Chelsea have spent big in the transfer window, including the record signing of Enzo Fernandez
(Picture: REUTERS)So there goes the transfer window. Chelsea put on quite the show, their men’s team broking records in buying Enzo Fernandez from the Portuguese outfit Benfica for £106m, all the while selling a rising star to Spurs and a club stalwart to Arsenal. In the women’s game, Arsenal offered what would have been another world record transfer fee for England star Alessia Russo. Manchester United held firm. It’s been frenetic, but it’s not all as crazy as it might seem.
Forget the sentiment for a moment – football clubs in England have long been businesses. In the late 1800s, local industrialists funded teams to gel communities together. They started to sell tickets, and administrators of the game begrudgingly allowed the game to go professional. Football has been a business ever since.
