The £85 Million Man: Is Bale Worth It?

                       In one of the summer's most drawn-out transfer sagas, Welsh winger Gareth Bale has finally got his wish and will don the famous white shirt for Real Madrid this season. In what has been reported as a world record fee of £85.3 Million, eclipsing the £80 Million that Madrid paid Manchester United for Cristiano Ronaldo back in 2008, Bale will have to bear the burden of that enormous fee. In this post, I will be looking back at the history of the world transfer record, and its progression through the decades. I will also be assessing Bale's abilities, asking whether he will be able to live up to that price tag, and, even more basic, whether he was worth that money in the first place?

                        Transfers between clubs were introduced a short while after player registrations in 1885. Transfer fees soon followed, as clubs realised that their players were financial assets. This led to the transfer record being set at £100 for West Bromwich Albion's Willie Groves, paid by Aston Villa. 12 years later, Middlesbrough would break the £1,000 mark for Sunderland's Alf Common. By 1928, that figure had added another 0, with Bolton Wanderers's David Jack transferring to Herbert Chapman's Arsenal for a fee of £10,890. The 1929 Wall Street Crash prevented the European clubs further breaking the record, but it did little to stem spending on transfer fees, with the next record set just 3 years later. Argentinian side River Plate bought Bernabe Ferreyra from fellow Argentine club Tigre for £23,000, more than doubling the previous record. That record remained until after the Second World War, with Derby County's £24,000 bid for Manchester United's Johnny Morris.

                           A year later, the record was £30,000, as Aston Villa sold Trevor Ford to Sunderland. After the half way point of the century, the records started to tumble as the price escalated. In 1952, the record had passed the £50,000 mark, with the first of seven consecutive Italian based records. Atalanta's Hans Jeppson was sold to Napoli for £52,000. Within two years, that had increased to £72,000, as AC Milan bought Penarol's Juan Schiaffino. The next landmark was passed in 1961, as Inter Milan's bid for Barcelona's Luis Suarez (not the bitey one) passed the six figure mark, at £152,000. Two years later, another landmark was passed, as Roma paid the first ever quarter of a million pounds fee for Mantova's Angelo Sormani. By 1968, that had doubled, with Pietro Anastasi bringing Varese £500,000 of Juventus's cash. After Johan Cruyff's move to Barcelona in 1973 for a fee of £922,000, the £1 Million mark was finally broken as Napoli paid £1.2 Million for Bologna's Giuseppe Savoldi. This would spark an even more rapid acceleration in fees.

                             The passing of the £1 Million mark was a significant point in football transfer history, as within ten years of that point, the record had quintupled. A year after Savoldi's transfer, Paolo Rossi added another £500,000 to the record, transferring from Vicenza to Juventus. Then came a pair of records for the same man, just two years apart. The world's best player at the time, and arguably of all time, Diego Maradona, smashed the record in 1982, moving from Argentinian side Boca Juniors to Barcelona for a fee of £3 Million. After the briefest of spells with the Catalan side, he was on the move again two years later, breaking his own record with a £5 Million move to Napoli. That record would not last until the end of the decade however, with Ruud Gullit's 1987 transfer from PSV Eindhoven to AC Milan adding another £1 Million to the record. Just 5 years later, we saw the start of the 'modern era' of transfer fees, with the inaugural £10 Million transfer for Marseille's Jean-Pierre Papin from AC Milan. That record would not last a year, with first Gianluca Vialli's move to Juventus (£12 Million) and then Gianluigi Lentini's to AC Milan (£13 Million).

