With the winter transfer window in full swing, it’s interesting to see the potential prices being mentioned for some of the players who are rumored to be on the move either now or eventually.

But, there haven’t been any bank-breaking transfers as of yet, as the biggest transfer thus far of the January transfer period is Nicolas Anelka’s 15 million GBP move from Bolton to Chelsea.

While that doesn’t come anywhere near the highest transfer fees on record, it does make Anelka the most expensive player in football history, as he’s commanded more than 85 million GBP in his career.

Anelka is also the only player in football history to be a part of multiple 20 million GBP deals, as he went from Arsenal to Real Madrid in the summer of 1999, and then from Real to his first club, Paris Saint-Germain, the very next summer, both in 20 million+ deals.

However, while he is #3 on the list of Premier League transfers out (behind Rio Ferdinand’s move to Manchester United and Arjen Robben’s move from Chelsea to Real Madrid), he’s not on the top 10 list of overall transfers or Premier League transfers in.

Here’s the rundown, with 2007 transfers included.

Top 10 Premier League Transfers

1. Andriy Shevchenko: AC Milan to Chelsea - 30 million GBP (2006)
2. Rio Ferdinand: Leeds to Manchester United - 29.1 mil (2002)
3. Juan Sebastian Veron: Lazio to Manchester United - 28.1 mil (2001)
4. Michael Essien: Lyon to Chelsea - 24.43 mil (2005)
5. Didier Drogba: Marseille to Chelsea - 24 mil (2004)
6. Wayne Rooney: Everton to Manchester United - 23 mil (2004)*
7. Shaun Wright-Phillips: Manchester City to Chelsea - 21 mil (2005)
8. Fernando Torres: Atletico Madrid to Liverpool - 20 mil (2007)
9. Ricardo Carvalho: Porto to Chelsea - 19.85 mil (2004)
10. Ruud Van Nistelrooy: PSV to Manchester United - 19 mil (2001)

*: The listed fee for Rooney was the initial fee United paid for him, though the total in the end could be nearer to 30 million, due to incentives Rooney/United may reach and other costs.

Top 10 Overall Transfers

1. Zinedine Zidane: Juventus to Real Madrid - 45.62 million GBP (2001)
2. Luis Figo: Barcelona to Real Madrid - 37 mil (2000)
3. Hernan Crespo: Parma to Lazio - 35.5 mil (2000)
4. Gianluigi Buffon: Parma to Juventus - 32.6 mil (2001)
5. Christian Vieri: Lazio to Inter - 32 mil (1999)
6. Shevchenko
7. Ferdinand
8. Gaizka Mendieta: Valencia to Lazio - 29 mil (2001)
9. Ronaldo: Inter to Real Madrid - 28.49 mil (2002)
10. Veron

The prices have dropped a little from their peaks from 1998-2002, but that doesn’t mean players are going on the cheap. As long as Lyon, Porto, and Sporting have youth academies, and Argentina and Brazil keep churning out their footballing robots, and on the flip side, the likes of Chelsea and Real Madrid have money, someone’s going for 20-odd mil a year. Okay, I’m kidding, but only slightly.

The ceiling right now seems to be 25 million or so, though the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Messi, Gerrard, Rooney, Ronaldinho (not based on this season), and others would command much, much higher, and rightfully so.

And, Dimitar Berbatov would also likely cost upwards of 30 million as well, according to Juande Ramos. While I could easily say it’s because they want to recoup the money they shelled out for Darren Bent, it’s not overly far-fetched, given the 10.9 million they paid for someone who was already a proven scorer in one of Europe’s top leagues, and has kept it up since his move to London.

There are still clubs who have no qualms about paying exorbitantly for players, based on the player’s talent, what he’s accomplished, his potential, and his value to both the buyer and seller (or the $$$$ signs in their eyes), and sometimes, that means one party can hold the other hostage - either the seller for more money, knowing that the club in question can pay it, or the buyer, who might try to lowball the seller for no apparent reason, and then hold them hostage to get the deal they want.

The only thing that can be said, whether you are pondering whether or not to spend 1 mil, 10 mil, or 100 mil, is to spend wisely.

You can never tell if a guy’s going to live up to his potential until he starts showing it, but you certainly don’t want to be left high and dry because of one stupid buy. For every Zidane, Figo, or Buffon, there’s a Denilson, and all you can hope is that you at least land somewhere in between, if not better.

Do you think fees are too high right now? Do you think that FIFA should do something about it, one way or another? Or do you think that there‘s nothing wrong with the prices being paid or commanded for some of the world‘s top talents?