Newcastle United have signed Chris Wood for €30m and the New Zealand international has become the third most expensive over-30 striker after Cristiano Ronaldo and Gabriel Omar Batistuta.
Wood has only scored three goals in 17 appearances this season, but the Magpies paid his €30m release clause to secure his services from Burnley.
Oddly, he has become the most expensive over-30 striker in the game’s history after two Serie A legends such as Gabriel Omar Batistuta and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Transfermarkt has listed the most expensive strikers in their 30s and the former Fiorentina and Juventus stars are on top of the ranking.
Cristiano Ronaldo joined Juventus from Real Madrid for €117m at 33, while Batistuta completed a €36.2m move to Roma from Fiorentina in 2000, aged 30.
There are many Serie A stars in the top 15, including Marko Arnautovic and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with Ronaldo featuring twice thanks to his €15m move to Manchester United last summer.
Most expensive over-30 strikers ever
Cristiano Ronaldo – €117m from Real Madrid to Juve in 2018-19, aged 33
Gabriel Omar Batistuta – €36.2m from Fiorentina to Roma in 2000-01, aged 30
Chris Wood – €30m from Burnely to Newcastle in 2021-22, aged 30
Anthony Modeste – €29m from Koln to TJ Tianhai in 2018-19, aged 30
Diego Milito – €28m from Genoa to Inter in 2009-10, aged 30
Samel Eto’o – €27m from Inter to Anzhi in 2011-12, aged 30
Marko Arnautovic – €25m from West Ham to Shanghai SIPG in 2019-20, aged 30
Nikola Kalinic- €22.5m from Fiorentina to Milan in 2018-19, aged 31
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – €21m from Milan to PSG in 2012-13, aged 31
Oliver Giroud – €17m from Arsenal to Chelsea in 2017-18, aged 31
Kèvin Gameiro – €16m from Atlético Madrid to Valencia in 2018-19, aged 31
Roberto Soldado – €16m from Tottenham to Villareal in 2015-16, aged 30
Graziano Pellè – €15.3m from Southampton to SD Luneng in 2016-17, aged 31
Fernando Llorente – €15.1m from Swansea City to Tottenham in 2017-18, aged 32
Cristiano Ronaldo – €15m from (Juventus to Manchester United in 2021-22, aged 36
Newcastle have announced their second high-profile winter signing in Chris Wood. The New Zealander is the 3rd most expensive striker in football history in his age group! 😮
A ranking full of stars 👉 https://t.co/diPJiXekkx pic.twitter.com/q0OXxTzfZh
— Transfermarkt.co.uk (@TMuk_news) January 13, 2022
Graziano Pellè? I totally fogot him.
Who is Chris Wood??? Newcastle are DESPERATE.
In this day and age, 30m is peanuts for a player who has scored 10 plus goals in the premier league for 4 seasons in a row, despite playing for a team consistently fighting vs relegation. Granted, he hasn’t been as prolific this season but Burnley have been very poor this season.
LMAO
Imagine buying a piece of wood (considering his goal scoring stats) for 30m!
Way to go Newcastle.
@Milan Fan.
46 goals goals in the premier league over the past four seasons. I have not one doubt that he’s better than any player your country has produced in its entire history.
Surprisingly sensible signing from Newcastle. Proven scorer in the league, different to all the forwards they have already, drastically weakens a relegation rival and could easily score 25 next season if they do go down.
@Rosario
Lol ehh what? Wtf is wood anyways
Experienced player, with experience in the league and local football culture… Those are the best to avoid relegation, but that price just goes to show how the EPL and NUFC have gone completely mad. You could probably get both Icardi and a good striker from the Championship (just to make sure, if Icardi is absolutely useless) for that money?
But is it also not NUFC who have in the past bought all sorts of international stars, and then got themselves relegated?
Football is mad. Lazio cannot get liquidity to buy something better than Muriqi, and NUFC buy a player who might well not be much better and over 30 for 30mil.
seriously, i just heard his name LOL… who is chris wood????