                               The final English team to break the world transfer record to date occurred in 1996, with the return of the 'prodigal son' Alan Shearer to his hometown Newcastle United from Blackburn, for a fee of £15 Million. At the time, this transfer was considered to be obscene. Few could have predicted the course the next 15 or so years would take in terms of finances. For each of the next 5 years, the transfer record was repeatedly broken. 1997 saw Brazilian legend Ronaldo move from Barcelona to Inter Milan for a reported £19.5 Million. In 1998, Denilson would add another £2.5 Million to this, taking the total past the £20 Million mark with his move to Real Betis. The following year, Christian Vieri's move from Lazio to Inter Milan blitzed this, with a fee of £32 Million. And still the spending did not stop. The turn of the millenium saw the record broken twice, with firstly Hernan Crespo's move to Lazio from Parma (£35.5 Million), before Luis Figo made the controversial move across the El Clasico line from Barcelona to Real Madrid for £37 Million. This marked the beginning of the Real Madrid dominance in terms of transfer records, as another three would follow.

                                A year later, in 2001, Zinedine Zidane saw the completion of the famous 'Galacticos' of the early 2000's. His transfer from Juventus for £46.6 Million completed an unbelievable run of spending from the Spanish side, and many believed that the fee commanded by the Italians would never be beaten. It certainly ended the run of yearly record-breaking, leaving a good 8 years before the next record. However, the Real Madrid spending of the late 90s and early 2000's sparked an inflated price for all footballers, and £10-20 Million fees became commonplace in Europe's top leagues. By 2009, financial powerhouses like Chelsea, and then Manchester City were beginning to come to the fore, but the election of Real Madrid chairman Florentino Perez sparked another bout of staggering spending. He firstly spent £56 Million on Brazil's playmaker Kaka, who had led AC Milan to Champions League glory two seasons before, and then obliterated that record just two months later, landing Manchester United's prolific forward Cristiano Ronaldo for a ridiculous £80 Million. This is the record that Gareth Bale has outdone with his transfer today.

                                 Or has he? If we adjust the previous transfer records for inflation since the records were made, we see some vast increases. Here are a few notable changes. The very first transfer record, set by Willie Groves in 1885 at £100, would today be worth £10,417.26. The first £10,000 transfer, set in 1928, David Jack, would now cost £578,804.59, and the 1952 £52,000 transfer of Hans Jeppson would set a modern club back £1,267,432.40. These changes indicate the relative value of players to today's standards, as a £1.2 Million player would be considered a steal. Even Diego Maradona, considered one of the best players ever to have played, cannot challenge the value of his contemporary peers. His 1984 move to Napoli for £5 Million would cost just £13,626,500.00, or less than Wilfried Zaha. Whilst the young Englishman looks a prospect, few would expect him to be in the same league as the Argentine.

                                   As we moved into the modern day era, here we can begin to discover whether Bale really is the world's most valuable player. Alan Shearer's 1996 fee of £15 Million equates to £23,848,500, Luis Figo's 2000 £37 Million transfer becomes £52,784,200, and Zinedine Zidane, the most expensive of the Galaticos at £46.6 Million in 2001, gets even closer at £65,305,240. He beats Kaka (£63 Million), but even he remains a good £20 Million away from the Bale fee. Only Cristiano Ronaldo's £80 Million price is left between Bale and the MVP accolade. However, in the four years that have passed since that transfer, inflation has taken the value of Ronaldo past the £90 Million mark, at a grand total of £90,848,000.00. This makes Ronaldo the most valuable player in the history of association football, but Bale retains the 'highest transfer fee commanded' tag.

                                    Semantics aside, £85.3 Million is a whole lot of money to pay for an individual player. So is the Welshman worth it? I will start by assessing whether Bale will be able to live up to the pressure of the £85.3 Million price tag placed on his shoulders, before comparing his attributes to that of previous greats to determine whether he is worth that relative to other players. A major concern for clubs when agreeing a deal for that amount is whether the numbers will act as a weight on the back of the player in question. I will give an example. Fernando Torres, at both Atletico Madrid and Liverpool, was a scoring machine. Consistently into 20/30 goals a season, his £15 Million transfer from Spain to Merseyside seemed a bargain, and it evidently put no pressure on him. However, Chelsea's January 2011 £50 Million move for the Spaniard seemingly pressurised him. 'El Nino's' spark was gone, and he has yet to fully recover, having failed to trouble the top goalscorers in the Premier League since his big money move down South. The worry is that Bale will react in a similar way. Having arrived at Spurs for a mere £10 Million back in 2007, the winger has had no expectations thrust upon him, and as a result has been able to ride the crest of the wave. Now, he will instantly find every move he makes under intense scrutiny. Some players can handle it, and some cannot.

