Progression of the British football transfer fee record lagged behind those paid by clubs in Italy, France and Spain to take British players abroad until 1995, when Manchester United paid Newcastle United £7,000,000 for Andy Cole. The fees paid by the Premier League's top clubs began to increase at a rapid rate, with Alan Shearer commanding the first £15,000,000 fee in 1996, and the new millennium heralding the first £30,000,000 transfer, although sources differ as to whether this barrier was broken by Rio Ferdinand's move to Manchester United in 2002 or Andriy Shevchenko's transfer to Chelsea four years later for some reason, however Veron' s transfer to United
Fernando Torres goalscorer. On 25 October 2009, he scored the first goal in a 2–0 victory for Liverpool over Manchester United, after which Rafael Benítez praised Torres' performance, saying, "We were waiting for that final pass. When it came we knew he would score." Torres was named in the FIFPro World XI for the second successive season in December 2009.<ref name="FIFA/FIFPRO World XI announced"></ref> His stoppage-time winning goal against Aston Villa on 29 December 2009 made him the fastest Liverpool player ever to score 50 league goals. He was substituted on 65 minutes in a 1–1 draw with Birmingham City on 4