After a HK$1b transfer, Gareth Bale must now show he is the Real deal
He is good, but is he that good? The fortune paid by the Madrid side for the Welsh winger is more about showmanship than sportsmanship
Real Madrid paying gazillions for Gareth Bale is the football equivalent of a fat cat using flaming banknotes to light up his cigars. In the middle of biting economic crisis in Spain, it looks wasteful and nonsensical.
If stacked in a pile of €50 notes, the fee that Real are paying to north London club Tottenham for the winger would stretch far higher than the second floor of the Eiffel Tower.
Exactly how much higher wasn't immediately clear, because the clubs, officially at least, did not disclose the financial details. The word in London was that Bale sold for €100 million (HK$1 billion), which would be a world record for football.
Reports from Spain spoke of €91 million, hardly a snip. It was in Real's interests to leak that lower figure to reporters. It means that Cristiano Ronaldo, Real's preening superstar, can continue to claim the mantle of being the world's most expensive footballer. Real paid £80 million (then €93 million) to Manchester United for him in 2009.
Either way, €90 million or €100 million for Bale is plain silly. He is simply not worth that much money. At least, not yet.
A fortune like that for Lionel Messi, four-time world player of the year, would be easier to understand. He has scored more competitive goals than anyone for Barcelona and won everything there is to win with that club.