Recently I started reading a book "The Numbers Game." The authors of the book are academicians. Some their findings are stunning for the lovers of our beautiful game. After analyzing tons of data, they come to the conclusion that soccer is a 50/50 game. "Half of it is luck, half of it is skill."

Mexican national team captain Rafael Marquez has gone from former Designated Player in MLS to Specially Designated National, accused of acting as a front person for the Flores Drug Trafficking Organization, headed by Raul Flores, also known as "El Tio."

That $260 million Paris Saint-Germain paid Barcelona for Neymar will continue to boggle the mind, but to see transfer fees truly spiraling out of control, look to the English Premier League. That's where a 27-year-old English right back who has played fewer UEFA Champions League games than Christian Pulisic went for $60 million.

That the host Netherlands won Euro 2017 was not necessarily a surprise -- the favorites Germany and France exited early -- but how it won in style, turning heads at home and across the world of women's soccer, was. Its architect's claim to fame as a player is that she was part of the most famous recruiting class in women's college soccer history.

Astonishing sums paid by the Premier League's broadcasting partners have triggered a severe escalation in the prices commanded by top players. Still, the skyrocketing price paid for Neymar -- $263 million, nearly three times the $96.6 million paid by Barcelona to Santos just four years ago - has shocked the world.

The Gulf boycott of Qatar doesn't prevent Qatar Sports Investments from investing money abroad in soccer, and it's set to spent almost $500 million -- yes, half a billion dollars -- on one player.

It seems like only yesterday that Bayern Munich was hailed for its ability to produce stars from its youth ranks. In fact, it's been seven years since a Bayern academy player broke into the first team and remained in it.