Thank you, Messrs. Abramovich and Henry.

I was almost going to scrap this article until the two men signed off on some, let's just say extravagant, purchases. Before that, the biggest story of this past European transfer window was Darren Bent. Yes, the money was stupid -- erm, extravagant -- but an article centered on Darren "worse than Harry Redknapp's wife" Bent? Hey, I've got standards too.

You may notice that this list is a little Premier League heavy. Shame, that teams from other leagues are not running around like headless chickens with dollar bills.

Either way, let's look at some teams that just got more interesting in FIFA, Pro Evolution and Football Manager.

What They Did: Amidst all the hoopla over Liverpool and Chelsea, Manchester City's purchase of Edin Dzeko went through with seemingly little fanfare. Then again, for anybody to raise an eyebrow at City they will have to bid $100 million for Shola Ameobi.

Why Things Got More Interesting: Because City now has a gazillion attacking players, and you will have to do some serious juggling to make everybody happy.

Do you rotate your squad week in and week out to fit Silva, Balotelli, Adam Johnson (or if we're talking about the present, Wright-Phillips), Tevez, Dzeko, Milner and Jo into three spots? Or do you choose to go with more firepower up front and deviate from Mancini's preferred 4-3-3 by taking away a central midfielder, switching to a more traditional, attacking, 4-4-2? And how would that affect City’s sometimes sloppy defense?

Then again, if things ever go south, you can always just buy another six or seven superstars.

What They Did: Took advantage of one of the worst-ever cases of cold feet, and pawned Torres off to Chelsea for $50 million quid. Liverpool then used that money to buy Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll.

Why Things Got More Interesting: For starters, Liverpool fans can finally stop playing out their fantasies of the old Torres through video games.

Also, even with the two marquee signings, Liverpool's fortune still rests on that same old fella: Steven Gerrard. What to do with him now? If you play Andy Carroll up front, he's going to need some decent service into the box, and Liverpool is not exactly loaded with wingers at the moment -- and the one still around thinks he's, ahem, better as a right (or in the Dalglish era, left) back.

So, with Gerrard being arguably the best crosser on the team, do you shift him out to the flanks and leave the more subdued duo of Lucas Leiva and Meirelles in the middle? You gain consistent service from the right wing, but Meirelles, talented in his own way, does not make those box-to-box runs like Stevie G. And face it, won't you miss scoring those 30-yard "Gerarrrrrd" screamers, just a tiny bit?

In addition, if you're die hard Kop fan, where do you put Dirk Kuyt? Your conscience won't allow you to leave him out of the starting 11, will it?

What They Did: Wrapped up the on-again, off-again and on-again pursuit of center back David Luiz, then pinned their hopes on Fernando Torres being the last piece of the puzzle for a Champions League trophy.

Why Things Got More Interesting: Can you hear the drums, Fernando? Say what you will about Torres in real life, but he remains a devastating presence in video games. Fans should be salivating as they fire up their consoles and PCs.

John Terry may have finally found another Carvalho in Luiz, a quick defender who can cover for his aging legs. Tactically, Torres' addition is also pretty straightforward, partnering with Drogba as the front men in Ancelotti's diamond. Just pray (or save before every game) that Ashley Cole does not get hurt, otherwise you will be forced to play every ball through the middle -- good luck with that in FIFA 11.

If you are a Chelsea fan taking control of the team for a long-term game, the big question is more a philosophical one. Do you stick with the youth movement that was in full force just six months ago and keep on playing youngsters like McEachran, Kakuta and Sturridge? Admittedly, it's the harder route, but victory is that much sweeter. Come on, don't be like City.

What They Did: From Sampdoria, picked up the talented Antonio Cassano, who also happens to put the mental in temperamental. The team also lost Ronaldinho to the lure of his homeland and, perhaps, all-you-can-eat Churrasco.

Why Things Got More Interesting: Milan has an embarrassment of riches in the attacking department. Unfortunately, all of them suffer from "trackbackphobia." While this tracking-back issue, to a certain extent, is not as big a problem in FIFA and PES, it certainly is in Football Manager. As exploited by Manchester United last year in the Champions League knockout rounds, having three attackers who do not give a sniff about what is going on behind them is a recipe for hammerings. And it does not help that the Milan midfielders are not exactly gazelles, even with the addition of Mark van Bommel.

So in addition to finding the right striking partnership -- not as easy a task as it seems, as all of Milan's strikers tend to be scorers rather than link-up players -- you also have to figure out how to set up the midfield to protect the back four, while still giving adequate support to the attacking trident. The problem with Milan is that the team has a plethora of midfielders (mostly defensive ones) that do just one thing really well.

What They Did: Not much, really, in the transfer market. But Gary Neville retired.

Why Things Got More Interesting: Who replaces Red Nev’s 'stache? And crazed (I mean, passionate) Liverpool and City fans will not go after him with two-footed lunges from behind in online play anymore.


Kelvin Mak is the soccer writer here at Operation Sports. Residing in Toronto, Canada, his favo(u)rite sport is -- surprise -- soccer, and he religiously follows the Premier League. You can find him on OS under the username kelvinmak, or in a bar in Toronto, usually after 2 p.m., under the name Pukey.