An interesting study has found that former Rangers striker Duncan Ferguson is the most expensive Scottish player ever, adjusted by “football inflation”.
Former Celtic star Kieran Tierney eclipsed Oliver McBurnie’s earlier £20m move from Swansea to Sheffield United with a £25m move to Arsenal to become the most expensive Scot of all time.
But according to Total Money’s Transfer Index big Dunc would take the title if his £5.5m transfer to Everton from Rangers took place to today, with it being worth a whopping £78m.
Ferguson was 23 when he swapped Clydeside for Merseyside and he goes down as a legend at Everton’s Goodison Park.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite as well at Ibrox. Ferguson struggled to get into the first team and of course once jailed for a headbutt on Raith Rovers defender Jock McStay.
After an initial loan spell at Everton, Ferguson was snapped up by the club and went on to make over 250 appearances in Liverpool over two spells.
Interestingly the study also puts Ferguson second place in the list of most expensive Scottish transfers of all time, after he moved to Newcastle United for £8m back in 1998.
The report claims that this would be worth £42m today.
A transfer involving Rangers also props up third place, with the £7m Blackburn spent on Barry Ferguson in 2003 being worth £37m now.
But is this “football inflation” stuff genuinely insightful or completely irrelevant in the current climate of football?
According to the report, the most expensive player of all time would be Gianluca Vialli, who’s £14.85m transfer from Sampdoria to Juventus in 1992 would be worth £209m today.
