With reports of Manchester United lining up a £42m move for Atletico Madrid sensation Radamel Falcao García Zárate spreading like wildfire, Football Burp got wondering: what else can forty-two million of Her Majesty’s pounds get you these days?

As such, here are ten recent examples of things that cost the same amount as Sir Alex Ferguson is apparently willing to spend on bringing the Colombian to Old Trafford (click on each thing in question to read more about it)…

Ten Things That Cost the Same as Falcao

1. Flood defences in the Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, which was badly hit by repeated flooding last summer.

2. A five-year investment programme to improve more than 3,350 homes in Gedling, Nottingham, resulting in them all now being above the national Decent Homes Standard.

3. Eight schools in Blackpool, Cheshire West, Halton, Manchester and Tameside.

4. Cambridgeshire’s Waste Management Centre.

5. Missed hospital appointments in the east of England over the past year.

6. Arson incidents in Teeside over the last three years.

7. Adviser costs for the Financial Conduct Authority over the past year.

8. The hit taken by landlords in West Yorkshire for empty properties in the 2011/12 financial year.

9. The total revenue of general practice solicitors Thomas Eggar since merging with 40-lawyer London firm Pritchard Englefield.

10. The amount to be spent each year on the Families First programme, targeting deprived families before they reach “crisis”.

And one for luck: the projected cuts to police information and communications technology spending in 2014-15.

£42m is also the amount of money that Rio Ferdinand has, according to this article on the world’s richest footballers. Maybe he’s picking up the tab for Falcao…

Mind you, £42m is also the fortune that stands to be inherited by Charlie Morgan, the Swansea City ball boy famously kicked by Eden Hazard – so don’t be surprised to see Michael Laudrup weighing in with a bid.

Do you know of anything else that would cost the same as Radamel Falcao? Have your say in the comments section below…