Viva Gareth Bale

[Manoverboard]

I didn't intend to imply that it didn't represent value for money for many people, of course it does.

However even if it was half the present price or if the footy proceeds were distributed in a much fairer way Sky would still make a handsome profit and the cost of players would be far less .... as indeed was the case when Auntie BBC ruled the waves.

[Mo2013]

Ah Manoverboard, there are a lot of things in life which are overpriced. However, the Leeds game at the weekend - and the weekend before I think - was also shown on TV and they are not in the Premiership. There is also the fact that some supporters might not shell out for a matchday ticket because they know the game will be shown on TV so the club will not get that revenue.

[Dark Knight]

on the otherhand
well done that man
and milk it while you can

[Delboy]

Madrid put plans in place to recoup the fee paid to Bale.

Sources close to Real Madrid have already started revealing how the club plan to ensure a return on their £200 million plus investment in fee and wages over the six years of Gareth Bale's contract.
With the consensus in Madrid and London now tending towards Real having agreed a world-record £85 million transfer fee with Tottenham to sign the Wales international, questions continue about the wisdom of spending so much on a relatively inexperienced and unproven player, especially with the Spanish giants having sold the more internationally established Mesut Ozil to Arsenal for around half that figure.
Even before Bale's move was completed, Marca had reported that Madrid president Florentino Perez and his right-hand man and marketing expert Jose Angel Sanchez already had a plan in place to make the move profitable off the pitch.

Amid its blanket coverage of the new Galactico's presentation on Tuesday morning, AS included a story, headlined "Bale will sell 40,000 jerseys a season", which gave details of how Madrid planned to "exploit the commercial potential" of the deal.
"The sales of jerseys could multiply should the player begin the season on the right foot, scoring goals and putting on an exhibition," the story predicts.
The summer's business at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu signalled the intention of Perez and Sanchez to pivot their focus away from the Far East and South America and towards the 'Anglo-Saxon market', AS said.
"The club are opening the Anglo-Saxon market after losing a share of the market elsewhere with the loss of Kaka, who has enormous pull in China and South America," according to the story.
Bale and Adidas are also reportedly now set to renegotiate their commercial arrangement, with Madrid set to receive a cut of all revenues generated. Bale will also appear alongside Barcelona's Leo Messi on the cover of the FIFA 2014 game, due to a deal with EA Sports.
The success of Bale's own 'Eleven of Hearts' brand will also apparently be lucrative for Madrid.
"With this it is expected to commercialise even clothes and jewellery which, according to the experts, could generate profits of €4 million a year," AS' story claims.
Meanwhile, former Madrid striker Ronaldo has called on journalists and supporters not to 'obsess' about the money which has been paid for Bale.
The ex-Brazil international warned Bale via Mundo Deportivo that his huge price-tag could become an issue should things not go well on the pitch.
"There should not be an obsession over the price which has been paid," Ronaldo said. "It will be normal that when he does something wrong on the pitch, the fans will consider that, having paid €100 million for him, he is obliged not to make mistakes."

[Admiral of the Humber]

...still obscene...