Football quiz time – and this is a fun one.
QUIZ Can you tell us whether each of these players have won the Ballon d'Or?
Over 100 years ago, Sydney Puddefoot was the most expensive footballer of all time. He cost Falkirk an outrageous £5,000 and earned himself a £390 fee for agreeing the transfer (he was also a cricketer for Essex… ah, the 1920s). "When will this folly on the part of football clubs come to an end?" The Football Post exasperatedly cried at the time. It was silly money. And it was only going to get worse.
It took just a month for Syd's fee to be surpassed, before the likes of Warney Cresswell, Bob Kelly, David Jack, Johnny Morris and Eddie Quigley all broke the record – and those are just the English players for under 30 grand. Diego Maradona broke it twice. Johan Cruyff did, too. Ronaldo, Alan Shearer and Zinedine Zidane all took the record, too. Yet in 2023, none of these names are in the top 50 most expensive footballers on Earth. What the hell would The Football Post say? 10 minutes on the clock, 50 players to guess for this quiz.
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FourFourTwo’s Weekend Crossword 42, featuring clues on stars, centre-backs, and Scrabble head-scramblers, is the perfect way to sharpen your wits before the weekend kick-off. To ensure you're never caught offside by a pub quiz question, sign up for our daily newsletter for a morning briefing that keeps you in the loop. You can also secure your status as a terrace legend by joining The Club: our free membership portal where you can snag exclusive quiz hints, earn badges, and trade blows for the top spot on our global leaderboards.
