MONEY IS TALKING.. BUT REDS LOSE VOICE

GARETH BALE’S £85million move to Real Madrid in 2013 and Paul Pogba’s £89m return to Manchester United 17 months ago were statement wbuys from the world’s biggest clubs.

Both were world records, paid by clubs accustomed to having the financial clout to muscle the opposition out of their way.

But in the past year, Barcelona and Paris SaintGermain have blown them away in the transfer market, forking out more than £611m for four players – including an eye-watering £198m by the French club for Neymar (above).

Manchester City have led the charge in England, spending £100m on a pair of full-backs and plenty more on turning a good side into potentially the best ever seen on these shores.

The result? Madrid trail Barcelona by 16 points in La Liga and United are 15 points off the pace set by City in the Premier League.

Barca, PSG (nine points clear in France) and City have defined a new world order in football, leaving even the powerhouses from the Bernabeu and Old Trafford in danger of being left a long way behind.

United boss Jose Mourinho complained recently that spending £300m was not enough to compete in Europe. Jaw-dropping as it may seem, he could have a point.

As for Real, the team once expected to buy a Galactico every year were involved in only two of the 11 biggest deals ever, the last being Bale. United have not won the league in four seasons and this year looks like being five, while Madrid claimed their first La Liga crown in five years last term but are unlikely to make a successful defence. The Spaniards have clinched the Champions League three times in four years, while United last lifted the trophy 10 years ago. But with the fortunes being spent to assemble squads whose quality outstrips anything ever seen, Barcelona, PSG and Manchester City appear to have rewritten the rules on who rules in Europe.