The Most Expensive Player You've Never Heard Of

It is a special thing to be the most expensive player in history. It is a mantle reserved for the likes of Neymar, Maradona, and Ronaldo. The highest transfer fee ever paid for a player in the history of football, of soccer. But then, there is Gigi Lentini. A truly gifted player who is in this club, but is almost all but forgotten.
His story mirrors the professionalization of the modern game by showing the players it left behind. How certain pieces of genius can be ruined by constraint and how the money in the game can corrupt otherwise free spirits. It’s also a triumph of football because of the way he responded to adversity that would crush so many others.
Much Love,
The Zealand
Sources
► BBC
www.bbc.com/sp...
► These Football Times
thesefootballt...
► Transfermarkt
www.transferma...
► Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.o...
it.wikipedia.o...
en.wikipedia.o...
en.wikipedia.o...
en.wikipedia.o...
en.wikipedia.o...
► The Sun
www.thesun.co....
► Chronicle Live
www.chroniclel...
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🙌 Thanks for watching & scrolling!
#TransferRecord #Lentini #Football #Soccer #Hashtags

[@prop555]

You forgot to mention one of the most important parts of this story: He ended the 1994/95 season in world-class form, scoring 5 goals in the 7 matches that preceded the Champions League final against Ajax. Everyone expected him to start, but Capello (the manager at the time) only subbed him on with 5 minutes left of the game, moments before Kluivert would win the game for Ajax. Lentini was left so disappointed that he claimed that was the day his career ended

[@Andy-mr8te]

Ahhh yes, Lothar Matthouse. A forgotten German great.

[@Callum_04]

Don’t forget about marcel de sally

[@Azizi1163]

He clearly doesn't know who they are

[@Blockhead-lc6fr]

These documentaries are what I subscribed for, and they keep getting more obscure and interesting. Great job!

[@jonathanallen3014]

Ah lentini, there's a throw back to football Italia!

[@HCMCDrives]

Ah... Matt House, Des Ali and Papeen, legends of the early 90's :D Love you, Z.

[@drunkenhobo8020]

Driving an early 90s Porsche 911 at over 100 mph on an emergency spare tyre. A true genius for the ages.

[@offkiofficial5363]

Very interesting :) I'd like to see more of this kinda stuff!

[@tkachevtimur9777]

That's great content right there Zealand. I think you should make a video about Abel Balbo, one of the most underrated Argentinian striker of all time and a Roma - Argentina legend

[@lukestephenson7518]

I loved 90s Italian football as a kid. Remember when he moved to ac Milan but didn't know about that crash.

[@gpolonia]

Lentini would have been a Ballon d'Or today. But he would have never fit Capello's style.

[@DJMavis]

Minor quibble: Matthäus is approximately Matt 'a us. Ordinarily I'd let it slide, but lordy that lad was an absolute legend, so deserves to have it learned. Obviously this isn't about him, so it wasn't vital. His wikipedia entry has a proper pronunciation.

[@OsmanKokcu]

Great Legend Footballer Lentini of the 90

[@Taalsman]

Man, such a shame Wilshires entire lower body just imploded into dust, what could have been..

[@MattRobson1]

Great vid Z, Forza Milan!

[@JDX215]

Zealand videos always make my day

[@binman39]

The butchered pronunciation of Lothar Matthäus and Marcel Desailly aside, this was a fun trip down memory lane.

[@antiadam666]

Players should take note from his story. Play for the passion of the game not because you want to squeeze every penny out of a club to make yourself rich

[@lescorlett4133]

Great pronunciations on some of these names mate.🤣 Great vid as always though. Always a pleasure.

[@adarbarrush]

It was sad because of the car crash , he was going to be in the 94 world cup , but he never recovered physically nor psychologically.

[@joshwarren8178]

You should look at doing a video on AS Nancy. They played in Europe in the late 2000’s, were in Ligue 1 in 2017, won the Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue this century, and have a stadium capacity of over 20,000, but they were relegated to the 4th division at the end of the 22/23 season and might have gotten demoted to the 5th division based on something like administration problems. They are currently set to play in the third division of France after some sort of appeal to be brought out of the 4th division. with a stadium that can hold over 20,000. There is a lot of drama and a lot of confusing behind the scenes stuff.

