‘First transfer was for two footballs and kit’

Even in these days of Financial Fair Play, football transfer sums are almost equivalent to the GDP of some poor third-world countries.

Even in these days of Financial Fair Play, football transfer sums are almost equivalent to the GDP of some poor third-world countries.

HT Image

Manchester United centre-back from the early 1990s Gary Pallister knows a thing or two about huge transfer sums, he was once the most expensive British player. In 1990, Sir Alex Ferguson paid Middlesbrough £2.5 million to sign the centre-back, a British transfer record in those pre-EPL days. But, before dealing in millions , he had to deal in footballs and goal nets!

After coming up through the youth ranks at Billingham Town, he joined Middlebrough when he was 19 for a most unusual transfer fee — a couple of footballs, a team kit and a couple of goal nets. That, of course, was par for the course back in day for any player from a non-league club joining a top division side. Arsenal legend Ian Wright joined Crystal Palace from non-league Greenwich Borough for a set of weights.

When he joined Manchester United, though, he and fellow centre-back Steve Bruce formed the centre-back pairing that wouldn’t just save Sir Alex Ferguson’s job but also set the foundations for a 26-year-run that yielded 13 Premier League titles. The United back four from the early 1990s of right-back Paul Parker, Pallister and Bruce in the middle, and Dennis Irwin at left-back is one of the greatest in the club’s history. The man himself, though, was humble enough to acknowledge that many backlines in the years since have matched, and even bettered their feats.