Strikers have been hot property so far in this summer's transfer window and a number of Europe's elite clubs have spent big on players who they believe can fire them to success next season.
Despite their financial concerns, Barcelona have turned to their magical money tree once again and have splashed the cash on Bayern Munich talisman Robert Lewandowski.
The prolific Pole has put pen to paper on a four-year contract at Camp Nou, and while he has shown no signs of slowing down, eyebrows have been raised with the Catalan giants spending big money on the 33-year-old.
Following confirmation of Lewandowski's move to Barca, Sports Mole counts down the 10 most expensive transfer fees for strikers aged 30 and over of all time.
10. Nikola Kalinic | Fiorentina to AC Milan | £20.25m | Age: 31
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After recording an impressive 33 goals and 10 assists in two seasons with Fiorentina, Nikola Kalinic made the move to fellow Serie A side AC Milan in the summer of 2017 on an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy for £20.25m.
However, the Croatia international was unable to replicate his form in front of goal for the Rossoneri, scoring only six goals and providing six assists in 41 appearances across all competitions.
Just a month after Milan bought Kalinic permanently, the Italian giants decided to sell the striker to Atletico Madrid for just £13m in 2018. Kalinic is now plying his trade in his homeland with boyhood club Hajduk Split who he joined in February.
9. Marko Arnautovic | West Ham United to Shanghai Port | £22.5m | Age: 30
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Marko Arnautovic was one of a number of players who decided to swap European football for the riches of the Chinese Super League when he made his £22.5m move to Shanghai Port from West Ham United in July 2019.
The Hammers had allegedly rejected a £32.3m offer from Shanghai Port to sign the forward just six months earlier, but the Austria international was eventually granted his wish and moved to the Red Eagles where he notched up 20 goals in 39 appearances.
David Moyes was the man who converted Arnautovic into a centre-forward at West Ham, and he went on to contribute to 34 goals in 65 games during his two-year stint in East London.
8. Samuel Eto'o | Inter Milan to Anzhi Makhachkala | £24.3m | Age: 30
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Legendary Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto'o made the controversial decision to leave Inter Milan for Anzhi Makhachkala in 2011, where he became the world's highest-paid player earning a salary of around €20m per season.
The Russian club were recruiting an elite striker in the prime years of his career, who had scored 183 goals and won 18 trophies across the previous seven seasons with Barcelona and Inter.
Eto'o spent two years at Anzhi, netting 36 times in 76 games, before billionaire owner Suleyman Kerimov decided to put all of the club's big-money signings up for sale amid financial problems. Anzhi lost their professional licence in June 2022 and the club have since dissolved.
7. Diego Milito | Genoa to Inter Milan | £25.2m | Age: 30
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Two years earlier, Eto'o arrived at Inter from Camp Nou in the same transfer window as Diego Milito, who moved to San Siro from Genoa for £25.2m.
The Argentine caught the eye of the Italian giants after scoring 26 goals in 32 appearances across all tournaments for the Rossoblu in the 2008-09 campaign.
Milito enjoyed a memorable first season at Inter under Jose Mourinho, scoring 30 goals in 52 games in all competitions, including a brace to help the Nerazzurri beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in the Champions League final.
6. Anthony Modeste | FC Koln to Tianjin Tianhai | £26.1m | Age: 30
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After scoring 40 goals in 68 games for Bundesliga duo Hoffenheim and FC Koln, Anthony Modeste bid farewell to German football and joined Chinese top-flight side Tianjin Tianhai in July 2017 on an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy for £26.1m.
While Koln suffered relegation from the Bundesliga in 2017-18, the Frenchman was scoring goals for fun in China, netting 16 times and providing nine assists in 29 games. However, Modeste's time with Tinjian turned sour as he went AWOL in the summer of 2018, before requesting for his contract to be terminated due to payment disagreements.
Modeste eventually re-joined Koln on a free transfer in November of the same year, just four months after Tianjin were obliged to pay a club-record fee for the striker.
5. Chris Wood | Burnley to Newcastle United | £27m | Age: 30
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Burnley striker Chris Wood became Newcastle United's second signing of the January transfer window under the club's new Saudi-backed ownership.
The Clarets were powerless to keep hold of the New Zealander as their relegation rivals Newcastle activated the £27m release clause in his contract.
Wood failed to set the world alight at St James' Park at the backend of last season, scoring just twice in 16 games for the Magpies, but he will be playing Premier League football in 2022-23, while his former club Burnley have dropped down to the Championship.
4. Sadio Mane | Liverpool to Bayern Munich | £28.8m | Age: 30
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Sadio Mane may not be an out-and-out striker but he played regularly in a central role under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and could operate in a similar role on occasions at Bayern Munich, following the departure of Lewandowski.
The Senegal international has left Anfield after six hugely-successful years with the Reds, and will now ply his trade with perennial Bundesliga winners Bayern, who have forked out £28.8m on the forward this summer.
Mane scored 120 goals and provided 48 assists in 269 matches for Liverpool in all competitions, including 28 goal contributions last season.
3. Gabriel Batistuta | Fiorentina to Roma | £32.5m | Age: 30
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Gabriel Batistuta is the only player on this list who made a big-money transfer pre-2009 as he arrived at Roma from Fiorentina for £32.5m back in the summer of 2000.
The Argentine became a club legend with La Viola after netting 202 goals in 330 appearances across an impressive eight-year spell with the club.
Fiorentina were desperate to keep hold of Batistuta, but Roma eventually got their man and the striker scored 20 league goals to help fire them to the 2000-01 Serie A title.
2. Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich to Barcelona | £40.5m | Age: 33
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After several weeks of negotiations, Robert Lewandowski has finally sealed his move to Catalan giants Barcelona, ending a trophy-laden eight-year stint with Bayern Munich.
The Poland international, who publicly expressed his desire to seek pastures new this summer, leaves the Bavarian outfit as their second-highest scorer of all time behind legend Gerd Muller, netting 344 times in 375 appearances across all tournaments.
Lewandowski scored at least 40 goals in each of the last seven seasons at Bayern and he also won 19 trophies including eight consecutive Bundesliga titles.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid to Juventus | £105.3m | Age: 33
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The most expensive player over the age of 30 of all time is none other than five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who in 2018 swapped Real Madrid for Juventus in a deal worth a staggering £105.3m.
Following a world-record transfer from Manchester United to Los Blancos back in 2009, Ronaldo elevated his game to new heights in the Spanish capital, recording a remarkable 446 goals in just 436 games and he was the catalyst behind the club's success during his nine years at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Portuguese legend won 16 trophies with Real Madrid, including five Champions Leagues, before opting to challenge himself in Serie A with Juve. In his three years at Juventus, Ronaldo amassed 101 goals in 134 appearances and won two league titles before returning to Old Trafford last summer for around £13.5m.
Oliver Thomas
