Was Raphael Varane Really Cheaper Than Ben White?

[@PrehistoricPro]

"Ben White is an English lizard boat." This is the kind of quality, in depth, football analysis one can only get from Tifo. Incredible insight.

[@MattVogt2]

The really amazing part is that it wasn't JJ that said it...

[@Foxy-if2vp]

Please please please let this comment be a joke 😂

[@mategyero]

😂

[@PrehistoricPro]

@@Foxy-if2vp Nah mate, me and the people that liked my comment are all being deathly serious. Deathy, deathly, serious.

[@mattgoodyear6841]

Joe Divine is an English lizard GOAT

[@i0ushephf]

Things I learned in this video: * lizards are expensive AF * Brighton has a messy divorce * Ben White is an English lizard-boat

[@r3zaful]

varane is oddly mimic varanus Varanus is family of big lizard that includes komodo and water monitor.

[@thomsato]

I see the analogy department at Tifo are earning their keep with that lizard metaphor. Lovely stuff.

[@pahakuutti]

In Finnish varaani(which is how Varane is pronounced) means a lizard, but dunno how they could possibly know that. Also this video is made in the style of The Fast Show from the 90s, which popularized jump cuts JJ was using. So fast-show-lizard-Varane, which describes him as a player to a tee.

[@tamagonbagel6569]

The only thing this was missing was a Warzone analogy

[@thomsato]

@@tamagonbagel6569 JJ has clearly been banned from the analogy department weekly conferences.

[@StuartGarlick]

Also they brought up Tony Bloom, not mentioning (but clearly knowing) that he's nicknamed The Lizard in the gambling industry. There are levels to this.

[@bhavishshah2415]

Charizard is a Pokémon derived from a Lizard

[@Myst_HD]

Varane was a good signing but Palette Town's Bulbasaur would have been even better

[@larurentius]

As if they would sell him at this point. They're hoping he's going to evolve this season and they feel they'll get more for an ivysaur next year

[@sirsurnamethefirstofhisnam7986]

You don’t even need to pay for bulbasair they lie around in the wild just waiting to be captured

[@elyjah6380]

So much more room to develope

[@azlankhan4172]

@@sirsurnamethefirstofhisnam7986 Sergio Ramos? David Alaba?

[@Peaches4Rent]

@@sirsurnamethefirstofhisnam7986 Bulbasaurshit. You don't get them anywhere in the wild, you can only find them in professor tress

[@RKanharn]

Joe talking about Amortisation makes me think we need a Price of Football Podcast/Tifo Football crossover.

[@zeswutz]

YES. Get the Baron on!

[@RKanharn]

@@zeswutz Might attract too much attention from the Russian mafia!

[@4231jerome]

What an amazing tactic from arsenal, announcing that they've got lots and lots of money to spend, clubs take note, price your lizard boats accordingly!

[@ilyashussein5972]

It's a rumour nobody but apparently yourself took it seriously

[@4231jerome]

@@ilyashussein5972 seriously enough to make a joke out of it

[@theblackswordsman9951]

They didn't announce it, that was a rumour that was spread. No one would announce the amount of money they have to spend.

[@4231jerome]

It was a joke guys, it was all to use the phrase ‘lizard boat’.

[@jeremy7695]

Well that went well....

[@Earnie8]

I am so here for TiFo's descent into anarchic yet understandable analysis.

[@TheNumbersGame]

You've somehow managed to turn boats and lizards into a really really good explanation for transfers... I've never been so pleasantly surprised before!

[@T.E.S.S.]

the lizard/boat ideas have JJ's fingerprints all over them

[@DrNM10]

I completely get it now! Ben White is an English Lizard Boat, hence the premium paid to Brighton. Thanks Mr. Devine for explaining it so eloquently!

[@klausn7267]

Good stuff! I think the price of British players is being inflated even further due to the effect Brexit will have on squad registration. I think Grealish is another example of this. They could probably have found more cost-effective options, but in Grealish they have a relatively young British player who they can expect to be in their squad for several years to come.

[@eesafredericks2122]

@VIHAN KRISHNA also Grealish is legitimately one of the best players they could possibly sign lmao, mf creates as much as KDB, dude is like a star with its own orbit

[@hman8338]

@@eesafredericks2122 so wrong. Kdb is unmatched in the epl

[@toby3695]

More of these please. Joe's energy is perfect for Tifo IRL

[@mrtakooo1]

You're a great guy Joe Devine, really glad you do this for a living. Following your passions, your hearts desire and it leads to beauty for the world. You are living a life well lived and we're enjoying the fruits of it.

