Welcome, everybody to soccer 101.

My name is Taylor Rockwell, and this week we're taking a lengthy look at transfer fees, specifically the growth of record transfer fees.

From a record-breaking 100 pounds at 1893 to the 200 million pound transfer of Namar in 2017, things have changed, and that's putting it deliberately mildly.

How has the record transfer fee evolved? What roles have European powers played in that growth? How have numbers in the women's game been evolving? All that and much, much, much more today. To help me get through all of these facts and figures is a man who I'm assuming has a Charlie Kelly-esque spread of papers and graphics and red yarn on his wall, tracking all of this information. It's Ruthven. Hi, Graham. Hello, Taylor. I don't have the Charlie Kelly wall of conspiracy, but I do always like to have a prop for 101 episodes. Of course, last week I had my scarf for the Scarfs episode. And so today, I have, just out of camera shot, I've got my wads of cash of millions of dollars to represent the world record transfer fee.

That's lovely. I'm glad that it's just off frame so I can't see it, but I will assume it's there breaking bad style. Like is it on a pallet? Is it just a big stack that you sometimes lay on? It's actually just coins like Scrooge McDuck.

It's a room of coins.

I'd just like to swim in it from time to time.

Now, Graham, I'd firstly like to thank you for suggesting a topic yesterday afternoon that could itself fill several volumes. This episode might be the definition of biting off more than we can chew. But we're going after it anyway. How are you feeling? You feeling confident about this? I was until you voiced your trepidation at this episode. You're right. It is quite the topic.

It is something that can be traced back over like 120 years to the first transfer fee ever paid for a player.

It was for a Scottish player, might I add, coincidentally. But yeah, transfer fees are something we talk about a lot in soccer,

and I'm sure most listeners know what a transfer fee is,

but just to set the stage, set the table,

in case there are people who don't know and aren't familiar with the transfer market.

Of course, that's what Soccer 101 episodes are about,

are providing some education. A transfer is when a player will go from one club to another club, and a transfer fee is the amount of money that the club buying the player will pay to the club selling the player. And sometimes it can be difficult to know why one player is valued at one price and another is valued at another price. And I,

sometimes, I'm certainly guilty of this. I think we sometimes think it's an exact science and

there's like some kind of algorithm or equation. But it's really not. There is no equation.

And just because a player is expensive or breaks the world transfer record doesn't mean they will

be a success.

In fact, sometimes it works in the opposite way.

A big transfer fee can be a weight around a player's neck.

So it's a worthy discussion point, I think.

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