                                      However, one of his new teammates knows all about the pressure of a big price tag. Cristiano Ronaldo has thrived since his £80 Million move from Man United in 2009, and he will undoubtedly play a significant role in ensuring Bale stays at the top of his game. The Portuguese striker has been in Bale's place, and will be able to give the Welshman valuable advice on dealing with the pressure. I am not saying that Bale will not have wobbles, or find himself out of form at times, but he will have someone that understands his situation, and will be able to help him through the hard times.

                                       But is Bale really worth £85 Million? How do his abilities compare with those of his fellow record breakers? He is certainly no better at passing than Zidane, or any quicker than Ronaldo, or better at finishing than Vieri, but he does have that spark. The ability to create something out of nothing is a rare one indeed, and you see it in so few top players. As for the valuation placed on that ability, I think that unless he single-handledly wins them multiple Champions League titles, which is highly unlikely, he will not come close to paying back that amount. I personally disagree with the idea that any footballer is worth that sum, however, perhaps it is best to say that it is similar to art. It is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

Tottenham Hotspur: Does The Season Hinge On Bale?

2012/2013: 5th

Transfer(s) In: Nacer Chadli (FC Twente, £7 Million), Paulinho (Corinthians, £17 Million), Roberto Soldado (Valencia, £26 Million), Etienne Capoue (Toulouse, £9 Million), Vladimir Chiriches (Steaua Bucharest, £7.5 Million), Erik Lamela (AS Roma, £25 Million), Christian Eriksen (Ajax, £11 Million)

Transfer(s) Out: Tom Huddlestone (Hull, Undisc), Tom Livermore (Hull, Loan), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders, £6 Million), Steven Caulker (Cardiff, £8 Million), David Bentley, William Gallas (Released), Scott Parker (Fulham, Undisc), Gareth Bale (Real Madrid, £85.3 Million)

Transfers Review:

                                                    Andre Villas Boas has been tasked with bringing Champions League football to White Hart Lane in 2014, and to do that he has made signings totalling over £110 Million. All will add massively to the current Spurs squad, but the most interesting signing for me is Paulinho. The young Brazilian defensive midfielder is the ideal signing for Spurs, who have lacked bite and flair in the central positions. Paulinho impressed me with his performances at the Confederations Cup, and I am certain that he will be an excellent addition to Tottenham's squad. The other position the Lily Whites desperately needed at the end of last season was an out and out striker, with only the aging Jermain Defoe, and the out of touch Emmanuel Adebayor to show for the forward line. This left a heavy burden on the midfield to score goals, a feat which was taken by one man. However, Spurs have attempted to rectify this situation for the new season, with 29 year old Roberto Soldado being recruited from Valencia. A bit of a risk, as at 29, his best years are probably behind him, making £26 Million a lot to pay. However, his clinical finishing and awareness means that I still think he will propel Spurs towards that 4th spot this year.

                                                      Other than those two, AVB has strengthened their already abundantly talented wings, with Nacer Chadli being brought in from Holland, and, more recently, another central midfielder has joined the side, in the form of Etienne Capoue. Both of these will probably be used as cover for the first team, but they are both high quality players, and simply go to show the strength in depth that Spurs have at White Hart Lane. In the days leading up to the deadline, Vladimir Chiriches, Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen would all be signed to cover for Gareth Bale, who eventually moved to Madrid.

