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
Damien Comolli Andy Carroll, on January 2011's transfer deadline day, with Carroll's signing breaking the record for most expensive British player ever and eighth most expensive player in history, overtaking Wayne Rooney. On 22 March 2011, Comolli was appointed as the director of football at Liverpool. In an interview, he stated the role covers pretty much the whole football side of running the football club, although he does not get involved in team training or selection. In the summer transfer window for the 2011–12 season, Comolli helped Liverpool sign Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing, Doni, José Enrique, Sebastián Coates and Craig