Amateur contestants (L-R) Phil Bailey, John Hindle and Eren Emir pose in telephone booths during the annual European Elvis Tribute Artist Contest and Convention in Birmingham, central England January 2, 2015. (Photo by Darren Staples/Reuters)

A security personnel detains a suspect after a blast in Kabul, November 25, 2014. A powerful explosion shook houses in the diplomatic quarter of Kabul on Tuesday, but there were no casualties in the second such incident in the Afghan capital in a single day, officials said. “Someone threw a hand grenade and he was apprehended”, said Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the interior ministry. The suspect was being interrogated but his motive and target were still unclear, he added. (Photo by Omar Sobhani/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.

Mammal Photographer of the Year and Mammal Society Member’s prize winner: Foxhall Zafira by Roger Cox. (Photo by Roger Cox/Mammal Photographer of the Year 2020)

Spain's Paula Badosa gives a thumbs up after falling on the court during her women's singles semi-final match against Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka on day twelve of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 23, 2025. (Photo by David Gray/AFP Photo)

A rail worker fixing a fog warning notice at South Woodford Railway Station in Essex. (Photo by H. F. Davis/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images). 20th October 1938

A hot air balloon flies close to the ground in the Jezreel Valley in northern Israel during an international hot air balloon festival October 14, 2014. (Photo by Nir Elias/Reuters)