GARETH BALE: A Cool £100mil - A Bit Irresponsible?
Gambling man rolls the dice, working man pays the bills, it's still fat and easy up on bankers hill. Up on bankers hill the party's going strong, down here below we're shackled and drawn - Shackled and Drawn (2012)
Barring science - things such as cancer eliminating medicine - is anything worth £100 million? But more to the point, is any footballer worth this enormous amount of money? This amount of money is "crazy" according to Arsenal's Arsene Wenger and it is probably safe to say that this is the exact thought of the majority of the world's population. John Charles, Welsh footballing great and ex Juventus and Leeds United player broke the British transfer record fee in 1957 when he joined the Italian club for £65,000, that was seen as an incredible amount of money back then and when there is more money in the world more of it is going to be spent. However, even by 2013 standards £100 million is a lot.
In a world where poverty has developed in to a relentless plague and where people are dying from preventable deceases, when you look at the greater picture it all seems a bit, well, disappointing. If this cool £100 mil that Real Madrid have to spare was given to, for example, comic relief then they could give 20 million children a vaccination that could save their lives. That really puts things in perspective doesn't it.
Football is a rich man's game and that has been the case for decades. We all recognise the pictures of premiere league footballers decked out in the latest Giorgio Armani Jeans, Jewels and the biggest Range Rover you have ever seen even though they live about as far from a dirt track as the man on the moon is from earth. The game is one of immense high stakes where managers are sacked on a routine basis if their team do not perform thus it makes complete (kind of - In footballing terms) sense to spend millions on a player that you know will perform and get you those all important results. Yet, £100 million - a bit too much?
If any member of the public was given the chance of banking a £100mil I am undoubtably sure that they would run to the bank without a second thought but it does look as though the footballing world is increasingly separating itself from the financial reality of the world that we live in today. Wales, where Bale is from, is currently suffering with an unemployment rate of nearly 8.5%. A very big number for a small country and with footballers earning more in a week than your average Joe does in a lifetime, the increasing wealth of these athletes doesn't do anything to relieve the relentless struggling of the poor. The thing that makes the whole £100 million even more confusing is that doctors and firemen do not earn anything close to this amount and yet they save the lives of hundreds of people each year.
There is no hiding from the fact that we are becoming an increasingly materialistic society where you are judged not on your moral behaviour like in the Early Modern period but instead on the latest technology we possess or the clothing on our back. But once more I ask - £100 million, really?
There is no doubting that Bale is a very rare talent and having watched him develop with Spurs the 24 year old was always going to get big offers as he performs well on the big stage. Having scored 31 goals during the 2012/13 season he has proved that he plays a vital part in a team win - exactly what a manager is looking for. When putting this 'crazy' amount of money into perspective we begin to see the enormity of it. £100 million is more than the price of Crystal Palace, Cardiff City and Hull City combined. One man could potentially be worth more that three premiere league clubs put together. Impressive.
Whether Bale goes for £100 million, £80 million or if he decides to stay at Spurs nobody is questioning his ability as a footballer. The thing that people are questioning however is the irresponsibility and morality of the amount of money being offered.
What are your thoughts on Bale's potentially record breaking offer?
Barring science - things such as cancer eliminating medicine - is anything worth £100 million? But more to the point, is any footballer worth this enormous amount of money? This amount of money is "crazy" according to Arsenal's Arsene Wenger and it is probably safe to say that this is the exact thought of the majority of the world's population. John Charles, Welsh footballing great and ex Juventus and Leeds United player broke the British transfer record fee in 1957 when he joined the Italian club for £65,000, that was seen as an incredible amount of money back then and when there is more money in the world more of it is going to be spent. However, even by 2013 standards £100 million is a lot.
In a world where poverty has developed in to a relentless plague and where people are dying from preventable deceases, when you look at the greater picture it all seems a bit, well, disappointing. If this cool £100 mil that Real Madrid have to spare was given to, for example, comic relief then they could give 20 million children a vaccination that could save their lives. That really puts things in perspective doesn't it.
Football is a rich man's game and that has been the case for decades. We all recognise the pictures of premiere league footballers decked out in the latest Giorgio Armani Jeans, Jewels and the biggest Range Rover you have ever seen even though they live about as far from a dirt track as the man on the moon is from earth. The game is one of immense high stakes where managers are sacked on a routine basis if their team do not perform thus it makes complete (kind of - In footballing terms) sense to spend millions on a player that you know will perform and get you those all important results. Yet, £100 million - a bit too much?
There is no hiding from the fact that we are becoming an increasingly materialistic society where you are judged not on your moral behaviour like in the Early Modern period but instead on the latest technology we possess or the clothing on our back. But once more I ask - £100 million, really?
There is no doubting that Bale is a very rare talent and having watched him develop with Spurs the 24 year old was always going to get big offers as he performs well on the big stage. Having scored 31 goals during the 2012/13 season he has proved that he plays a vital part in a team win - exactly what a manager is looking for. When putting this 'crazy' amount of money into perspective we begin to see the enormity of it. £100 million is more than the price of Crystal Palace, Cardiff City and Hull City combined. One man could potentially be worth more that three premiere league clubs put together. Impressive.
Whether Bale goes for £100 million, £80 million or if he decides to stay at Spurs nobody is questioning his ability as a footballer. The thing that people are questioning however is the irresponsibility and morality of the amount of money being offered.
What are your thoughts on Bale's potentially record breaking offer?
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