                                                      In terms of outgoings, Spurs's summer has been dominated by the attention that last year's PFA Player of the Year Gareth Bale has been receiving from Real Madrid. With the Spanish side reported to have offered a world record £85 Million for the winger, chairman Daniel Levy has apparently had to issue a hands-off warning to the La Liga giants. However, the longer this saga dragged on, the more it appeared that the Welshman would be on his way to Madrid this summer, especially seeing as Tottenham could not offer him the Champions League football he so craved. This was the case on Sunday 1st September, as the world record deal was finally concluded. Other than this, Tottenham have managed to hold onto many of their star names from previous seasons, with Clint Dempsey and William Gallas the regular starters for the Lily Whites to have departed.

Pre-Season:

                                                       Tottenham began their pre-season preparations with a game away at Swindon Town, before setting off to take part in the Barclays Asia Trophy in Hong Kong. After a Gareth Bale goal to hand Spurs the lead, Swindon levelled and held on to claim a 1-1 draw. Just before Tottenham set off on their Asia Trophy adventure, the news broke that Real Madrid were interested in the Welsh forward. Around that time, the forward got a mysterious 'injury', ruling him out of the competition, and, as it proved, the rest of Tottenham's pre-season.

                                                        In his absence, the Tottenham squad had a poor first performance against Sunderland in their semi-final, eventually losing the game 3-1. The following day they played the third place playoff match against South China. Here we saw the North London side back to their best, with goals from Dempsey, Townsend, an own goal and a hat-trick from Defoe gave them a 6-0 victory on an awful playing surface. After the disappointment of losing the chance to play for a trophy, Spurs moved back to Europe to play an exhibition match against big spending Monaco in the principality. Here, their Champions League credentials were tested, and they came up very short. A Radamel Falcao hat-trick condemned Spurs to their second pre-season defeat, this time conceding 5 in a 5-2 demolition. Spurs finished their turbulent preparation with a 1-1 draw against Espanyol, not exactly propelling them into a league season. The Gareth Bale saga still rumbles on, and threatens to derail their start.

Key Players:

                                                          This could prove to be a big season for Aaron Lennon. The English wide man will find himself under increasing pressure from the likes of Nacer Chadli this season, but normally, the best players will perform best when under pressure for their places. I feel that this will be the season that we see the speed freak back to his best, terrorising defences both domestically and on the continent with his pace, and providing many goals for his team mates.

                                                           Jan Vertonghen will also need to carry his excellent form from last season into this campaign if Spurs are to go one better this time around. The Belgian got progressively better and better as the season went on, and I would not be surprised if he became the rock at the back for the Lily Whites this season.

Key Fixture Dates:

01/09/2013: Arsenal vs Tottenham
28/09/2013: Tottenham vs Chelsea
03/11/2013: Everton vs Tottenham
23/11/2013: Manchester City vs Tottenham
30/11/2013: Tottenham vs Manchester United
14/12/2013: Tottenham vs Liverpool
01/01/2014: Manchester United vs Tottenham
29/01/2014: Tottenham vs Manchester City
08/02/2014: Tottenham vs Everton
08/03/2014: Chelsea vs Tottenham
15/03/2014: Tottenham vs Arsenal
29/03/2014: Liverpool vs Tottenham

Top Goalscorer:

                                                           After the big money signing, I would be very surprised if Roberto Soldado didn't finish up as the Tottenham top scorer this season. His international and continental experience will provide him with an excellent basis for scoring goals in whatever competition he wants. I don't necessarily expect him to win the Golden Boot this year, but a 20 goal season is the least that Spurs fans can expect after the massive amount that was spent to bring him to London.


Prediction:

                                                           In reality, the two major contenders for the fourth place finish this season are the two North London clubs, with Liverpool the dark horse. Based solely on the squads, you would have to say that seeing as Arsenal have failed to add to theirs, whilst Tottenham have now got strength in all areas after spending that £110 Million, I would have to conclude that Spurs are now the favourites for the final Champions League spot. I still fancy them to just nick it whatever happens, but it certainly has potential to be the most interesting season yet.

Tottenham Hotspur 2013/2014: 4th