[@aleksandarbukvic4515]

Pls research Davide Moscardeli,he was a great caracter and a great player!!

[@BALHAM69]

You should a video on fisher fc A fan owned team 😮

[@619Slipk]

Moral of the story Don't get yourself in a Wanda/Icardi situation Oh, and drive responsibly, of course

[@MarianoGallicchio]

Zealand, you should make a story about Trinche Carlovich. Argentinean player

[@davidnapes5052]

Some absolute vintage Zealand pronunciations

[@edims4993]

I don't know what it is, but something is telling me, I'd fancy doing the things that young guys from Carmagnola like to do, too.

[@socalfresh6519]

Do Mario Gonzalez next

[@Raging_Redhead]

7:00 weird sidenote that the owner of AC Milan is the same Silvio Berlusconi that would later become prime minister of Italy.

[@MrBlazemaster525]

Yes, he actually used his ownership of Milan to boost his popularity

[@chrisjenkins6606]

Can you make a video about whether Messi can lead Inter Miami to the MLS playoffs this year? They're sitting in last with 18 points and 12 matches remaining. 12-0-0 (unlikely) would get them to 54 points, which historically would more than enough to get into the playoffs as 7th place is usually around 45-48 points. If he's able to make this unprecedented historical comeback, how would this affect the league? From a PR standpoint it's a double-edged sword. On the one hand, Messi would be getting many headlines and press for the league. On the other hand, it could be rightly asserted that Messi, an aging superstar, is showing how far behind the MLS is in terms of talent.

[@lmpeto94]

Accounting for inflation and the rate between pound and euro, what it would have been at the time the transfer should be around 50 million €. So, even nowadays, he'd be expensive.

[@acleedsunited]

I'm amazed that Zealand, who produces ⚽ content for a living doesn't know how to pronounce the names of famous ⚽ players, including Global household names like Matthaus, Papin and Desailly.

[@CGEESorare]

Why are you wearing a Beerschot shirt? 😂

[@duardopienaar]

Soccer Manager 2024

[@steven5232]

Just here to laugh at Matt house 😂

[@daan8702]

The-sally des-sai-y

[@RoachclipNLHOL]

Hi, how can I give you my save load? I play with ADO Den Haag from the Netherlands. I promoted first season and now 4 times in a row winner of the Dutch league. 89 games without losing!!! And won the world championship 2 times with the Netherlands :)

[@trippydrew8492]

It is all his own fault to be honest. His car was fitted with a space saver meant for 50mph, he did 125mph on that space saver and it failed...

[@zeo4481]

Neymar?

[@honestjohn7513]

💣

[@ilikehorses57]

I've mostly enjoyed this new style of deep dive videos you've been doing, but the lack of research into pronunciation of players' names is just awful. It wouldn't take that long to find out how to pronounce Matthaus, Papin and Desailly. These aren't obscure players.

[@AndyHolt2]

I love this stuff you're putting out, but shit man, pronounciation... These are some of the best players of their time. Matthaeus, Desailly, Papin, ...

[@djallanjonce]

first?

[@jayer.]

Z, please don't pronounce Matthäus as "Madhouse" ever. The ä and the u are pronounced seperately and not in unison

[@_vincenczik_]

Him pronouncing Matthäus as "Mad house" mad me laugh as a German😂

[@aristeia71]

And Papin as "Pa-peen"

[@wilsonhenry82]

And desailly as de-saley

[@iamAyal]

As I was editing this and hearing "Matt-house", "Pa-peen", and "De-Sally", I physically cringed and knew half the comments would be about that

[@Andy-mr8te]

@@wilsonhenry82 Almost the French word for ‘sorry’ which is appropriate 😂

[@StillAwesome21]

It does describe Matthäus fairly well tbh 😂

[@jayferguson9066]

Drove from Liverpool to Milan during Lentinis first season to watch that team play. The players they had Gullit, Van Basten, Rijkaard, my favourite midfield player ever. It was 18th October 1992 and it was my 18th birthday and we watched them beat Lazio 5-3.

