You want Karim Benzema? You'll have to give up the entire nation of Kiribati...and then some. The 20-year old Lyon striker is the newest target for Manchester United, but he's not coming cheap. Lyon have set the bar at 45 million pounds, or about $90 million. This money isn't going to the player; it's just going to the team, with Benzema to get a fat contract on top of that. The best part? Even the manager that wants him doesn't think he's world-class...yet. Sir Alex Ferguson believes "Karim, like Steven [Gerrard,Liverpool's captain], will be among the world's top 50 players one day" (emphasis added).
I can't understand why they would pay just 1 million pounds less than the all-time transfer record (Zinedine Zidane, Juventus to Real Madrid) for someone who won't destroy everyone immediately. When Zidane went from Juventus to Real Madrid for 46 million pounds he was recognized as one of the top 3 players in the world. Benzema can't justify that high of a transfer price, so either Lyon is just trying to scare everyone off or Man U will be making repeat trips to Saudi Arabia to pay off the fee.
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Hey Jason,
Did you happen to see any pictures of that guy's ankle getting snapped at a 90-degree angle during a british socer game? I think it was a player from Arsenal. I saw it in a newspaper here in soccer-crazed argentina. Totally brutal.
Hope you're doing well in DC.
Sounds a bit like Dice-K, doesn't it? I'm slightly hazy on the details, but I believe that the Japanese team he played for got $50 million to let him go. I don't think there's much difference between that and Man U buying the best players. Just thought I'd toss that one in.
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