The world seems to be going mad these days. From politics to terrorism to the weather, there is so much craziness that one can easily feel queasy at the ­latest developments. The sporting world, ­especially soccer, seems eager to join in. In Brazil, the Olympic Games is set to begin in just a few days, but the athletes village is still incomplete and unfit to stay in. And in something that almost flew under the radar, Argentinean ­striker Gonzalo Higuain became the third-most expensive footballer in ­history when he joined Juventus from Napoli for 75.3 million pounds ($100 million) on Friday.

Now, Higuain is good and is a prolific scorer, coming off a phenomenal season in which he scored a stunning 36 goals in Serie A. But he is not worth $100 million, which is what you would pay for the world's best players. Indeed, the only two players who were more expensive than Higuain - Wales' Gareth Bale and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo - easily fit into that category. Factor in that Higuain will be 29 this year and has often come up short on the big stage at major tournaments like the Copa America in June, and there is a big gulf between him and the top players. There are other ­strikers like Robert Lewandowski and Luis ­Suarez who are certainly more skilled.

Of course, Juventus would seem to have little reason to worry too much about their profligacy, given the reports of their star midfielder Paul Pogba moving to Manchester United. Several media outlets including The Guardian have said it is almost a done deal that should be completed very soon. Among the figures being reported are 84 million pounds, which would make Pogba the joint most expensive footballer alongside Bale. Even if the deal goes through and the figure is not that high, Higuain would very likely still drop to fourth.

Pogba is good too, and at 23, he has a huge upside. He had a decent Euro tournament, and he is one of the main reasons Juventus have won Serie A for the last five years in a row. But he is also not a game-changer by himself, and he does disappear at times. It clearly remains to be seen if he is as good as ­Ronaldo or Bale and if he can be the man around whom United can base their whole team.

Either way, it is a sad sign of reality that while entire countries and governments face lean times and significant pressure to rein in spending, soccer clubs can spend money almost like nothing. It is almost like last season in the Premiership didn't happen, when Leicester won the league handily with stars like Riyad Mahrez, whom the club bought for 400,000 pounds.

The author is a Hong Kong-based freelance writer. hcpyip@gmail.com