Yes if its not realistic then its a glorified loan. We take the risk as you have said, then if he's crap they have made £££, if he turns into a superstar they pay us £7-8mill for the privilage of developing him.
Thats fine when like Geri, its only a £8-9mill outlay, but to spend €40mill is a whole different situation.
If they lowered the initial fee then a lot of clubs would be willing to risk it, especially frlm a business point of view. But the €40mill fee means there are only so many clubs able to afford him in the first place.