining(to some). Contrast that with the Wall St. bozos. To paraphrase an old saying, circumstance finds them on third base and they delude themselves into thinking they hit a triple.