From an £86m wonderkid to a 40-year-old cult hero – The World Cup stars that landed big summer moves
This summer’s World Cup produced its usual share of memorable moments, stunning goals and breakout players.
And as is usually the case, the end of the tournament brought about a transfer market frenzy as clubs across the globe fought to bring in the tournament’s best performers.
From a teenage £86million sensation to a World Cup-winning midfielder, via a cult hero 40year-old goalkeeper, plenty of players are settling into a new start. FourFourTwo takes a look at those hoping to make a success out of their big moves…
Ayyoub Bouaddi – Manchester City, £86m
Bouaddi was Morocco’s breakout star this summer, but he really didn’t need to become a footballer. Had the 18-year-old been born with no athletic skills whatsoever, he’d have been a huge success in some other field.
Born in northern France to Moroccan migrants, Bouaddi showed enormous academic promise from an early age, becoming fluent in English and passing all his school exams a year early. By that stage, however, he was already training with Lille’s academy – the club fought off interest from bigger clubs thanks to their track record of developing talents including Carlos Baleba and Leny Yoro.
Yet even after signing professional terms at 15, Bouaddi continued to show a thirst for knowledge. He won a public speaking competition for young players, delivering a speech on the subject ‘Are results more important than the manner they’re delivered?’ in front of first lady Brigitte Macron at the Elysee Palace.
“On the bus, while everyone was watching YouTube videos or listening to music, he’d play chess for one or two hours,” Lille’s former head of academy recruitment Mathieu Frison has since said. “In the evening, when all the others played FIFA or were on their phones, he studied mathematics, physics, science. His parents didn’t need to push him to do it – he wanted to learn.”
Just like at school, Bouaddi the footballer was fast-tracked, making his senior debut in a Conference League game against Faroese outfit KI, three days after his 16th birthday. In doing so, he became the youngest ever player in a UEFA men’s club competition.
On his 17th birthday, Bouaddi played the full 90 minutes as Lille beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the Champions League. He completed 43 of 44 passes and was given a standing ovation at full-time. “I was almost pinching myself,” he smiled afterwards. “I couldn’t believe it.”
Yet his arrival on the global stage came during this summer’s World Cup. Bouaddi made only his fourth Morocco appearance in their tournament opener against Brazil – receiving FIFA permission to represent the country in May, after previous appearances for France’s youth teams – but earned widespread praise for his composure, strength and close control at the base of midfield. Against the Selecao, the 18-year-old completed more than 90 per cent of his passes, and he was a mainstay in the Atlas Lions’ run to the quarter-finals.
Bouaddi’s performances at the World Cup played a major part in Manchester City’s decision to sign him in an £86m deal this summer. The youngster now faces the biggest task of his career: helping his new club thrive without 2024 Ballon d’Or winner Rodri. Just to make life harder, he’ll do that while remotely studying for a mathematics degree. You’d be foolish to bet against him succeeding in either endeavour.
Djed Spence – Inter, £26m
It has been a busy summer for England’s World Cup stars, with Elliot Anderson, Morgan Rogers and Anthony Gordon among those moving clubs.
It might be argued, though, that no player put himself in the shop window better than Spence, who played an ever more impressive role in England’s run to the semis.
That convinced Inter to pay Spurs around £26m for a player who had mixed fortunes in north London. He’s also been joined by fellow Englishmen Curtis Jones and John Stones at his new club – the latter probably panicked the Nerazzurri by pretending he had a bad shoulder during his medical…
Jonathan Dave – Atletico Madrid, loan
A World Cup held partially in his homeland of Canada offered David a chance to let off some steam following a frustrating maiden season at Juventus.
The striker moved to Turin with high expectations, having notched 109 goals in 232 appearances for Lille, and even scored on his Serie A debut against Parma. Sixteen goalless league games followed.
A treble in Canada’s 6-0 World Cup thrashing of Qatar reminded everyone of his talent – no player had scored a World Cup hat-trick on home soil since Geoff Hurst in 1966. Impressed, Atletico Madrid offered him a shot at redemption, albeit on a season-long loan.
Rodri – Barcelona, £65m
If there were any doubts whether Rodri should still be considered the greatest midfielder on Earth going into the World Cup, he’d silenced them by the end of the tournament.
Spain’s captain, shirt always tucked in, led his team to a first World Cup since 2010, while also scooping the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. The latter was fully deserved, and the numbers prove it.
He completed an average of 94 passes per 90 minutes, with a whopping 93 per cent finding a team-mate. The latter stat hit 95 per cent in the final victory against Argentina, after he’d run the show in the semi-final with France – Les Bleus had looked unbeatable up to that point, but suddenly had the rather sizeable issue that they couldn’t get hold of the ball at all, let alone move it to Kylian Mbappe & Co up top.
