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.

Short answer: no.

I know, this answer was a little too short, so let me explain in a little more detail.

Imagine tossing a coin. Normally, any normal coin toss has two possible outcomes - heads or tails - with each one having a 50% chance of happening. Ideally, that is, because factors like the force of your finger tossing the coin, gravity, the wind, the moon phase and a passing TARDIS can all influence the outcome of the toss - but I have deviated from the subject.

Ice Age – Tibet, China. “This is the Chinese version of the blue ice lake, Pumoungcuo, at an altitude of 5,070 metres (16,600 feet). This lake in Tibet freezes every winter. At night, under the low temperatures of -20C, you can listen to the sound of the ice cracking while capturing the most beautiful winter sky. The blue ice surface and dazzling Orion constellation create a fantasy landscape. I felt so happy to have the stars as my companion on this magical night”. (Photo by Daniel Zafra Portill/Milky Way Photographer of the Year)

Motorcycle enthusiast Gilbert Delos Reyes rides with his pet dog Bogie, in Kawit, Cavite, Philippines, November 26, 2020. (Photo by Eloisa Lopez/Reuters)

A young macaque perches on a pole, observing nearby tourists while eating some seeds in Jigokudani Yaen-koen wild macaque monkey park on February 16, 2015 in Yamanouchi, Nagano, Japan. (Photo by Manuel Romaris/Getty Images)

A surfer heads out at Coldingham Bay an inlet in the North Sea on February 15, 2012 in Coldingham, Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

Kashmiri villagers inspecting a house damaged in a gun battle flee from it after hearing rumors of Indian army soldiers returning back to the site, which turned out to be false, in Kundalan village, some 60 Kilometres south of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Tuesday, July 10, 2018. Government forces fired at protesters Tuesday in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing a teenage boy and wounding at least 120 more who had been trying to reach the site of a gunbattle in which soldiers killed two rebels, police and residents said. (Photo by Dar Yasin/AP Photo)

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)