[@justin655m]

The direction your content has taken is captivating. Great work Z

[@lewishill4074]

Agree

[@fraeve0145]

Sadly he is kinda forgotten in Italy as well. He was my father fav player and he always says that Lentini had the talent to become the best in the world. It's sad to think about how many italian players wasted their career due to laziness or injuries

[@jirikurto3859]

Why do people always blame laziness and injuries? Why not blame his haircut? His haircut was trash. That's why he didn't do as well as he should've

[@cv_luka]

@@jirikurto3859 Why not blame their eye colour? looks terrific.

[@Numero6dl]

@@jirikurto3859 Well, at the time they blamed the usage of an earring.

[@viniciusrestelli1110]

​@@jirikurto3859indeed, you can't get further in your career as a footballer with a trash haiecut. He does have a great name though

[@forgetfulLlama31]

Desally and Madhouse made me smile. Top video tho Zealand, enjoyed that.. thanks

[@Luke-sk4yb]

Zealand is tricking me into learning things… I feel like I’m enjoying education 🤣

[@GIBBO4182]

Never heard of him to be fair, so you’re right about him being forgotten!

[@bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee]

Man, I love your content, but Matt House is crazy

[@markoobradovic19]

Jean luca Vialli aswell

[@Gary-x3x]

I'm 40 and remember this guy quite well from when I was a kid, albeit the main reason I remember him is for that world record transfer fee that was not broken until Ronaldo's move to Barca some years later. That said, for me he is not the biggest flop (in my life time) to break/hold the world record transfer free, for that see Denilson.

[@imranuddin9466]

I will help you pronounce hope this helps Ma-tay-ass De-sigh-ee Pa-Pan

[@SpennysGamingChannelPS3PS4]

Lentini, for a short time, was the best player in the world! Loved when he and Scifo were playing together!

[@Jon-kr9hu]

Would love the story of Jorge Valdivia! Looked like he had the world at his feet, but has never to my knowledge played outside of South America.

[@bookerjam]

The BBC article on Lentini, from April this year, is a really good piece of sports-writing. Well worth a read in a lunch-break.

[@deldewar5893]

Love these videos. Keep ‘em coming!

[@juanpabloperezgomez4349]

I vaguely remember the upheaval that took place when he broke the transfer record and that even the Pope had complained about it, which is a pretty big deal in Italy! I was aware of his career and potential being cut short by a car accident, but had no idea of any other further details regarding his career, only that he was a "what could have been" kind of player at the time. Glad to see that it all ended up well for him, despite the circumstances.

[@jkmusingss]

You did real justice to one of Italian football's great what-ifs, Zealand.

[@Shamrock-Rover]

You're great!!! Such good content and a nice storyteller as well!!

[@alastairnicolson4992]

Absolutely fantastic piece, Zealand. Captivating.♥

[@Darkheist8819]

im still hearing the Marcel Dessally pronunciation 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@MravacKid]

I remember Vialli being the most expensive at the time, but somehow I don't remember Lentini. It's nice to hear his career didn't end up like so many do, in bitterness and problems, but was rather just happy to be playing. The sport in general would be a much better place if more people took that approach.

[@GhostHPM]

the Torino airplane crash happened on a flight back from Lisbon after the Gran Torino team came to play a friendly against Benfica. Due to this the two clubs still have a friendship to this day.

[@lewishill4074]

I remember the transfer happening and was so excited when milan signed him. I have always been fascinated with highest transfer fees.

[@xDIABOx]

Nice history there! Another one you should cover is Christian Vieri, a similar story from a similar star like Lentini! Also, I had a lot of CM Italia '92 vibes from this video! 😅

[@razvangeorgescu1556]

Vieri did pretty well for himself , though

[@xDIABOx]

​I guess he's still, at this day, the only player that had a contract offer with a blank space in his Wages amount. He was also the only player I saw taking 2 penalties in a single game , one with each foot. Legend!

[@razvangeorgescu1556]

@@xDIABOx Are we talking about the former Inter and Juve striker?