[@MeneerSoepgroente]

United should've gone for Pallet Town's Bulbasaur. It was the best option available to them.

[@SelfInvested]

Thank you for making this video and adding context to the situation. Is it also true that Varane only had one year left on his contract with Real Madrid, whereas White’s was much longer - putting Brighton in a stronger position?

[@sigfigronath]

yes, absolutely add definitely add some value

[@ogbmt]

Not only that but I think Varane had specifically expressed a desire to leave, and the indication was that he would leave for free next summer if they didn't sell him this summer.

[@mategyero]

Good point

[@k.more1995]

And ofc that Varane's 28 years old. And Ben White, 23

[@callum2474]

This script is so erratic, JJ must’ve written it after a a heavy one…

[@williamsimanjuntak5263]

This is the level of quality writing I expect to find when I subscribe to the Athletic with a 50%-off deal for the next 6 months.

[@shiveshchaudhary2165]

Nice analogy, though Varane's transfer fee wasn't 50 million pounds.. it was 34 million pounds plus upto 8 millions in add ons.. whereas Ben White cost 50 million upfront. That said, Ben White is a bright prospect.

[@kilgoreplumbus1360]

When I first heard Joe's voice I imagined a very composed and profesional man but whenever he gets on camera he's hilarious.

[@jg5520]

This may well be the best video I’ve seen from Tifo in a while! Joe is so good on camera and his comedic value is great

[@firas_13]

Joe is amazing... light spirited, funny and explains things easily.. More of joe pls

[@mattdart4277]

3:45 "This may come as a surprise, Karim Benzema ever so slightly more money than uh *checks hand* Aaron Connolly." Hilarious

[@joelwilliam6216]

One of those moments where you finally see the person that voice you've listened to for ages... "huh..." love your work

[@Storm-mp6tj]

Funniest video you’ve done, every joke hit right, would recommend

[@SinghArunYouTube]

I mean 34million for Varane isn't the same as 50million for Ben White but at least you got the wages part right. Also output matters more than the input and Varane likely to provide better output than White.

[@inlizwetrusst7904]

It was 41 million + add ons

[@amann24]

Spot on. Also this big Lazard will lead the rest of the pets, the small lizard is just an addition to all the other small lizards. Really is apples and oranges

[@Ryan-uk6zq]

@@inlizwetrusst7904 no its 41m inc add ons

[@s.yohannes6429]

@@inlizwetrusst7904 That's in euros. Varane costs 34 mil pounds plus 8 mil pounds (40 plus 10 in euros) whereas White costs 50 mil pounds (58 mil euros).

[@ConordeSmith]

This screams John Oliver and Last Week Tonight! Love it!

[@lukewinchester3108]

I think this is the video where the Partridge-isms have tilted from being ironic and self knowing to being on par with Richard Madley’s unknowing and never ending Partridge tribute act.

[@huskyhuskyhusky]

Amazing as always guys!

[@jossspear]

I absolutely loved this style of video! Super informative and really funny as well! More of this please!!!

[@Bobby_sprinkles]

Joe straight on is Smeagal, Joe looking to the side is Golem. Tifo is strange and I love it.

[@AndyTheBulgarianDude]

More of this and him, please! Hell, I am willing to finally get that Athletic subscribtion, just to get more!

[@tejas8719]

That "Massive Lizzard" shown was a Komodo Dragon. Don't go and buy it, It WILL eat you!

[@d4n4nable]

Yeah, Komodo dragon, or *Varanus* komodoensis.

[@MarkYaManFM]

love this set up, reminds me of tv burp! great video as ever guys

[@Viewer41]

Why are so many people having a hard time understanding this? 🤷‍♂️ Varane had 1 year left on his contract and Real needed to sell. Ben White had 4 years left on his contract and Brighton DIDN'T need to sell. Its really VERY simple.

[@SATULAL]

Exactly this and I'm a United fan. I don't get the whole comparison between the two other than meaningless banter. United wants to compete now (or at least try) whereas Arsenal is in a "project" mode (maybe perpetually!) and White is a signing for the future!

[@kingeik]

Probably the funniest video you've made so far. Thoroughly entertaining

[@AnonNomad]

Small lizard can become BIG lizard, my god...

[@piyushpoddar9292]

Tbh, Never expected Tifo to get *SO* many things wrong.. Varane's fee for example was €50m (including addons) and not £ while White's fee was £50m (guaranteed) Varane's wages are €250k pw (again emphasis on €) White's wages are £120k pw (again £) The best channel for football tifo, but really didn't expect this 👍

[@TheIllustratedGame]

Nope - you’re wrong here pal. You’re numbers are all over the place.