Rodri remains capable of controlling any event he’s involved in – even trophy presentations, having subtly ushered Donald Trump out of the way before lifting the World Cup, seemingly keen to avoid the US president being in the middle of all the photos, as he had been for Chelsea’s celebrations at the Club World Cup final 12 months earlier.
Rodri led the World Cup for passes completed in the final third (204) and line-breaking passes (122), but it wasn’t just his ability to dictate play that stood out – he topped the standings for tackles (26) and distance covered (96km), too.
He was as devastatingly effective without the ball as he was with it.
None of that came as any surprise to Premier League fans, who’d long witnessed the midfielder’s elegance and destructive qualities. But they’ll witness it no more after his seven seasons at Manchester City ended.
A return to La Liga had looked on the cards for some time – he’d been wanted by Real Madrid, before one last directive from Pep Guardiola reportedly saw him choose Barcelona instead, having been advised that their style of play would suit him much better.
Either way, Spain manager Luis de la Fuente is just thrilled to have the 30-year-old playing back home. “I’m delighted that these great footballers are in La Liga, because it makes the league even greater,” he beamed following Rodri’s unveiling. “It truly means that the best players in the world, who are our footballers, are competing here in Spanish clubs.”
The World Cup winner walked into a champion team ready-made to make the most of his skillset, with a clutch of talented players – from Pedri and Gavi, to Marc Bernal and even Lamine Yamal – certain to benefit from his leadership. If ever there was a fitting successor to Sergio Busquets, it’s Rodri.
Ferran Torres – PSG, £43m
There’s no better way to force yourself into the shop window than scoring the winning goal in a World Cup final, so it’s no wonder Torres was snapped up by PSG after his heroics.
After clinching the trophy, a switch to France followed, having hinted at being open to a move away from Barcelona in interviews after the tournament. His 21 goals bettered Robert Lewandowski last season – the Pole’s summer exit seemed to leave the way clear for Torres, but he had just one year left on his deal and didn’t get the new contract he’d hoped for, with Barça still trying to balance their various financial restrictions.
Yan Diomande – Real Madrid, £120m
Two years ago, Diomande was in Leganes’ B team after a trial at Rangers didn’t lead to a deal.
It didn’t take long, though, for the winger to progress to the club’s first team, earning a move to RB Leipzig that totally changed his trajectory. In Germany, he won plaudits for jaw-dropping dribbling and creative output, finishing last season with 23 goal involvements, and went on to start every game for Ivory Coast at the World Cup. Those displays persuaded Real Madrid he was worth a hefty fee.
His idols? “Cristiano Ronaldo and R9,” Diomande said ahead of the World Cup. “But also Mbappe and Vini Jr.” It’s almost as if he knew.
Bradley Barcola – Liverpool, £123m
Barcola waved au revoir to PSG this summer with two Champions League winners’ medals, three Ligue 1 titles and the slightly strange feeling that he’s never quite gotten to be the main character in his own story.
He certainly seemed destined for superstardom from the very beginning. A product of Lyon’s academy, Barcola made his senior debut as a 19-year-old in a November 2021 Europa League game. But his real breakthrough arrived during the following campaign, when his combination of scorching speed and direct running made him one of French football’s most feared young attackers.
PSG were impressed enough to spend around £39m on him in August 2023 – while his first season was promising rather than spectacular, he became a serious attacking force in 2024-25, scoring 21 times and assisting 21 more. Among them, Barcola bagged a brace as PSG beat Reims to win the Coupe de France, then laid on Senny Mayulu’s goal as the Parisians thrashed Inter 5-0 to clinch their first ever Champions League title seven days later.
Last season brought Barcola another European crown, but he didn’t start a game in the Champions League after the last 16, and there was always a nagging sense that he was more of a supporting actor. For all his productivity, Barcola was often the victim of PSG’s extraordinary attacking riches, with Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia favoured by manager Luis Enrique in the biggest matches. While Barcola brought raw athleticism, the other trio appeared to offer a higher technical skillset.
Despite that, Barcola did start four times for France at this summer’s World Cup – after coming off the bench to score in the opener against Senegal, he played the full 90 minutes when he netted against Sweden in the last 32, also making the starting XI against Paraguay in the last 16, then Spain in the semis. Like Dembele, he scored after coming on as a half-time sub in the chaotic third-place play-off against England, when France were hopeless in the first half but nearly recovered from 4-0 down after the interval.
Yet there’s still a feeling that he can achieve even more, particularly after Liverpool forked out £123m for him – just £2m short of the club-record fee they finally paid after Alexander Isak’s transfer debacle a year ago.
Brought in to add dynamism to the left of Andoni Iraola’s attack, the winger will aim to provide the speed, movement and goals that the departed Mo Salah was once famed for on the opposite flank. With the Egyptian having left for Trabzonspor, an opening has emerged for a new leading man in the Anfield frontline – if Bradley Barcola is ever going to become the main character, the time needs to be now.
