I think Spurs are an attacker and a couple of top quality defenders away from being real contenders for the title. Maybe not this season but next.
I'm not doubting his ability, I'm saying that Madrid's squad is one of the best in the world. He would be an improvement on it, but he won't change their season. 50 million is the most I'd pay for a player who has that affect on the team. Not 93 million.
He's definitely worth £100m imo. If you think about his potential alone - let alone how good he is - he is a cut above the players who are going for £50-60m; so got to go above that figure. And then with his age, he has to be more than £5/10m above that; and before you know it, why not round it up?
What I'm saying here, is that what Bale brings to Real Madrid is not worth £93 million. Man United won the title, and their key player cost them £23 million. If you look at the talent at Real Madrid already have, they are one of the best in the world, and are perfectly capable of winning any domestic or european trophies they turn up for. Spending an additional £93 million, on one player, is not 'worth it', in my opinion.
Of course it's not worth it. No footballer is worth anything like the money that is paid for them, whether it be £93K or £93M. It's what the market will bear, that is what counts. And the market says £93M and Real Madrid aren't laughing themselves hoarse at that amount. They seem to be prepared to pay, and Spurs may end up laughing all the way to the bank.
I just don't think it's necessarily what Madrid need, more of a luxury purchase, and blowing a world record fee on that isn't a wise move. When compared to other transfers, successful bargains and multi-million flops, £93 million is a lot more than any of these. A lot more. A price like this hasn't been seen anywhere else. I would understand Real Madrid's motives if this £93 million player would change their season and make their team 3 times better (Falcao to Monaco), but I don't believe it would. Spurs are definitely better off in this, by a mile.
A club the size of Real Madrid will make that money back though. Their whole methodology is to make superstar purchases and parade them in matches. Paying £93M just shows what they are capable of. It's the way they are.
They are making footballers more and more valuable because of their fearlessness to their spending. There will be players better than Bale, there already are, and that means they will cost £100+ million. This is why I think they are slightly foolish. I don't believe these figures are sustainable. Suarez could have cost Arsenal £50-60 million, and he would have made them a completely different team. That would have been a 'smart' transfer. Even at such a price. Edit: Sorry. For. The. Ugly Sentence. Structure.
I totally agree, it isn't sustainable. It's also immoral, in my opinion. However, it is interesting. Some may even call it great drama.
It's actually quite scary how 'big' it has become. I know this discussion and this opinion is very common and boring but it really is, the cars and the houses, the infrastructure, ******* Qatar getting the World Cup (doesn't even apply the 'u after q' rule, who do they think they are?) but I think it can only grow. The audience are 'fighting back' though, with increased popularity of live streaming and smaller attendances, but I guess the powers of football only see this as throwing a pebble at a tank.
There is also the quote, that is worth remembering, from the owner of an Italian club [maybe Roma..? Can't remember], several seasons ago, who said that, in future, stadium crowds may have to be bussed in and watch for free so that the worldwide TV audience will feel there is a little atmosphere. That's not as far-fetched as it initially seems. Must be getting tired. How's that for choppy sentence structuring..?
It doesn't matter how corrupt and sleazy they are, the majority of Italian football hierarchy is very passionate about football, and not just the money to be made in it. I have a strange respect for it/them. Plus, they all give Nicola nice player, thanks you for nice player
It's an odd mix, a bit of an 'anything can happen league' like Ligue 1, but to of a higher standard. Anyway, I'll stop with the off-topic stuff, and prepare myself to wake up to the news gathered from the 9am press conference. Sinclair signs. Jake Sinclair.
Great late night debate gents It's an obscene amount of money. 21 years ago Saints sold Alan Shearer for a British record 3.6m You could go and buy half a team with that, of course not a great team. Ken Monkou & Iain Dowie being two of the bigger signings. About 4-5 years later Newcastle paid £15m for the same guy and people said football had lost its head. Fast forward to today and the the next truly world class player to come from our academy is being sold for £93m . Every time you think football has got crazier and prices must have hit a ceiling they just get bigger. There is comment further up from Tom saying saints are getting zilch for this deal. It's £2m and a great example of how the value of money in football is obscene (if you needed reminding) Personally I won't be surprised if in Ten years time the standard price of a very good footballer is £50m-£60m much like £20m-£30m appears to be the standard now.
In truth though don't you think that there has to come a point when the pricing has to reach a ceiling? With the way it is going there is likely to be around 5/6 clubs in the world that will just dominate. Clubs with a capacity of less than around 45/50000 fans just will not be able to remotely compete. I truly cannot see that this is good for the game as a whole. In truth though I am not sure how you could easily or readily control it.
Italian football eh? Udinese are continuing work on the Friuli at current, expanding it and developing the surrounding area of the pitch. It also means they have scrapped their running track, bringing the stands closer to the pitch.
