Really? 90 million quid?

[Sussex Nomad]

Is this a piss take? 90 million for the third best midfielder in France?

 

[atomised]

Im more surprised at the stat that its the first time in 20 years an english club has paid a world record fee.

 

[Sussex Nomad]

It, to me, brings into question the likes of Mourihnio, Guardiola, and all these 'top' managers. If all managers had the ridiculous money they spend they'd all be world beaters. Football has gone mad.

 

[Pintos]

 

[Mo Gosfield]

It, to me, brings into question the likes of Mourihnio, Guardiola, and all these 'top' managers. If all managers had the ridiculous money they spend they'd all be world beaters. Football has gone mad.

Football has gone mad and bears no relation to the real world.
Those with an agenda, i.e those making a very nice living out of football, argue that its market forces. It isn't. Its an artificially rigged market ( like housing ) to benefit players and agents. They hold all the cards now and know they can hold clubs to ransom. Ego-inflated billionaires play the game, determined to outbid rivals, irrespective of cost. Most clubs are technically insolvent, relying almost entirely on tv revenue to pay vast salaries that eat up an incredible percentage of clubs turnover.
Manchester United have just spent their entire tv revenue on a former player that they let go for nothing. Is this a man that is going to score 35-40 goals a season or create plenty of goals for others?. Is he going to be the catalyst that springboards them to domestic and european honours? Is he going to add enough value to the balance sheet to justify costing £150-£200m over the next 3 years.
The biggest transfer fees have only ever been paid, in the past, to goal scorers. The truly world-class. If these sort of fees are now going to be paid for holding midfielders, then there really is no limit on what they will reach. Up and up go transfer fees. Up and up go wages. The game is now held to ransom by tv companies, players and agents. If you can't eat at the top table you have to live off scraps. Elitism rules and tough titty if you are outside this privileged group.
Fans sit back bemused by it all, wondering how any individual playing in a team environment can earn ten times what a teammate earns. £90m for a defensive midfielder. You couldn't make it up but its true. You could buy a house every week out of his wages. You could build a number of schools out of his transfer fee or employ literally hundreds of nurses or police officers or prison warders or youngsters looking for gainful employment.
Hang on though. Its not the real world, is it?

 

[Sussex Nomad]

I could not have put it better [MENTION=17103]Mo Gosfield[/MENTION] ... thanks for putting into words what I couldn't explain.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Ronaldo will be sulking.

 

[beorhthelm]

Pogba is a very good player but he is not the best midfiedder in the world. from the Euros, he does not look like a player who can single handedly turn a game with a moment of genius. this is not a Ronaldo, Bale, Suarez or Messi. even in todays inflated sense of players "value" i'd have been surprised on half that figure, i just dont see what they think he will do thats worth so much.

 

[el punal]

It, to me, brings into question the likes of Mourihnio, Guardiola, and all these 'top' managers. If all managers had the ridiculous money they spend they'd all be world beaters. Football has gone mad.

I wonder how the Man.Utd board will feel if all goes t*ts up by the end of the season - a collective failure by the manager, the team, and their most expensive player?

 

[Drebin]

It, to me, brings into question the likes of Mourihnio, Guardiola, and all these 'top' managers. If all managers had the ridiculous money they spend they'd all be world beaters. Football has gone mad.

I've been thinking this recently. It's taken the shine certainly off guardiola's potential success at city when he's come in and just spent vast amounts of money on players. Yes, his style has revolutionized and swept aside football for the last few years (with the help of messi and an already strong Bayern team) but he essentially needs the best players to be the best team just like anyone does.

 

[Drebin]

I wonder how the Man.Utd board will feel if all goes t*ts up by the end of the season - a collective failure by the manager, the team, and their most expensive player?

Could also be said of man city and Chelsea. It does make it interesting when the pl now has three managers that are used to winning, and of course wenger and Klopp who are used to being there or thereabouts.

Last season was great for the pl but next will see normal service resumed with the usual big 5/6 clubs dominating.

 

[Justice]

Man Utd have sold something near £100m of Zlatan Ibrahimović shirts, small change for them.

 

[Sussex Nomad]

I've been thinking this recently. It's taken the shine certainly off guardiola's potential success at city when he's come in and just spent vast amounts of money on players. Yes, his style has revolutionized and swept aside football for the last few years (with the help of messi and an already strong Bayern team) but he essentially needs the best players to be the best team just like anyone does.

Put them all on the same transfer fee and see how they do. I bet Hughton would be up there with the best.

 

[theboybilly]

Put them all on the same transfer fee and see how they do. I bet Hughton would be up there with the best.

And Pardew?

 

[Sussex Nomad]

And Pardew?

Nah

 

[Paul Reids Sock]

It's madness. An utterly disgusting amount of money to pay for someone, however I am desensitised to it all now. It's silly money but that is the way with football these days. As Mo said its not market forces it's billionaires wanting to outdo each other.

I love football, and I love watching it. As such i watch games from all over the world I am pretty sure I have only seen a handful of games where Pogba has been 'good' and never world class. He is young and will probably improve, he was played out of position at the Euros but, even out of position, the most expensive player in the world should offer something no matter where is is played

 

[Sussex Nomad]

I know it sounds socialist and a bit liberalised but 90 mill would pay for a hell of a lot of hospitals in Africa.

 

[Gwylan]

Most clubs are technically insolvent, relying almost entirely on tv revenue to pay vast salaries that eat up an incredible percentage of clubs turnover.

If they have vast TV revenue then they're not technically insolvent. Most clubs in the PL operate at a profit - most of them a very healthy one. And as Sky seem to be prepared to put in vast sums of money (and punters are happy to pay the ever-increasing subscriptions), it's not going to stop any time soon.

Man U can well afford this sort of money - he may not be worth it but it's scarcely going to bother the club (who'll just sell a few more shirts).

I'm more shocked at the £50m + that Everton want for Stones - a defender who can't defend and who isn't even a regular in a poor international team.

 

[beorhthelm]

Man Utd have sold something near £100m of Zlatan Ibrahimović shirts, small change for them.

really? 1.5m shirts sold?

 

[Titanic]

really? 1.5m shirts sold?

What price is a Man U shirt in China?