Welsh winger Gareth Bale left English football this summer to join Spanish giants Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur for a world record fee of £86 million.
The other five world record fees:
2009 Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United − Real Madrid £80m.
2009 Kaka from Milan − Real Madrid £56.1m.
2001 Zinedine Zidane from Juventus − Real Madrid £45.6m.
2013 Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid − Arsenal £42.5m.
2000 Luis Figo from Barcelona − Real Madrid £37m.
Other football items for September read:
• At the Madejski Stadium, England Under-21 beat Moldova 1-0 (Berahino) in a European Championship qualifier to ensure a happy debut for new coach Gareth Southgate.
• At Wembley, England trounce Moldova 4-0 (Gerrard, Welbeck 2, Lambert) in a World Cup qualifier. Frank Lampard makes his 100th appearance for his country.
Other results: Northern Ireland-Portugal 2-4 (McAuley, Ward), Ireland-Sweden 1-2 (Keane), Macedonia-Wales 2-1 (Ramsey), Scotland-Belgium 0-2.
• Ireland launch search for a new manager following the dismissal of Giovanni Trapattoni.
• In a Under-21 European Championship match in Tampere, England draw 1-1 against Finland.
• England gain a useful point in Ukraine in a 0-0 draw to improve their chances of qualifying for the World Cup finals.
Results: Luxembourg-Northern Ireland 3-2, Austria-Ireland 1-0, Macedonia-Scotland 1-2 (Anya, Maloney), Wales-Serbia 0-3.
• England drop three places to 17th in latest FIFA rankings, their lowest position in 12 years.
• Liverpool’s US owners give go-ahead for £150-million stadium revamp.
• Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers and Daniel Sturridge are voted manager and player of the month for August.
• In the first match of the Champions League group phase, Arsenal win 2-1 in Marseille.
Other results: Manchester United-Bayer Leverkusen 4-2, Victoria Plzen-Manchester City 0-3, Chelsea-Basel 1-2, Milan-Celtic 2-0.
• In the opening group matches from the UEFA Europa League, Swansea obtain a resounding 3-0 victory in Valencia.
Results: Waregem-Wigan 0-0, Tottenham-Tromso 3-0.
• Italian Paolo di Canio becomes the first Premier League casualty after being sacked by Sunderland.
• Ireland name Noel King as their interim manager. King was asked to step up from his Under-21 job.
• Morton shock Celtic in a Scottish League Cup third round tie with a 1-0 win at Parkhead.
• League Cup holders Swansea fall at the first hurdle, losing 1-3 to Championship side Birmingham at St Andrews.
• Chesterfield’s Ritchie Humphrey is elected chairman of the FA, succeeding Clark Carlisle.
• After the home 1-2 loss to West Brom, Manchester United suffer their worst top-flight start since 1989.
• Championship side Derby sack Nigel Clough. He is replaced by Steve McClaren.
Premiership attendances
1. Manchester United - 75,101
2. Arsenal - 56,692
3. Newcastle - 49,182
4. Manchester City - 46,967
5. Liverpool - 44,662
6. Chelsea - 41,503
7. Sunderland - 41,480
8. Aston Villa - 39,826
9. Everton - 36,222
10. Tottenham Hotspur - 35,978
11. West Ham United - 34,958
12. Southampton - 29,195
13. Cardiff City - 27,409
14. Norwich City - 26,818
15. Fulham - 25,591
16. Stoke City - 25,161
17. West Bromwich - 24,639
18. Hull City - 22,815
19. Crystal Palace - 22,807
20. Swansea City - 20,742
Leading marksmen
English Premier League
6 − Sturridge (Liverpool).
5 − Remy (Newcastle).
4 − Benteke (Aston Villa), Lukaku (Everton), Aguero, Toure (Man. City), Giroud, Ramsey (Arsenal).
The Championship
9 − Rhodes (Blackburn), Vaughan (Huddersfield).
8 − Vokes (Burnley).
7 − Grabban (Bournemouth).
Scottish Premier League
8 − McKay (Inverness).
5 − Stokes (Celtic), Sutton (M’well).