1990 ROBERTO BAGGIO
£8M > > FIORENTINA JUVENTUS
The £8m transfer of ‘The Divine Ponytail’ to Juventus in the summer of 1990 didn’t just break the world transfer record – it also nearly broke Fiorentina, the club that had agreed to sell him.
Angry Viola supporters protested (or rather rioted), throwing bricks, chains and Molotov cocktails amid the lawless uproar where 50 people were injured and eight more arrested. Baggio felt guilty even though, as he insisted later, “I was compelled to accept the move.”
Worse, Juventus just never suited Baggio – in 1994, new coach Marcello Lippi revealed he wanted the team to become “less Baggio dependent”. He didn’t really suit Milan or Inter either, making just 60-odd appearances for each of the San Siro giants. His illustrious, yet chequered career is a reminder that, now and again, football comes down to a power struggle between players and managers.