Putting Their Money Where Their Mouth Is

If you've been following the transfer market this off season you've heard the news that James Rodriguez is now officially a part of Real Madrid. An exorbitant fee raised some eyebrows, but after a stellar World Cup campaign few can argue against Rodriguez's class. Madrid are notorious for shelling out cash for any hot name on the transfer market to the point where an 80 million dollar transfer fee seems like the standard after 116 million was spent on Gareth Bale. The size of their wallet is unbelievable, but what's even more shocking is that the sum spent on Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Rodriguez is more than AFC Ajax have spent on transfers...in their entire history.

This extends 114 years back to 1900 and is mind-blowing, even during an era with drastically inflated transfer fees. If you haven't heard of Ajax before you would probably assume that they're a mediocre club at best. Not exactly. They've won the UEFA Champions League four times (most recently in 1995) and were runners up twice. This makes them the sixth most successful team in Europe in that respect, on top of the fact that they've won thirty two league titles. I'm not saying they're on the level of Real Madrid who completed La Décima a few months ago winning their tenth Champions League title, but you have to respect Ajax for what they've been able to accomplish. Was it worth it for Madrid though?

Rodriguez had nine goals and twelve assists last year which is a good return especially at such a young age (23). When you put this in perspective though, Rickie Lambert had ten assists and thirteen goals for Southampton last season. His transfer fee to Liverpool was five million dollars.

Am I saying that Lambert is as good as Rodriguez? Not in the slightest. The transfer fees are also going to be skewed because Lambert is already 32 and plays in a more advanced position than Rodriguez. However, this takes nothing away from Madrid getting caught up in the moment and spending way to much for the Colombian. His technical ability is world class but he doesn't provide the speed or power Madrid acquired when they completed the Bale and Ronaldo deals. What's worse is that a few weeks before this deal was completed, Madrid got the signature of Toni Kroos who is also a world class player and operates in the same position as Rodriguez. He will be an excellent player for Madrid, but right now he's the most overpriced deal that's been completed this summer.

Be sure to check out our previous post here.