[@kawhistraightface1462]

@@TheIllustratedGame No, those are the reported numbers......

[@sarcasmpod]

Love this video..... First time seeing the voice behind tifo football.... Amazing

[@davidjones1709]

Amazing. This is taking KZbin context to new levels - genuine brilliance and mastery of the platform. If KZbin had a super like feature that you could deploy once per annum to commend content producers reaching a pinnacle of excellence I’d do it now. Instead I liked pretty much all the comments on this video in the hope that it’d trigger the algorithm to share this more broadly. Tifo is truly best in class.

[@tombrady5587]

"Transfer fee is roughly the same" - no, no it's not. Varane cost £34m rising to £41m, whilst White cost £50m. That's quite a significant difference and it's incredibly important when quantifying transfer costs to be using accurate numbers. Assuming Varane earns about £5m more in wages a season than White, that's 2-3 years of the players' playing for their respective new clubs before the fees equalise. I.e. Varane for the first 2-3 years is still cheaper than White.

[@r3zaful]

Resell value

[@tombrady5587]

@@r3zaful Resell value has nothing to do with transfer fees. The video is clearly about purely the numbers of the deals. if we consider resell value then it's gets far more complicated with many other factors. Age as I'm guessing you're implying would be big, but also ability. And Varane is objectively levels above White and arguably levels above White will ever reach. But looking at resell value will get for the most part very subjective, so might as well stick to the point of the video which is looking at purely transfer fee and wages across a contract.

[@r3zaful]

@@tombrady5587 we haven't seen how he plays in Manchester united yet how you can 💯 sure that he is way above white, he does not look like a cb leader at all last year to fills Ramos absence. I'm happy to be wrong, I have so much doubt on varane after so many failed signing like Sanchez and di Maria.

[@tombrady5587]

​@@r3zaful Lol I think you're just trolling. I remember your name from a few days ago where we butted heads but this is another level of absurdity. Do we need to see a player playing in another league before judging whether he is better than another already in the league? Especially when you consider the difference in level between the 2 over the years. I'll take a more extreme example and say can we really say Messi is better than Thauvin until we see how he performs at PSG? Your comment is almost as absurd as that. White may well be a great long term signing, but he's certainly not as good as Varane. White wasn't the best CB at Brighton (Dunk was). White is 6th choice CB for England behind Maguire, Stones, Gomes (when fit), Mings and Coady, whilst Varane is 1st choice for arguably the strongest country in the world who are incredibly stacked at CB with the likes of Kimpembe, Kounde, Upamecano, Konate, Fofana, Lenglet, Hernandez, etc. And most importantly of all, how Varane and White perform has absolutely nothing to do with the video and what my comment is highlighting. The video is looking purely at transfer fee and wages (overall financial cost across a contract). How are you continuously missing the point?

[@mybldyvlntn]

This was brilliant. Really enjoying you guys bringing your personality into things more.

[@Joy_49]

This needs to be a series. Those examples were extraordinary 🤣 Brilliant.

[@espben360]

Adam Stewart should use some of those analogies next time, on "why should I care" on his next topic. They definitely made me care about this topic 😂😂

[@sarahjessicafarter7383]

Joe this was so Chris Morris in The Day Today, loved it!

[@Miketrill_ng]

Awesome analysis and use of analogies. The quality of this Tifo segment is absolutely brilliant. Well done lads

[@ChiTran-iu4cb]

I love this type of video, and also the "Should I Care..." stuff. Keep it up guys!

[@ThomasMcConaghie]

Where can I buy a lizard boat tee, size large, please? Thanks

[@jamesrodd8667]

this was golden we need to see more of this guy on tifo irl

[@brettphipps4772]

This is the best video on transfers I've ever seen.

[@DaleGraham]

The YT algorithm sent me here for content on lizard and boat purchasing tips. Not disappointed. 👌🏽

[@julian-xy7gh]

"[Varane] will probably cost United around £10.4m per year... which is a lot." I thought this part could have used some additional clarity. With the talk of amortisation beforehand and the definition of the cost per season as (fee + wage) / contract length, I expected the £10.4m to be that 'total cost'. However, looking at the actual value, £10.4m per year, it looks to be just the yearly wage. The fee divided by the 5 year contract length alone would namely already be £10m per year. I feel the video would have benefited from a more explicit explanation that those numbers were just the wage and then a follow up where the formula introduced earlier was used. I feel just one extra sentence would already have helped: "Add to those their amortized fee - £50m over 5 years for both, or £10m per year - and you get £14.16m per year for White and £20.4m per year for Varane." As for the last part of the quote, I feel £10.4m is necessarily _a lot_. It might be to us mortals, but then so is £4.16m per year. As far as football players, I was actually surprised with the wage. I thought it would be closer to the Özil, De Gea range of £350k to £400k per week (£18.2m, £20.8m). I suppose those numbers are only available in contract extensions or free transfers.

