The transfer market seems to be going from one incredible fee to another at the moment, with records being set and then broken almost by the day. It is rare that a window passes without seeing a record broken. We take a look as the most expensive XI in the history of the game.
Firstly, it is worth pointing out that players such as Ousmane Dembele and Gareth Bale have been left out of the side in the interest of naming a balanced XI.
The system we have gone with is a 4-3-3 and whilst Bale and Dembele did cost more than a couple of the lpayers mentioned, they do not fit into the system.
Firstly, in goal is Liverpool new boy Alisson Becker, who cost the club £65m from Roma. Shielding him in defence are Manchester City trio Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker and Aymeric Laporte, who cost their clubs £51.75m, £47.5m and £58.5m respectively, according to figures in the 'Daily Mail' and the most expensive defender in history in Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk (£70m).
The fees explode in midfield, where £98.4m Paul Pogba is joined by £112.5m Philippe Coutinho, who is the most expensive midfielder in history, and £67.5m man James Rodriguez.
PSG provide two thirds of the attacking trio and the players in question will come as little surprise, man of the moment Kylian Mbappe, departed Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo and the world's most expensive player Neymar complete the side at £121m, £105m and £199.8m respectively.
In total, those fees add up to a staggering £992.65, proof that the business of football really has exploded in recent years.
In terms of the battle for division bragging rights, the Premier League is responsible for six of the signings, including all four defenders and the goalkeeper, La Liga two, Ligue 1 two and Serie A one.