Record breakers

FOOTBALLER Neymar may have hit the headlines after PSG paid £198 million for his services, but my father, goalkeeper George Marks, once commanded a world-record transfer fee.

He made his Arsenal debut in 1939 and played eight times for England in wartime internationals alongside Stanley Matthews, Denis Compton and Tommy Lawton. He became the most expensive goalkeeper in the world when he moved from Arsenal to Blackburn Rovers in 1946 for £5,000.

M. MARKS, Salisbury, Wilts. WHEN I played in the Grimsby Sunday League, one of our best players was exchanged with a rival club for 3s/6d and a packet of Woodbines. The money went toward expenses and the cigarettes were enjoyed by the players. How times have changed! GEOFFREY LINDLEY,

Ferndown, Dorset.