Football transfers are not cheap. To have a player strengthen their ranks, teams are willing to pay big money. The football transfer considered to be the most expensive in the sport's history was that of Gareth Bale leaving Tottenham to play at Real Madrid. The Spanish club paid not less than £86 million (about $133 million at today's exchange rates) to have the player among its own. But recent news suggest that this record might be broken this year. According to reports in the media, UK Premier League team Manchester United is willing to almost double that amount.

The hard-worked hands of Jacaba Coaquira, 80, holding the green beans she grew on her land. This year the production of her land was affected by lack of rain and early cold weather that froze the crops before they finished growing. Santiago de Okola, Bolivia. (Photo by Renée C. Byer/Living on a Dollar a Day)

Women take selfies as they wait for the subway at Penn Station, New York, December 26, 2023. (Photo by Charly Triballeau/AFP Photo)

Winner of the National Park Foundation's photo contest; Honorable Mention: Fan Favorite. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. Three friends enjoy sunrise over the Grand Canyon. (Photo by Peter Blanchard)

“David Doubilet (born 28 November 1946) is a well known underwater photographer known primarily for his work published in National Geographic Magazine. He was born in New York and started taking photos underwater at the young age of 12. He started with a Brownie Hawkeye in a rubber anesthesiologist's bag to keep the water out of the camera. During his summer holidays, he spent his time along the New Jersey coast. He later worked as a diver and photographer for the Sandy Hook Marine Laboratories in New Jersey. He also spent much time in the Caribbean. While a dive instructor in the Bahamas he found his motivation to capture the beauty of the sea and everything in it”. – Wikipedia. (Photo by David Doubilet/National Geographic)

A model falls while displaying a design from Wu Xuewei and Wu Xuekai, winners of the Asahi Kasei China Fashion Designer Award during China Fashion Week held in Beijing, China, Friday, October 29, 2010. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

A visitor and autumn foliage are reflected in the lake at Stourhead gardens in Wiltshire, Britain, November 2, 2018. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

American students going wild during their Spring Break week-long recess in Cancun, Mexico on March 10, 2007. (Photo by Keystone USA/ZUMA Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)