Adam Hložek is, without a doubt, one of the great pearls of national football and, as of this weekend, a new Bayer Leverkusen player.
The German team will pay 13 million euros to Sparta Prague to acquire the services of the 19-year-old striker in an operation that is already one of the most expensive in the history of Czech football.
Specifically, the transfer of Hložek will be the eighth largest ever paid by a national footballer, so it is worth reviewing the updated configuration of this select ranking.
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No one has yet been able to take first place from Pavel Nedvěd. The 2003 Ballon d’Or winner left Lazio for Juventus in exchange for 45 million euros in a controversial operation, being the most expensive signing paid by a national player to date.
Patrik Schick appears twice in second and third place. Roma paid 42 million euros to Sampdoria in the 18/19 season to get the footballer. However, his performance in the Italian capital was not what was expected, so two years later Bayer Leverkusen bought his pass for 26.5 million euros.
The captain of the national team, Tomáš Souček, landed at West Ham United from Slavia Prague in exchange for just over 16 million in 20/21, he was the fourth highest.
Jakub Jankto appears in fifth place, signed by Sampdoria from Udinese in exchange for 14.5 million in the 19/20 season.
He is followed by Tomáš Rosický, called at the time to be one of the great figures of world football after his great level at Sparta Prague, and for whom Borussia Dortmund decided to invest 14.5 million euros in the 2000 season/ 2001, which places it in sixth place in the ranking.
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Legendary goalkeeper Petr Čech also appears twice on the list, in seventh and ninth place. Arsenal closed his transfer from Chelsea in exchange for 14 million in the 15/16 season. Eleven years earlier, Chelsea themselves had opted for the then young and almost unknown goalkeeper by paying 13 million euros to Stade Rennes.
Matěj Vydra closes the ranking in tenth place. Burnley acquired the attacker’s services after paying more than 12 million euros to Derby County in the 18/19 season.
The transfer of Adam Hložek will also enter the Czech football history books in other records. This is the third highest transfer fee received by a national club, only surpassed by the aforementioned cases of Tomáš Souček and Tomáš Rosický. It will also be the second highest sale made in the history of Sparta Prague.
As a curiosity, Hložek will share the lead with the great Czech figure, Patrik Schick, forming a duo that excites and promises to give joy to Czech and Bavarian fans for many years.
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