Arsene Wenger says Paul Pogba’s proposed £100 million (Dh486m) move to Manchester United represents the “complete madness” of the modern transfer market.
France midfielder Pogba is reportedly set to join United for a nine-figure sum and Arsenal manager Wenger, who is currently in Los Angeles with the Gunners ahead of a pre-season friendly meeting with Chivas, suggested he would not pay over the odds for any player.
Quoted in Tuttosport, he said: “It’s complete madness when measured against real life, but we live in a world in which everything that happens is geared towards moving money around.
“It’s complete madness – but it seems that if you can afford to do it, you can justify it. Football has become a global competition and that is why clubs are chucking these kinds of sums around.
“Does it make sense because the player can deliver a return on that investment? I don’t think anyone can make that call.
“Since I’ve been in the game I’ve always thought there would be a limit to how much clubs could spend on a player but it looks like I’ve been proved wrong.
“Maybe in a few years’ time we’ll be talking about fees of 200 or 300 million.”
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The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes. Portland is a 260 km drive from Seattle and Emirates offers codeshare flights to Portland with its partner Alaska Airlines.
The car
Hertz (www.hertz.ae) offers compact car rental from about $300 per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.
Parks and accommodation
For information on Crater Lake National Park, visit www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm . Because of the altitude, large parts of the park are closed in winter due to snow. While the park’s summer season is May 22-October 31, typically, the full loop of the Rim Drive is only possible from late July until the end of October. Entry costs $25 per car for a day. For accommodation, see www.travelcraterlake.com. For information on Umpqua Hot Springs, see www.fs.usda.gov and https://soakoregon.com/umpqua-hot-springs/. For Bend, see https://www.visitbend.com/.
