Revelers dance at a Jacarezinho samba school practice session ahead of Carnival celebrations on February 16, 2014 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Jacarezinho “favela” was previously controlled by drug traffickers and is now occupied by the city's Police Pacification Unit (UPP). Carnival officially begins February 28, but pre-Carnival celebrations are already underway. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Surrender by Jenkin Van Zyl, a surreal installation at Fact Liverpool on November 16, 2023 featuring film and sculptural works inside a large inflatable silver rat. (Photo by James Glossop/The Times)

A model displays a creation for designer Andres Sarda's Fall/Winter 2015 collection, during the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Madrid, February 7, 2015. (Photo by Javier Barbancho/Reuters)

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 model displays a creation by French designer Isagus Toche, during eco-clothing fashion show from recycled materials in Kiev, Ukraine, on 23 June 2017. (Photo by Stepan Franko/EPA/EFE)

Actress Penelope Cruz attends a photocall promoting the film “Chromophobia” at the Palais during the 58th International Cannes Film Festival May 21, 2005 in Cannes, France. (Photo by M. J. Kim/Getty Images)

An aerial image shows hot air balloons, mostly made from recycled paper and tied with ropes, floating in the air during the annual hot air balloon festival, held since 1950 to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the Islamic holiday marking the end of Ramadan, in Wonosobo, Central Java, on April 2, 2025. (Photo by Devi Rahman/AFP Photo)

A Sumatran Tiger looks at visiting children from it's enclosure during the ZSL London Zoo's annual stocktake of animals on January 5, 2015 in London, England. The zoo's annual stocktake requires keepers to check on the numbers of every one of the 800 different animal species, including every invertebrate, bird, fish, mammal, reptile, and amphibian. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)