Where are they now? Carlo Ancelotti’s most expensive signing from every season since 2010
Carlo Ancelotti is undoubtedly one of the greatest managers of all time and throughout his illustrious career, he’s spent plenty of money in the transfer market.
The only manager to win the title in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, Ancelotti has managed some of the all-time greatest players and has never been shy of spending big on signings.
We’ve gone back through Ancelotti’s career and have found his most expensive signing from every season since 2010-11 to see where those players are today.
2010: Ramires
Signed from Benfica for £17million, Ramires proved to be one of Ancelotti’s best signings as Chelsea boss – and arguably one of the club’s best modern-day acquisitions.
The Brazilian made over 250 appearances for the club, including that night in Barcelona, and spent six years in London before playing out the final years of his career in China and Brazil.
He spent two years without a club before he officially announced his retirement from the game in 2022. Aged 37, he’s now enjoying retired life in his native country.
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2011: Fernando Torres
By far the most expensive signing that Ancelotti made during his stay at Chelsea and one of the most jaw-dropping in Premier League history.
Torres cost a mouthwatering £50million from Liverpool back in January 2011, when such a fee caused heads to turn rather than shoulders to shrug, and the striker’s time in London was a bit of a mixed bag.
While he did score some important goals during his four-year stay, Torres never lived up to expectations in a Chelsea shirt.
After enjoying spells in Italy, Spain and Japan, Torres called it quits on his playing career in 2019.
He’s since been coaching the Atletico Madrid Under-19s, although he’s set to leave that role at the end of the season in order to pursue his goal of becoming the human Hulk…
2012: Thiago Silva
Before he was the subject of a Dave track and a Chelsea elder statesman, Thiago Silva was a defensive monster at PSG.
Costing €42million from AC Milan, the world record fee for a defender at the time, Silva made 315 appearances for the French side and is regarded as one of the best players in their history.
The 39-year-old joined Chelsea in 2020 and spent four years at Stamford Bridge before announcing his departure at the end of the 2023-24 season. It’s unclear whether he’ll retire or carry on playing elsewhere.
2013: Gareth Bale
One of football’s most high-profile moves of all time, Bale’s then-record transfer to Real made headlines across the world.
Joining Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema in attack for a fee of £85.3 million, Bale would be part of a trio would go toe-to-toe with Messi-Suarez-Neymar and give us one of football’s greatest rivalries.
Despite his respectable goal tally and hordes of trophies, the Welshman could strangely never shake criticism from the media and it eventually became too much which resulted in a sour end to his Real Madrid career.
Bale would spend months spent in exile on the subs bench, and even went back on loan to Tottenham, but he did enjoy a brief revival under Ancelotti before leaving for LAFC in 2022.
He retired after one season of MLS in 2023, winning the MLS Cup. One of the greatest British players of all-time, history will look back kindly on Bale’s time in Madrid despite him seemingly preferring golf.
2014: James Rodriguez
Rodriguez’s stellar season at Monaco, followed by his breakout World Cup performance with Colombia, saw him snapped by Real Madrid for £63million. It just felt like he’d become the next Galactico.
Under Ancelotti in his first season, he lived up to the billing, bagging 17 goals and assisting 18 in all competitions.
Sadly, it all went south after the Italian’s departure in 2015; Rodriguez won plenty at Madrid, but was always on the fringes and never really lived up to the hype.
He spent time on loan with Ancelotti at Bayern Munich, before joining Everton on a permanent deal during the fever dream-esque COVID-season of 2020-21, again reuniting with Don Carlo.
Now 32 – no, really – Rodriguez is playing for Brazilian side Sao Paulo after spells in Qatar and Greece.
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2015: Lucas Silva
The final signing of Ancelotti’s first spell in charge of Real, Silva was signed in January 2015 for a reported €14million from Cruzeiro.
But Ancelotti had gone by the summer and the midfielder was quickly loaned out to Marseille. His Real contract expired in 2019 and he left without any noise, returning to Brazil with Gremio.
Silva is now back at Cruzeiro, having never made it stick in European football or been capped at senior level by Brazil. A rare miss by Ancelotti.
2016: Mats Hummels
Signed for €38 million from Borussia Dortmund, honouring Bayern’s tradition of poaching from their Bundesliga rivals, Hummels spent three years in Munich before rejoining his previous club.
In fairness, the centre-back won the Bundesliga in each of his seasons with Bayern. But we get the impression he’s much happier in those famous yellow shirts.
Indeed, the 35-year-old has made almost 200 appearances for Dortmund since 2019 and is tipped to start for Germany at Euro 2024.
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2017: Corentin Tolisso
After joining from Lyon for an initial transfer fee of €41.5 million, Tolisso had his best season at Bayern under Ancelotti but fell down the pecking order when the big man departed.
In 2022, the World Cup-winning midfielder returned to Lyon after five years (and as many Bundesliga titles) with the Bavarians, and is now a regular starter back in his hometown.
2018: Fabian Ruiz
Ancelotti’s eye for a player saw him sanction the €30 million signing of Real Betis midfielder Fabian during his time as Napoli manager.
After impressing in Italy, Fabian was linked with a host of top clubs and eventually moved to PSG for a bumper fee in 2022.
He’s scored five times in 68 appearances for the serial Ligue 1 champions over the past couple of seasons and don’t be surprised to see him play for Spain at Euro 2024 either.
2019: Hirving Lozano
One of the breakout stars of the 2018 World Cup, Lozano was heavily linked with Manchester United following his impressive displays for Mexico before Ancelotti lured him to Napoli for a club-record fee of €42 million.
After a difficult debut season in Naples, the forward steadily improved before being sold back to PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 2023.
He endeared himself back to his old supporters with a hat-trick against Ajax. As you do.
2020: Ben Godfrey
Initially brought for around £20million from Norwich City as defensive cover, Godfrey quickly established himself as a mainstay in Everton’s backline.
He initially made a good impression and was praised by pundits for his versatility, pace, and reading of the game – at one time he was rated as one of the best young defenders in the country, rewarded for his fine form with a couple of England caps back in 2021.
But things haven’t progressed linearly since – the defender has been dogged by injuries and playing in a struggling side.
After falling down the pecking order under Sean Dyche, Godfrey played in the victories over Liverpool and Brentford in 2024 that secured Everton’s Premier League status. He’s far from a lost cause.
2021: Eduardo Camavinga
With players like Camavinga to build around, Real Madrid’s XI for the future looks absolutely terrifying. The versatile Frenchman made his La Liga debut in September 2021 and hasn’t looked back since.
At the tender age of 21, he’s racked up over 130 appearances for Real Madrid and already ranks among the best midfielders in the world. And he only cost €30 million.
2022: Aurelien Tchouameni
Plenty of top European clubs were in for Tchouameni in 2022, but Real Madrid’s pull is unparalleled in European football.
Ancelotti splashed £69million on their biggest summer recruit and he settled straight into life at the Bernabeu. Expect him to stick around for many years to come.
2023: Jude Bellingham
Never has an initial £88.5million been better spent.
