Arsene Wenger has been speaking to the media about issues in the football world, and suggested that Real Madrid’s world record bid to lure Gareth Bale away from Tottenham Hotspur was a joke of the Financial Fair Play rules which are supposed to kick in this season.

Madrid have been interested in Bale’s services for the past two seasons, but never got the breakthrough they needed to crack a deal with Spurs. Former Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has also claimed recently that he as manager made attempts to convince the board at the Spanish capital to make a bid for the Welshman, underlining the club’s long interest in the player. Madrid made all the headlines this past week when they finally revealed that they had submitted a massive £85 million bid for Bale, an offer that had been with Spurs for weeks. Various Madrid players like Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos and Kaka have been speaking highly of Bale, trying to lure the player to the Santiago Bernabeu. The details of the bid were not revealed, but reports suggested Spurs chairman Daniel Levy wanted either a higher bid in full cash, or the existing £85 million along with a player going to White Hart Lane.

Wenger has himself been conservative in this window, despite having a big transfer budget on this occasion. Reports earlier suggested that Wenger did not have constraints to buy the best players, and is currently involved in trying to bring controversial Liverpool striker Luis Suarez to the Emirates Stadium. The Uruguayan has iterated his wishes to leave Anfield in the light of heavy media pressure, with the intention of going to a club like Madrid. However, Arsenal shocked the media with a £40 million bid of their own for the striker. Even though both clubs are still in talks over a fee, it remains unclear how shifting clubs in the same country would help the striker overcome his media fears.

According to The Evening Standard, Wenger has criticized the magnitude of the bid, which could go up to £105 million, the biggest transfer deal in the history of the game.

Wenger said, “It makes a joke of it. It’s quite amazing that in the year where the Financial Fair Play comes in, the football world has gone completely crazy,

“You wonder what kind of impact and effect it has on the football world. It looks like it has made everybody worse than before.”