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Before the age of cheque book football, sheiks and Russian magnates, football was run on a low cost, high talent line. The usual role of progression in Scottish football was through the Junior ranks and then into a reserve team and then hopefully into the first team.
In the early 1960’s with somewhat more money around and higher expectations of both entertainment, fitness and ambition, clubs gradually began to pay more to get hold of players that were valued. This trend has continued and, with the growth of football as an international product, has accelerated to the madness we now see in terms of both fees paid and players’ wages. It wasn’t always like this and the record of Celtic’s Fee signings shows how Celtic too have followed the trend with ever pricier players .
This trend has of course recently been bucked with a Chief Executive and Board determined to show bottom line as King rather than the new Henrik Larsson as king.
There may be discrepancies and differences on the size of fees paid for various players transfers. Wherever possible a number of sources have been looked at and the most reliable figure taken.
Record Payments Paid
| Player | Transfer Date | Club From | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Campbell | May 1897 | Aston Villa | £70 |
| Peter Somers | Nov 1897 | Hamilton Academicals | £120 |
| David Storrier | May 1898 | Everton | £320 |
| Charlie Shaw | May 1913 | Queens Park Rangers | £400 |
| Willie Cringan | May 1917 | Ayr United | £600 |
| Tommy McInally | May 1925 | Third Lanark | £2,000 |
| Tommy Kiernan | Jul 1945 | Albion Rovers | £4,000 |
| Jock Weir | Feb 1948 | Blackburn Rovers | £7,000 |
| Leslie Johnston | Oct 1948 | Clyde | £12,000 |
| Willie Fernie | Oct 1960 | Middlesbrough | £12,000 |
| Bobby Craig | Oct 1962 | Blackburn Rovers | £15,000 |
| Hugh Maxwell | Nov 1964 | Falkirk | £15,000 |
| Joe McBride | Jun 1965 | Motherwell | £22,500 |
| Willie Wallace | Dec 1966 | Hearts | £30,000 |
| Tommy Callaghan | Nov 1968 | Dunfermline | £35,000 |
| Harry Hood | Mar 1969 | Clyde | £40,000 |
| Ally Hunter | Jan 1972 | Kilmarnock | £40,000 |
| Steve Murray | May 1973 | Aberdeen | £50,000 |
| Ronnie Glavin | Nov 1974 | Partick Thistle | £80,000 |
| Johnny Doyle | Mar 1976 | Ayr United | £90,000 |
| Davie Provan | Sep 1978 | Kilmarnock | £120,000 |
| Frank McGarvey | Mar 1980 | Liverpool | £250,000 |
| Mo Johnston | Oct 1984 | Watford | £400,000 |
| Mick McCarthy | May 1987 | Manchester City | £500,000 |
| Frank McAvennie | Oct 1987 | West Ham United | £750,000 |
| John Collins | Jul 1990 | Hibernian | £1m |
| Tony Cascarino | Jul 1991 | Aston Villa | £1.1m |
| Stuart Slater | Aug 1992 | West Ham United | £1.5m |
| Phil O’Donnell | Sep 1994 | Motherwell | £1.75m |
| Andreas Thom | Jul 1995 | Bayer Leverkusen | £2.2m |
| Alan Stubbs | May 1996 | Bolton Wanderers | £3.5m |
| Eyal Berkovic | Jul 1999 | West Ham United | £5.75m |
| Chris Sutton | Jul 2000 | Chelsea | £6m |
| John Hartson | Aug 2001 | Coventry City | £6m |
| Odsonne Edouard | Jun 2018 | Paris St-Germain | £9m |
| Adam Idah | Aug 2024 | Norwich City | £9.5m |
| Arne Engels | Aug 2024 | Augsburg | £11m |