A participant poses for a photograph at the annual Easter Parade and Bonnet Festival in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S. on April 1, 2018. (Photo by Gaia Squarci/Reuters)

An armed police officer checks the documents of a cyclist at a checkpoint placed to implement a curfew in the country's capital amid rising coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases, in Caloocan City, Metro Manila, Philippines, March 16, 2021. (Photo by Eloisa Lopez/Reuters)

Members of the media document a damaged train carriage extracted from a tunnel after the deadly train derailment north of Hualien, Taiwan on April 6, 2021. (Photo by Ann Wang/Reuters)

A bull savar (jockey) guides his bulls as he competes in a bull race on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan July 1, 2018. (Photo by Faisal Mahmood/Reuters)

Visitors buy flowers at a flower market on the eve of Hindu goddess Durga Puja festival in Bangalore, India, 10 October 2016. The nine-day Hindu festival celebrates the killing of a demon king by the Goddess Durga representing the victory of good over evil and ends with colourful celebrations all over the country. Navratri festival runs from 03 to 11 October. (Photo by Jagadeesh N.V./EPA)

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.

A local boy plays football on Iracema Beach on June 11, 2014 in Fortaleza, Brazil. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Climate change activists dressed up as black birds protest in St. Ives, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Cornwall, Britain, June 11, 2021. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)