THIS PIGEON COUP WILL END IN TEARS

A MERE 43 years after Giuseppe Savoldi became the first £1million footballer — pre-dating Trevor Francis by moving from Bologna to Napoli for the equivalent of £1.2m — Armando, of Ingelmunster in Belgium, has become the world’s first £1m pigeon. He was sold by his manager Joel Verschoot to an elite group of enthusiasts in China with the name Champ Team. They consistently topped the bidding at auction ahead of rivals XDDPO. One problem. Armando, now rated the top pigeon in Europe after two years of supremacy nationally, will be six next birthday and close to retirement age. Might Champ Team have been better served investing their money in a younger bird with several more years in competition. It is not as if they can get the money back in merchandise, either. There really isn’t much in the replica shirt market for pigeon fanciers. And so dubious is competitive racing in China that two owners were recently jailed for three years for smuggling pigeons on to a bullet train to win a 466-mile race. How will Armando react to such a hostile environment? He might not like the food, he doesn’t speak the language, and it would appear he’s only gone for that last big pay-off — it’s a transfer request waiting to happen.