Football FanCast

Leeds struck gold with the signing of Ross McCormack in 2010

Leeds United struck gold with the signing of Ross McCormack from Cardiff in the summer of 2010.

Leeds United cashed in on two of their best players during the recent summer transfer window as they allowed Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips to depart the club.

Barcelona reportedly agreed a £55m deal for the Brazilian winger and Premier League champions Manchester City paid a fee in the region of £45m to sign the England international.

Transfermarkt have these two transfers down as being the two most expensive departures in the history of the club, ahead of the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Jonathan Woodgate.

Another player the club sold for big money in the past was striker Ross McCormack, who was signed by Simon Grayson from Cardiff City in the summer of 2010.

The Whites paid a reported fee of £350k to sign him from the Bluebirds after scoring 30 goals and assisting five in 88 appearances for the Welsh side.

He had found the back of the net 21 times in 33 Championship matches in the 2008/09 campaign but failed to build on that as he mustered up four goals and three assists in 34 outings the following season, which led to Leeds signing him for less than half a million.

The Scotsman endured a tough start to life at Elland Road as he scored twice and set-up one goal in 20 games during his first year at the club.

This was only a hiccup along the way, though, as he then kicked on and enjoyed three phenomenal seasons in Yorkshire, scoring 51 goals and assisting 29 in 123 Championship appearances.

His form caught Fulham's eye and the Cottagers snapped him up from Elland Road for a fee reported to be worth a whopping £11m in the summer of 2014.

The move did not come without controversy, though, as former owner Massimo Cellino revealed that he was forced to cash in on the striker due to his relationship with the gem.

He said:

"I like to be in control of situations but it felt like he wasn't my player. I was disrespected, he was aggressive with me.
"It wasn't in my mind to sell McCormack, it wasn't my plan, but I had no choice. He's a bloody good player and I'm not going to pretend that he isn't but he didn't respect me and it wasn't possible to keep him." Irrespective of the problems that led to his eventual sale, Grayson struck gold for Leeds by signing him from Cardiff in 2010 as the club ended up making an enormous 3043% profit on the £350k they initially paid for his services. He made the Whites a huge amount of money and provided them with years of quality on the pitch with his goals and assists in the Championship, which is why he was a terrific signing by their former manager.