Belfast Telegraph  Thursday 25 December 2014  The Big Question:
As the football transfer window closes, is spending out of
control?  Robinho's transfer to Manchester City from Real Madrid
was a British record Robinho's transfer to Manchester City from
Real Madrid was a British record  At midnight last night,
football's summer transfer window – a period in which players
can be bought and sold – closed worldwide until 1 January, when
it will reopen for a further month. Also yesterday, one Premier
League club, Manchester City, was sold to the Abu Dhabi United
Group, which promised to spend £30m on a single star player.
What is the point of a transfer window?  Until six years ago,
there was simply a deadline towards the end of each season after
which no transfer could take place. This prevented teams at the
top or bottom of the league making short-term purchases to buy
their way to a championship or to avoid relegation.  By reducing
the period in which players could be bought and sold to three
months in the summ