Why are football fans so obsessed with transfers?

When Manchester United announced the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, it broke the internet. Ok, not literally, but what it did break was all sorts of social media records. The official tweet, entitled "Welcome home, @Cristiano", hit 1.5 million likes in under an hour, a record for a sports organisation.

For most football clubs, announcements of new signings generate the most website and social media traffic. But what is it about transfers that spark such interest?

Football fan Gareth Roberts says, "Football fans always want the new shiny player, you know, we all love a transfer

FIFA's transfer window is how clubs can buy and sell contracted players. Each football club is entitled to take part in two registration periods a year, with most major European leagues commencing on January 1st through to the 31st, followed by July until the end of August.

Luis Figo was one of the most significant transfers of all time. He swapped Barcelona for Real Madrid for an astonishing 62 million Euros back in 2000. In 2011, astronomical fees also came into play when Samuel Eto'o signed for Russian team Anzhi Makhachkala. He earned 400,000 Euros per week.

Meanwhile, there were scenes of jubilation outside the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League when Robinho joined Manchester City in 2008. City, still very much a growing entity at the time, was yet to sign such a high-profile player in their history.

Social media has changed the way fans follow football. Those running the official club accounts, also known as 'admin', do their best to find creative ways of revealing the latest signing, much to the delight of their supporters. Examples include Sevilla staging a fake kidnapping of Jesus Navas, the Vancouver Whitecaps playing Pokemon Go, and Alexis