SYDNEY PUDDEFOOT-BALLER

So Pogba has returned to his "spiritual home" and quickly embraces the club's laundry staff and promises that they can do his kit for free. At £85.8 million his is the world record breaking transfer with another £4.25m available if he stays in contract for 5 years. There is also the agent's commission and Pogba's salary at £10m a season. The full amount will eventually be declared when Juventus, as a publicly traded company, will have to release their accounts.

United got £238,000 when they let Pogba go to Italy in 2012. Fair play to him and to Juve.
United hope to recoup the fees in commercial sales and further gatherings of success, as the team conquers Europe. Hmmm.

Excellent news is that Barnsley are going to benefit £7.5 million from another large sale today, that of John Stones moving from Everton to Manchester City.

It is a far cry from February 1922 when local born Sydney Puddefoot moved from West Ham to Falkirk for a world record fee of £5,000. The forward's sale almost caused a riot in East London but the club claimed it was the player's "doing". The club stated that Puddefoot will benefit from branching out in "commercial circles in Falkirk" which will be "assured of a nice little competency" when his football days are over.

Having played for the Hammers 158 times between 1912-22, scoring 102 goals, Puddefoot did not want to go despite having his brother, Len, move with him and getting a one off payment of £390, when weekly wages were £8. West Ham were pushing for promotion to Division One however Falkirk matched manager Syd King's valuation, to his surprise and Puddefoot had to go.

The money was raised by the Falkirk supporters (actually £6,000) who wanted the Bairns to reach the state of success gained in 1913 when they won the Scottish Cup.  Falkirk had done well in the league after the war and came 4th in 1923-4, but then slipped away as Puddefoot left. He scored 45 goals in three seasons but did not enjoy Scotland, claiming that the Scots would not pass to him.

He moved to Blackburn Rovers in 1925 for £4,000, helping them win the FA Cup in 1928 with an assist. Remarkably this Final was the first where BOTH SIDES SCORED since 1910.
Rovers, narrowly missing relegation, beat Huddersfield who were in their pomp with Alex Jackson, one of Scotland's "Wembley Wizards", in the forward line and the club already league champions (1924, 1925 and 1926) and Runners Up in 1927 and 1928.

Sydney appeared twice for England against Northern Ireland and Scotland in the 1925-6 season.

His playing record was in 1933 scored 146 goals in 375 games.

He then went back to West Ham for a year moving into management, remarkably in Turkey with Fenerbahce until 1933, Galatasaray until 1936 and Northampton Town until the outbreak of war.

He then scouted for Southend and no doubt got involved with county cricket having played for Essex briefly in 1922-3. He died in 1972 aged 72.

Puddefoot scores one of five West Ham goals in an 8-1 win over Chesterfield in 1914.