Japan's Chinami Yoshida shouts instructions to teammates during a women's curling semifinal match between Japan and Switzerland at the Beijing Winter Olympics Friday, February 18, 2022, in Beijing. (Photo by Nariman El-Mofty/AP Photo)

Celera Barnes of the United States trains during a warm up session before the start of the World Athletics Indoor Championships at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, Thursday, February 29, 2024. (Photo by Bernat Armangue/AP Photo)

Winner Petra Vlhova from Slovakia celebrates on the podium of the FIS women's World Cup slalom in Zagreb, the “Snow Queen Trophy 2022”, on January 4, 2022. (Photo by Antonio Bronic/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.

Tourists wearing hats pose for a photo next to a Christmas tree on Christmas Day at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 25, 2024. (Photo by David Gray/AFP Photo)

Britain's Emma Raducanu attends a practice session ahead of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 13, 2022. (Photo by Mike Frey/AFP Photo)

French-Swiss street artist Saype poses as he works on his artwork on a floating barge over the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey on October 23, 2020, as part of the “Beyond Walls” project to create a spray-painted “human chain” across the world to encourage humanity and equality. (Photo by Murad Sezer/Reuters)

(L-R) Charlotte Lawrence and Olivia Rodrigo attend the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 02, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)