Zion Suzuki – Aston Villa, £30m
Filling the gloves of World Cup winner Emi Martinez would be a tough task for any goalkeeper, let alone a 24-year-old who’d never played in England before. It helps, then, that Suzuki is scared of absolutely nothing.
The Japan international started all four of his nation’s fixtures at his debut World Cup this summer and has been labelled a “tiger” by Dennis Rudel, his former keeping coach at Belgian side Sint-Truiden.
A move to PSG collapsed prior to his summer switch to Villa Park – he’d spent the past two years at Parma. “He was immediately one of the top keepers in Serie A,” Rudel said. “I don’t see any weaknesses.”
Johan Manzambi – Aston Villa, £51m
Villa also signed two more young World Cup stars – the last came on deadline day when £47m got them Ibrahim Mbaye from PSG.
Two months earlier, the Senegal winger had become the youngest African World Cup goalscorer ever, at 18 years and 143 days old.
Villa spent even more to recruit Manzambi from Europa League final opponents Freiburg – aged 20, the Swiss registered three goals and two assists in four World Cup games, and may have done more had he not then got injured. The attack-minded midfielder’s speed, strength and potential make the £51m fee a steal, especially with Newcastle chasing their own move.
Vozinha – Colo-Colo, Free
The transfer of a 40-year-old keeper to a South American club would barely raise an eyebrow, 99 times out of 100. But when Cape Verde shot-stopper Vozinha joined Colo-Colo, thousands of fans excitedly greeted him at the airport, then his shirt was delivered by a parachutist during an elaborate unveiling at the club’s stadium.
It marked the latest chapter in the heart-warming but entirely unexpected story of the man officially named Josimar Jose Evora Dias. Born during the 1986 World Cup, Cape Verdean authorities wouldn’t let his dad call him Valdano, after the Argentine striker who’d just scored twice against South Korea, so instead he was named after Brazilian full-back Josimar, who netted against Northern Ireland and Poland.
As a child, the youngster was jokingly nicknamed Vozinha (‘Little Granny’) by other kids, because of the key role his grandparents played in raising him – his father was away in the military by that point, and his mother was often working to provide for the family.
After starting his club career in his native land, he had spells in Angola, Moldova, Cyprus and Slovakia, before eventually arriving at Chaves in 2024, for a second stint in Portugal. Already 38 and competing in the second tier, his career seemed to be winding down to an unremarkable end before Cape Verde qualified for the World Cup for the first time in their history.
The opening game against eventual winners Spain changed everything, with a string of saves that ensured a surprise 0-0 draw. “I worked hard all my life for this moment, for this dream,” he told reporters after the final whistle. “Now the dream has come true.”
The dream wasn’t over, either. More saves bagged further draws against Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, as Cape Verde finished second in their group, then took Argentina to extra-time in the last 32 – they didn’t lose a single game in 90 minutes. Having begun the tournament with fewer than 50,000 Instagram followers, that number has since grown to more than 29 million.
He did it all despite not knowing where he’d be playing this season, with his contract expiring at Chaves. By August, he’d joined the biggest club in Chile – Colo-Colo have previously won the Copa Libertadores and 34 domestic titles.
“Despite playing in smaller leagues for clubs that weren’t exactly giants, deep down I always told myself I was a ‘big club’ player,” the 94-cap keeper said after the move. “When Colo-Colo came calling, there was no doubt.”
The 20,000 people inside the stadium for his unveiling were equally delighted. Few things can transform a person’s life quite like the World Cup.
Sidny Lopes Cabral – Trabzonspor, £8m
In 2022, Vozinha’s Cape Verde team-mate was playing in the German fifth tier for Rot-Weiss Erfurt – earning around £850 a week, the full-back used bin bags as curtains and was regularly in tears due to homesickness.
This summer, he was curling home the best goal of the World Cup against Argentina. He’d joined Jose Mourinho’s Benfica in January – but days before the World Cup, Trabzonspor agreed a fee to sign him. By the time he arrived for his debut, he’d been joined by Mo Salah, although things didn’t start brilliantly – Lopes Cabral was sent off as they lost 4-0 at Ferencvaros in a Europa League qualifier.
Kerim Alajbegovic – Juventus, £28m
The Bosnian ran Lopes Cabral close in the competition for the World Cup’s best goal – and has since bizarrely been purchased by not one, but two clubs.
At 18 years and 276 days old, he became the eighth-youngest scorer in the tournament’s history when he smashed home from outside the box against Qatar, having just had a breakout season at Red Bull Salzburg, scoring nine goals in 28 league appearances.
The Bayer Leverkusen youth product returned to the German side in July via a £7m buyback clause. Just 32 days later, Juventus snapped him up for £28m, giving Leverkusen a handy profit.