[@joshuadacosta5218]

Loving this style of video 😄 a whole season of this will be great content.

[@nobodynadietlo]

What with that glitch at 2:19 around the mouth area? Is there an explanation or is just something random that happens?

[@jbutfc]

I’ve never seen these videos before. The guys hilarious. Consider me subscribed.

[@johnpeters8731]

as an accountant, I was not expecting to hear a football conversation about amortisation

[@TheRockType]

I love this! Well done Joe & team Tifo!

[@urbz100]

I’m interested to see what pallet towns bulbasaur does this season

[@AB-yi5xy]

Not sure I agree with the analogy but some of the factors mentioned makes sense. White and Grealish are expensive because they're among the few young English players who have that top level quality and potential but in some cases that's debatable compared to many of the European young players. In Grealish it's more proven but in White it's not and so to value him the same as a World cup winner who was a key player for Real Madrid for 10 years shows that there is something wrong with how a value is set on a player. I personally think United got a good deal and Arsenal got a bad one. To be worth £50m there should be specific milestones a player would have to achieve rather than putting a value on a player purely because of circumstances around Brexit, player potential, the club's necessity to sell, etc.

[@joeparas]

So hyped for our Lizard Boat!

[@reddevilmelbourne]

On the contrary the small lizard is vulnerable to attack and might perish, the larger can fight back and you still have your asset......ding dong

[@jimconnell133]

Excellent! Well done! Very entertaining and insightful.

[@thegreat6512]

any summary? i cant understand this without English subtitles. thank you

[@mckeonthulani2122]

Great Video! . I don't get why these 2 signings are being compared. United have clearly done the better business. The expenditure analysis is close to useless because United doesn't need to spend as little as arsenal because they have more money and obviously a centre back with the pedigree Varane has is going to cost you more than a Ben White. United could have been quoted somewhere upwards of 70 million and still would have has to pay the same wages but they aren't, and that's good business whether people like it or not. Compared to being strung along by Brighton to an extra 20 million.

[@aakarmamtora3470]

Agreed, varane will provide a lot more than ben white who is still young. Both clubs requirements are different as well, an ideal comparison would be dias and varane as both were needed by their respective teams who were competing for the title. While arsenal are hardly near the top 6.

[@theblackswordsman9951]

Varane is also older though and only had a year left on his contract. The deal is good, but it's not as great as people are making it out to be. People are making it out like they signed Ronaldo on a free.

[@mckeonthulani2122]

@@theblackswordsman9951 Man United has a squad that needs to challenge for the title now, we need proven experience at this stage. I reckon it is just as big as signing CR7 for free because we needed it more than anything else and we didn't just get anyone we got one of the best defenders in the world!

[@t.bo.e2487]

@@theblackswordsman9951 varane is only four years older and vastly the better player. Arsenal are getting fleeced

[@Alex-eg2jk]

Woah, Tifo got the lizard in on this one? That Athletic partnership is doing wonders.

[@frankspy23]

You earned my sub, great analogy and clear to understand

[@Lamby494]

This is superb! Lots of Tifo juices flowing here. Lizards. Pokémon. Boats. More of this please

[@joshharris1447]

Love this guy. Great pair with JJ too. Thanks guys.

[@henryhealy]

I love me some lizard analogies. I've really been missing them lately.

[@JMGamingTv]

If this dude isn’t paid more than Varane it’s an injustice! Hilarious AND Informative

[@codingmindset]

Lol. The length Tifo went through to praise Arsenal deal is astonishing

[@theblackswordsman9951]

They're not praising the deal though. Just clearing up a misunderstanding a lot of people have about transfer value.

[@benshorthouse2979]

Loving the analogies bringing me back to English lessons

[@hutchy4851]

Why be precise with the wage per season and not with transfer fee?

[@ruycosio6765]

Favorite video so far. Great stuff.

[@TheTruthTeller99]

Christ i don't think I've laughed this much at a football video. Except that time i watched the danny welbeck meme video. Everything from your articulation to facial gestures, hilarious

[@salvadorkoehler7486]

This superb analogy is why the boys at Tifo are paid the big bucks. Great content!

