Mariam, a 9-year-old girl, carries her brother as she stands with other children at an underground ancient cemetery in Jabal al-Zawiya in the southern countryside of Idlib November 26, 2014. Residents are using ancient caves and cemeteries as underground shelters to hide in during shelling from forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. Picture taken November 26, 2014. (Photo by Khalil Ashawi/Reuters)

In this Sunday, August 5, 2018 photo, a dancer winces in pain as she is whipped by a fellow dancer in an adaptation of the Inca warrior dance known as “Kachampa”, during celebrations honoring Our Lady of Copacabana, in Cuzco, Peru. (Photo by Martin Mejia/AP Photo)

People react following an Israeli air strike on Palestinian houses, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 12, 2023. (Photo by Fadi Shana/Reuters)

Britain's Emma Raducanu hits a return against Sloane Stephens of the US during their women's singles match on day two of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 18, 2022. (Photo by James Gourley/Reuters)

A surfer dressed as Santa Claus participates in the 16th annual “Surfing Santas” event on Christmas Eve in Cocoa Beach, Florida, December 24, 2024. (Photo by Giorgio Viera/AFP Photo)

People dressed in national clothes sing songs during the regional harvest festival in the town of Dyatlovo, Belarus, November 13, 2015. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

A woman takes part in the Watermelon Games at the 55th annual California Watermelon festival in Los Angeles, California on July 29, 2017. The day has become a tradition because watermelons have long been the prized crop of the eastern San Fernando foothills. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

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.