One of the longer-running sagas of this summer looks to be at an end. Brazilian mega star Neymar has moved in a £198 million transfer, making him the most expensive player ever. Allegedly this is a sum that met his release clause, meaning Barcelona were essentially powerless to make him stay. The Catalan giants are not used to losing players they wish to keep, meaning this transfer has begun an ugly war of words – and potentially, further action.
Joining Barcelona
When Barcelona signed Neymar back in 2013 for £48.6 milion, it was considered a coup. Not only had they managed to sign the most coveted forward in the world, but they had done so under the noses of fierce rivals Real Madrid. Madrid had aggressively pursued Neymar's signature, only to stumble over two factors: the first was Madrid's club policy of taking a 50% cut of all players' sponsorship deals, something neither Neymar nor his father could stomach. The second was that Neymar had already signed a secret pact with Barcelona in 2011. So secret, in fact, that when it came to light it kicked off a scandal that brought down the club president Sandro Rosell.
Questions behind the price
Although Barcelona claim to have paid £48.6 million (57.3 million euros) for Neymar, less than a third of the fee actually went to Santos. The rest was designated a salary and paid to Neymar, as well as a few other stakeholders. It turned out that Barcelona had doctored their numbers in any case – although the initial fee was true, it failed to take into account almost £20 million extra in additional fees to Neymar, agents and Santos. When the dust had settled, Barcelona faced tax fraud charges, a hefty fine and the task of finding a new president. But they had their player, a genuine superstar and presumably a long-term acquisition.
PSG's move
Paris have made no secret of their desire to be the biggest club in Europe. With the apparently limitless backing of Qatar, the French club have billions at their disposal. A statement signing like this one seems like the obvious step for a club flexing its financial muscle. However, Barcelona are livid at what they see as a violation of Financial Fair Play rules. Considering the effort it took and the problems signing Neymar caused, it's somewhat understandable. The Catalans are so angry there are rumours they will encourage other big European clubs to band together against PSG in transfer dealings.
Paris won't care
For their part, this is the culmination of years of effort for PSG. Signing a global superstar in his prime is the zenith of that quest. However, for big players moving to France the key is the Champions League. For this mega-transfer to be considered a success, Neymar will have to win in Europe with PSG. It remains to be seen if that's possible while Ligue 1 is still so light on real competition. Monaco have been picked apart by foreign teams, ensuring PSG will have an easy route to domestic glory. But without a real fight to sharpen the team, it's debateable whether they can actually beat the other European giants.
There's no doubt this move is a massive upset in the established order. But will PSG actually be able to make it worth Neymar's time, or will the Brazilian be looking to move on again in a couple of years?
Photo by Alex Fau
© Copyright topfootballtipster.com 2019