[@chang-inmungai353]

Also the contract lengths. I believe Varane had a year left on his contract weakening Madrid's hand.

[@YalumoTaofeek]

Wonderful ! Keep doing this

[@devinedude3690]

Yeah baby you nailed it with this "context" funny video.... keep it coming guys

[@mynameisjudge4386]

That form of justification is why Arsenal are where they are. Quality costs money. Going the cheap route will show itself end of the season.

[@Michael-sh1fb]

Either the 2 players were a comparable price, in which case Arsenal didn't "go the cheap route", they spent the same. Or they weren't a comparable price meaning it's not a "justification". Not too often do people manage to logically contradict themselves in a mere 3 sentences. Good effort

[@mzamogagai89]

Amazing video as usual

[@nUEbel423]

for armortisation you have also incalculate the income by merchandise. This is much higher at Varane than at an non-nationalsquad-player (at the moment). On the other side the income by a selling (Newcastle, hrhr) has to be considered - this is hardly given at Varane.

[@sahmed0211]

Dude your voice and delivery is so good, they should hire you to replace david attenborough in future

[@haxmurst5489]

Insightful and hilarious commentary !

[@TYI92]

This is how all football information should be presented forever

[@EZAblinG]

The quick camera cuts combined with choice of words is comedic gold 😂

[@testingtesting400]

Who's here after the Bentford match.

[@MrGlennJohnsen]

you could also consider resale value, increased chance for success to reach qualifications and a lot more. Haaland for Dortmund is arguably worth €180m this summer because qualifying to the Champions League brings €100m and Dortmunds chances to qualify to the Champions League, to them, is much greater with Haaland at the club. Dortmund also have a €75m buy out clause in effect after this season is over so they know exactly what they'll get for him in a year or so. Simply add the guaranteed fee they'll get from Haaland sale next season and the money from qualifying to the Champion's League and what it would cost to replace Haaland. Arguably over €200m!

[@miguelrosado6348]

It's a huge gamble for a player that has 0 games played for his country and 0 games played in Champions League. He is not worth this amount of money. Ruben Dias had the same age as Ben White when he was transferred to Man City and only cost 10 million more. Ruben Dias had already 20 games played for Portugal, played in the Champions League and UEFA league for Benfica which is a far superior club than Brighton! The fact that this is even a discussion and people still think it is a reasonable amount is flabbergasting. English players are all overpriced. You go to the transfer market website (a UK website, therefor bias) and guess which national team is at the top of the list as more valuable, even more than France!!! It's ridiculous.

[@shabaanmarijani1650]

even with the context it only seems to highlight how good was the United deal and how bad was Arsenals. Arsenal has still overpaid for a high potential but still ultimately unproven player.... like they did with Pepe

[@Alexzuhnday]

Yeah exactly 😂

[@j0oker18]

02:13 He says £4.16m for White but then the screen shows £4.6?

[@Know_Clu]

Football chat and reptile keeping, can't go wrong round here

[@chrisfraser5088]

Today I have learned that Ben White is a young lizard boat and Raphael Varane is a large, old, award winning lizard. Today was a good day.

[@ArunaUtd]

There's no guarantee the English lizard boat will be as good as the beautiful multi winning lizard.

[@matovic27]

Excellent work with camera 2

[@Grgonaldo]

Unironically one of your best videos

[@ambience2001]

I'm really high ..... I've never laughed so much during a football related video ....Good job tifo 😂

[@GrahamPlays]

Brilliantly presentation, top writer and entertaining 👏

[@utsavlal9175]

One of the best videos uploaded by tifoIRL…loved the new style and the short video

[@maxmander]

Excellent video. Funny and informative

[@jaivardhan3839]

Varane cost united £41m including addons - there’s a healthy £2m gap in your amortisation calculation

[@Michael-sh1fb]

😂 do you really think you're more qualified than a literal football journalist? Ben White is on a 5 year deal and Varane's is 4. So both transfer fees amortise to about 10m. Salary wise, Varane will cost 10m a year and White 4.6m, as explained in the video. So total including transfer and wages is 20m and 15m a year, or 75%.

[@AdA-kg3fn]

What tifo hasn’t considered in its lizard analogy is that the massive lizard has a higher up keep but those housing the massive lizard have a larger revenue stream and therefore a larger budget. Basically including transfer fee and wages, both white and varane probably hit the same percentage of thier clubs budgets.