After his £49m transfer fee, Raheem Sterling will be the 11th most expensive footballer EVER! A good friend pointed out to me that the 20-year-old costs more than the entire Arsenal Invincibles squad.

READ: Jose Mourinho Is Four Four Two’s #1 Manager In The World

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. When big clubs like Liverpool lose their best players to even bigger clubs (with respect to finances), it is bad for the beautiful game.

Side note, in 2008 when Robinho transferred from Real Madrid to Man City he actually thought he was going to Man United. He had no idea there was even a second team in Manchester.

And are Man City still paying Emmanuel Adebayor?

Last season during Adebayor’s goal drought he claimed his lack of production was because his mother is a witch, and cast a spell on him. Go ahead…google it…I’ll wait.

Chelsea won’t have an easy go to start the season, but upon return from the final International break they will play only 4 Premier League games outside of London between November 21st and the end of February. And even one of those fixtures is a short trip to Watford.

Chelsea released their new kits. It appears their designers consulted Alphaville to ensure that they’re Big in Japan! The Goalie kit makes T-Bo look like Swamp Thing. But on to more serious matters.

Lucas Piazon may or may have not called his time in Chelsea’s loan system a “waste”. Whether he said it or not – it’s probably true and it’s likely how a lot of players in his shoes feel. But perhaps we should clarify one misconception. The main objective of the loan system is NOT player development.

The loan system is a revenue stream for Chelsea. They are still a relatively small team in a crowded market with a huge payroll. The loan system allows them to collect fees from the clubs who borrow their talent. Should a player increase his value, they then have the option of selling at a profit. Should a player want out (Ryan Bertrand, Patrick Van Aanholt) then they can also sell them at a profit. Now as Chelsea FC fans how should you feel about this? I really don’t think that matters, they never asked for your opinion. This is how they earn some of the revenue that puts the product on the field we all love. If you want to enjoy a steak, don’t go to the slaughterhouse.

The loan system produced Courtois. It allowed them to sell Lukaku for £28m, and fund the purchase of Diego Costa. This policy will provide the Blues numerous advantages while indeed compromising a few player’s careers. You may love your soccer team and have romantic visions of them as perfect, model citizens but unfortunately, they are not. There’s also no Santa Claus in case you were wondering.

I would suggest that you accept the fact that Chelsea are running their organization like a shrewd business, accept the collateral damage that may occur and keep it moving.

Manchester United have parted ways with Falcao and RVP and signed Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin which begs the question, how long before Wayne Rooney is playing in the midfield again?

Schweinsteiger translates to “pig climber” in English. Go ahead…google it…I’ll wait.

Thiago Alcantara, the heir apparent to Schweinsteiger in Bayern’s midfield, is rated by some to have the potential to be one of the world’s best players and now that his time has come it will be sink or swim. For Bayern fans, hopefully he stays healthy and has a long successful career.

If not, I’m sure that Dortmund or Schalke will be able to provide them with another dazzling talent to fill the void; they’re accustomed to such luxury.

Ever wonder if Celery appreciates being used to tickle her bum.

In Brazil, Hulk is a sex symbol and has a website dedicated to his buttocks.

Gonzalo Higuain looks like Nicolas Cage. After flopping in two consecutive finals for the Albiceleste, not to mention missing a big penalty at the end of last season for Napoli, Higuain has become a ceremonial whipping boy for Argentina’s failures. Bet you didn’t know he was born in France. Jose Mourinho went on record calling Gonzalo Higuain the laziest player he’s ever coached stating that “If he was allowed, he’d come to training in pyjamas”

Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola would be perfect for an odd couple sitcom. They once argued over how long the grass on a soccer pitch should be. Then Jose made fun of Pep for being bald.

Qualification for the Champions League group stage has already began. Between Zalgiris Vilnius and FK Rudar Pljevlja I simply can not figure out whether I’m getting enough iron in my diet.

And finally former Chelsea boss and international gentleman Claudio Ranieri will assume the manager’s position at Leicester City. After embarrassing displays from Nigel Pearson during the season and a few of their players in the offseason, Ranieri should give the Foxes instant respectability. But then again if all you have to do to be an upgrade is not choke an opposition player from the touchline, I’d say the bar is pretty low.