Zidane, Kaka, Kessie: 10 biggest bargain transfers in Serie A history | OneFootball

Black Friday through to Cyber Monday is the period of the year when people go shopping crazy for the best deals and do anything to get all the bargains they can before stock runs out.

This time of year sees hoards of people swarm shops to acquire as many items as possible at a healthy discount. You can’t fault their efforts as we all can respect and admire a good bargain.

Every person, industry and company loves a favourable price and that’s no different for the clubs in Serie A. With that in mind, we take a look at the ten biggest bargains in the history of the Italian top flight.

10 biggest bargains in Serie A history

1) Zinedine Zidane – £3m – Bordeaux to Juventus

After an impressive four seasons at Bordeaux, Zidane took his talents to Italy, where he settled down in Turin wearing the black and white stripes of Juventus.

At Juventus, Zidane won five trophies, including two Serie A titles. He was awarded the Ballon d’Or in 1998 for his influence on the Old Lady as well as for being pivotal for France in their World Cup-winning campaign.

An impressive five-year spell at Juventus saw him get a move to Real Madrid for a world record fee at the time.

2) Kaka – £7.3m – Sao Paulo to AC Milan

The Brazillian superstar left his mark in Milan, making the number 22 shirt historic in the Red and Black stripes.

Kaka joined AC Milan in the 2003/04 season and became a club legend, providing 188 goal contributions in 307 appearances. During this time, he was pivotal in their UEFA Champions League winning campaign in 2006/07 and even won the Ballon d’Or in 2007.

3) Dusan Vlahovic – £2.7m – FK Partizan Belgrde to Fiorentina

Vlahovic joined Fiorentina as an unknown forward and played his first couple of seasons in Italy for Fiorentina Primavera, where he impressed.

He was called up to the first team in 2018 but didn’t make an impact until the 2020/21 campaign, where he scored 21 Serie A goals and followed up with another 17 a year later.

The Serbian’s goalscoring form catalysed a move to Juventus earlier this year.

The legendary Argentinian forward got a move from Argentina to Italy after a fine display in the 1996 Copa Libertadores, where he scored 10 goals in 13 appearances, winning the competition.

Crespo was crucial in Parma’s attack, scoring 10+ goals in every Serie A campaign for Parma.

During his time at Parma, he was influential in their UEFA Cup, Italian Cup, and Italian Super Cup wins, before sealing a big-money move to Lazio.

£4m for a player who turned into a Ballon d’Or winner isn’t bad at all. Nedved made his name in Serie A after moving from his home nation of the Czech Republic to Lazio.

His time at Lazio saw him play 208 times and grab 80 goal contributions, helping them to a Serie A title and two Italian Cups and Super Cups.

He then went on to Juventus and became one of the Old Lady’s all-time greats.

6) Gabriel Batistuta – £2.1m – Boca Juniors to Fiorentina

One of the most prolific strikers ever for Argentina, Batistuta made a name for himself in Europe after joining Fiorentina from Boca Juniors.

The forward was clinical in front of goal, scoring 203 times in 331 appearances for Fiorentina and helping the Serie A side to an Italian Cup win and Italian Super Cup win, before leaving to join AS Roma.

7) Thiago Silva – £8.6m – Flumiense to AC Milan

One of the more expensive names on the list, Silva’s move from Brazil to Italy was the catalyst for the world to witness one of the greatest centre-backs of all time.

The Brazillian veteran has won 33 trophies in his career, with two of these coming in Milan and one being a Serie A title.

Silva was a workhorse at the back, and his tenacity made him a nightmare for strikers to play against.

One of the best value transfers in recent Serie A history, Kessie made the move to Italy in 2014 and has since become a general in midfield for some of Europe’s top teams in the likes of Atalanta, AC Milan and now Barcelona.

Kessie went from unknown to a European football regular, helping Atalanta secure UEFA Champions League qualification and being crucial in AC Milan’s Serie A win in 2021.

After impressing in the Portuguese League for Benfica, Costa secured a move for just under £5m in 1995, where he would join the likes of Gabriel Batistuta in a strong Fiorentina side.

He became a crucial part of the Italian Cup winning team on two occasions and the 1996/1997 Italian Super Cup winners.

Costa’s performances put him on the radar of some of Europe’s top clubs but he decided to stay in Italy and play for AC Milan.

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10) Kalidou Koulibaly – £6.7m – KRC Genk to Napoli

Koulibaly is known as one of the better defenders currently in world football and made a name for himself at Napoli, who paid less than £7m for his services.

The Senegalese international spent seven seasons there before moving to Chelsea in the summer.