DANIEL JAMES leapfrogged David Beckham to become Manchester United’s fourth most expensive sale.
The Welsh winger, 23, completed his transfer to Leeds on deadline day, penning a five-year contract.
And the £25million switch to Elland Road – which could rise to £30m – is among the biggest fees received by the Red Devils.
Beckham left Old Trafford for Real Madrid in 2003 as Sir Alex Ferguson let the England superstar go.
Los Blancos paid £24.5m for their latest Galactico to join the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo and Luis Figo at the Bernabeu.
Real Madrid were also the buyers for United’s record sale.
They broke the world record twice in the same window in 2009 to land Kaka and then Cristiano Ronaldo, the latter for £80m.
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Incredibly, after nine seasons and 450 goals, the Spanish giants sold him on again for £99m to Juventus before United brought the five-time Ballon d’Or winner back to Manchester this summer in a £19.7m deal.
Romelu Lukaku is the second-biggest sale for United, with Inter paying £74m for him in 2019 – two years before his £97.5m return to Chelsea.
And Angel Di Maria is third – yet the Red Devils still made a loss on the Argentine flop.
He came in for a British record £59.7m in 2014 but was sold again a year later to PSG for £44.3m as the club cut their losses.
After Beckham, Morgan Schneiderlin to Everton (£24m, 2017), Memphis Depay to Lyon (£16m, 2017), Danny Welbeck to Arsenal (£16m, 2014), Jaap Stam to Lazio (£15.2m, 2001) and Juan Sebastian Veron to Chelsea (£15m, 2003) complete the top ten sales from the Theatre of Dreams.
NO LONGER NEEDED
James was deemed surplus to requirements at Old Trafford following the arrivals of forwards Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho.
It means he eventually joined Leeds, two-and-a-half years after his move from Swansea fell through at the 11th hour.
The new No20 could make his debut against Liverpool at home on September 12.
Victor Orta, Director of Football at Leeds, beamed: “I have to say a huge thank you to my team firstly.
“The football department have been monitoring Daniel for a number of years and every member of my team has worked hard to get this deal over the line.
“It is no secret that Daniel is a player we have been keen to acquire for a number of years and today we achieved our goal.
“As a player we feel Daniel is an excellent fit for a Marcelo Bielsa team, he is quick, direct and works hard.
“We look forward to him joining up with the squad, finally!”
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