Were you really shocked at Hernan Crespo's proposed £40m transfer from Parma to Lazio?

The name, maybe, but surely not the amount.

If it is the summer, then there must be a huge transfer from one of the football giants to another.

It is one of the unspoken rules of the game, in the way that teams always win their first game after a manager is sacked.

And, just as predictably, the same question is always asked - has the world gone mad?









Comparisons are made between the amount spent on one fragile young player and what could be bought in the 'real' world. This is to miss the point. Lazio president Sergio Cragnotti has no interest in buying 30 new hospitals for the NHS, or ridding one small African state of debt. Champions League Neither of those courses of action would take his football club within touching distance of the Champions League - and that is what it is all about. Lazio may have finally claimed the Serie A title last season, but the Champions League is the don dada of them all. So, sensibly, Mr Cragnotti is dipping into his club's coffers to make sure they are ready to take on the very best in Europe. Trouble is, the true worth of your Big Summer Signing is often highly debatable. Where did the signing of Christian Vieri get Inter Milan last summer? He may have scored 18 goals in 25 appearances, but the trophy cabinet ended the season just as empty as it had been at the start of the year. Thirty-three million pounds for the honour of being also-rans? The cost of living really has gone up.





