1992 GIANLUIGI LENTINI
£13M > > TORINO MILAN
Most great players define their careers with a magic moment on the pitch. Lentini defined his with a tragic moment off it.
On the fateful night of August 2, 1993, the 24-year-old forward was driving his Porsche 911 at a minimum speed of some 110mph (approximations vary) on a spare tyre, when it crashed, flipped and burst into flames. His life was never the same again.
The world’s most expensive footballer – he had joined Milan from Torino for a record £13m the previous summer – was found unconscious in a ditch by a lorry driver, before spending two days in a coma. “I was lucky to be alive,” he later admitted of a terrifying accident that also fractured his skull.