[@xDIABOx]

@@razvangeorgescu1556 Christian Vieri, none else. 😉

[@razvangeorgescu1556]

@@xDIABOx I never knew about the two penalties. I remember Vieri more for missing a sitter against South Korea. Would say that he was a good, but not great Italian striker. Nowhere near the magic Juventus trio Ravanelli-Vialli-Baggio or even Pippo.

[@donohoe71]

brilliantly researched and very well delivered. Thanks for the memories.

[@russhunter5696]

This really is great content, Z. Love this stuff.

[@UnNaturalVibe]

Haven’t heard Cosenza mentioned before, highlight of my week

[@jordza2k11]

Italys Paul Gascoigne but with more a love of the game... although seeing you quote my local paper in the Evening Chronicle is mad

[@martynjeffries937]

I see your Lentini and I raise you a Denilson

[@martynjeffries937]

I take it back this was more interesting

[@parrin96]

Fantastic video, Z. Im a massive football fan and I’ve never heard of this guy. I love the pronunciations, too 😂

[@scottgray1806]

Gianluigi Lentini bought from Torino to AC Milan for 15m and damn near got killed a car crash.

[@DiogoGaming2]

Make a video about Bella Gutman story at Benfica and his curse

[@timmni]

MadHouse.... De Sally.... Pappin 💀💀💀

[@darkshout]

Strange to see Carmagnola on your videos :D I've been there many times (I actually live in Turin), so many friends there. Of course have a lot of friends who are Torino's fans, so I know a lot 'bout Lentini since I was young.

[@tjay908]

*opens football manager* "TO TORINO WE GO!"

[@hetsbets579]

Zealand! YOU HAVE!! to make a video about Antonio Cassano

[@Crouchy232323]

Mathouse was a fantastic player and is why Americans should stick to sports designed for adverts and nationalism like the NFL

[@callumstephens2879]

The video is so good that Z’s pronunciation of Desailly and Matthaus throws me off so much 😂

[@peteylang3401]

Matt-House = Matt-hey-us. You're welcome mate :)

[@SongofIceandTea]

Did you watched any friendlies in the US ? there are literally dozens of great matches these last 2 weeks.

[@00kira63]

Wonder if theres ever going to be a video called "He was the most expensive defender of all time" dedicated to the legend maguire

[@willmena96]

Yeah, I love Mad House. They made some great anime back then

[@Ogagagon]

Wholesome story.

[@ianbanks3016]

Who the f was Lothar Matthouse? 😆😆😆

[@TheModmc]

its pronounced matt-eh-us not mathaus ;P

[@duardopienaar]

play Soccer Manager 2024

[@benvd2293]

Beerschot!! 💟

[@joutr]

Matt House 🤣

[@ConstantinoHaza]

"Emiliano Mondorico" 😂

[@PirateDrive]

My word the engagement baiting is off the scale with some of these pronunciations.

[@iamAyal]

You'd think that's the case but he genuinely doesn't know how to say these names

[@mattjames6349]

One of the best footballers of the 90s. I didn't know about the car crash....

[@Hyde_Hill]

Lol butchered pronunciation on Papin. Completely overlooking the pronunciation on Matthaus and Desailly.

[@iamAyal]

Look more closely 😉

[@Hyde_Hill]

@@iamAyal See the Matt Hause one now. Thanks. De Sally though lol.

[@MattMcMatt]

Very insightful video, really been enjoying the deep dives into clubs and players recently! The Canada soccer federation's in some hot water after this women's world cup, if you're looking for a potential topic in the future

[@aristeia71]

Immediately recognised Lentini but then again I am about a decade older than Zealand...

[@Cimegs5088]

We born perceiving time as looking forward, how things go from A to B sometime isn’t all sunshine. But as we grow we learn to see how B could have experienced A, and then we learnt to be contain and grateful.

[@daviebananas1735]

Ah, that German great Matt House.

[@daviebananas1735]

Papeen? Come on man. These aren’t obscure players. These are all time greats.

[@freobetter]

keep the videos coming soccer boy

[@zaqsmith6155]

Player profile: Jomo Sono