The Gareth Bale Swap Shop

In 2013, footballer Gareth Bale transferred from Tottenham Hotspur (England) to Real Madrid (Spain) for the fee of £85,000,000. Don't ask me how I got to know this, I have no clue how I landed on the Wikipedia page of the most expensive football transfers.

But as usual when these massive figures are thrown around for some guy to kick a football, I wondered what the money could have been spent on.

Health

Nurses in London (where Tottenham Hotspur are based) earn a starting salary of £21,388. So, Real Madrid could have purchased 3,974 nurses for a year; or 397 nurses for 10 years.

Doctors in London earn on average £60,000. Real Madrid could have purchased 1,416 doctors for a year; or 141 doctors for 10 years.

Alcohol

In London a pint of bargain ale costs £3.60. Real Madrid could have purchased 23,611,111 pints; a million pints for each of the 23 members of the Real Madrid squad. Or if you wanted the whole country to join in the whole population of Spain (46,818,216) could have had half a pint to celebrate something.

Investment

The price of gold is £788.74 per ounce. Real Madrid could have purchased 107,766.8 ounces of gold. Gareth Bale weighs 74 Kilos (2,610.27 ounces), so they could have had 41 gold statues of Gareth Bale made.

The average property price in London is £514,000. Real Madrid could have purchased 165 homes in the London area.

Charity

There are approximately 6,437 homeless people in London. Real Madrid could have given each one £13,204.90 each. More than enough to give each one a new start.

Crime

Heroin is selling at £56,000 per kilogram in London. So, Real Madrid could have purchased 1,517.85 kilograms. Travel to the Republic of Georgia, supposedly the most expensive place to buy heroin, sell all of it and make enough to buy 5 Gareth Bales.

Although transporting over 1,500 kilograms of heroin will most likely end in a prison term, so best avoided.

And as I wrote this there was some news on the TV, in the background, saying that the figure £200,000,000 is being thrown around for Lionel Messi. So take all the figures and times them by 2.35. As an example you can now get 9,338 nurses for a year.

I'm pretty sure Spain needs nurses, doctors, and places for homeless people more than an overpriced footballer that is being paid to do what most school kids do each week for their school for free.

Just a thought.