PSG set to trigger record Neymar Fee!

By on August 3, 2017

Paris Saint-Germain are set to change the world this week – the football landscape may never be the same again when the French giants annihilate the world record transfer fee to sign 25-year-old Brazilian forward Neymar from Barcelona for £198 million. This titanic figure is more than double what Manchester United paid for current transfer fee holder Paul Pogba last summer, while it is over £100 million more than what Real Madrid paid for Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. The near £200 million deal is set to be completed when the ambitious Ligue 1 club trigger Neymar’s Barcelona release clause – which was only signed on the 21st October 2016 and was meant to be a new five-year deal to stay at the Nou Camp until 2021 at least. The Catalan chiefs could not have foreseen such a swift change of heart from the Brazil poster boy, with nobody expecting a side to spend so much on just one player less than twelve months after the gigantic release clause was set.

Golden Power!

Now the 2016 Olympic Gold medallist is set to make almost as big an exit as fellow star of the Rio games Usain Bolt, who will retire from track athletics after this summer’s World Championships in London. This has come as a Bolt from the Blue (shirts of PSG!) for Barca, as a Neymar departure will also bring an end to the ‘MSN’ attack, which consisted of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and the former Santos superstar. Even departing Jamaican sprinter Bolt would be surprised by the speed at how quickly the baton of Neymar has been passed on from Santos to Barcelona to Paris Saint Germain. The MSN combination helped Barcelona lift the UEFA Champions League in 2015 and PSG hope the signing of Neymar will see them celebrating in Kiev on 26th May 2018. Champions League glory is what the French club have strived for over the last few years, but the closest they have come is the quarter-finals, so to compete with the likes of Real, Barca, Bayern and Juve, they are willing to get the cheque book out again. Also, they did not truly replace the goals of Zlatan Ibrahimovic last summer, so want an upgrade or at least partner for Edison Cavani upfront.

Barca want their full Phil from Neymar deal!

The La Liga side have recruited full-back Nelson Semedo from Benfica for £26million and re-signed Gerard Deulofeu from Everton for £10.6million this summer, but new coach Ernesto Valverde was hoping to add to his squad during this window, rather than lose a key player for the last four years. One Premier League team who will be unhappy about Barca receiving £198 million is Liverpool, as the Catalans may want to replace one 25-year-old Brazil international for another in the form of attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho. Jurgen Klopp has stated the Reds’ number ten is not for sale, but an £80 million bid may test the Anfield side’s resolve. Coutinho is not quite a typical forward like counterpart Neymar, but could play in the hole at Barca, allowing Messi to step forward and get closer to Suarez in attack. However, Liverpool are back in the Champions League this season and have no obvious reason to sell, but have done business with the Spanish top-flight’s second placed side in 2016/17, when they sold Suarez to them in 2014. Valverde will want to reinvest the Neymar cash before the window shuts, as main man Messi did turn 30 at the end of June. With Audi Cup winners Atletico Madrid restricted by a transfer ban until January 2018 and Barca potentially losing one of their best players, Real Madrid will be enjoying these intriguing events, especially if they can spend a bit of their own heavy dough on Monaco’s 18-year-old frontman Kylian Mbappe.

Ney on his Way as Paris is where he’ll now Play!

PSG seem to have no care for Financial Fair Play rules, as Barcelona have already threatened to report the Parisian outfit to UEFA over the expenditure required to take Neymar from the Nou Camp to the Parc des Princes this summer. The Qatari owned club have already signed fellow former Barca hero Dani Alves from Juventus this summer, with the wing-back scoring on his debut as PSG beat Monaco in Trophee des Champions on Saturday. The 34-year-old bagged a brilliant 35-yard free-kick against last season’s Ligue 1 champions, with Paris St-Germain trying to do everything they can to put last campaign’s disappointments behind them. Alves was linked with a move to Man City, but the moneybags of the Parc des Princes was too tempting to turn down for the man who helped Juve reach the Champions League final in June. PSG could be exacting some sort of revenge on Barcelona, who knocked them out of Europe’s elite competition last season with a 6-5 aggregate victory, after the Parisians had won the first-leg 4-0, with Neymar contributing to their last-16 exit. The French side may have kicked off 2017/18 with a trophy, but if they want to avoid any Financial Fair Play implications down the line they may need to consider selling a few squad players now, with Argentine winger Angel Di Maria linked with a move to Inter Milan or even Barcelona.

PSG = Power Spenders Go!

PSG are not the only power spenders across Europe this summer, as Italian outfit AC Milan have already splashed out £160 million on new recruits and are being linked with a move for Chelsea’s out-of-favour striker Diego Costa before the deadline. The Serie A side have received recent Chinese investment backing, who want to turn the San Siro club into a real force again and have brought in ten new players such as defender Leonardo Bonucci for £35 million. Everyone was looking at Premier League big-hitters Manchester City and Italian giants AC Milan, when the major explosion of cash was going to be spent between Paris and Barcelona on a Junior. One aspect of this potential deal is definite – it changes everything, as the world record transfer has never before been set by a French side and this will only go to further inflate prices for top talent across Europe. Donald Trump might even want to rejoin the Paris climate agreement, if he found out the wages they whack out in the French city’s football club in 2017.

PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Fau (Neymar) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

About Richard Lewis

Richard Lewis can relate almost anything to football and quite often does! You may have seen Richard's previous ideas and work in the BBC Match of the Day Magazine, from 2011 to present. He is a Manchester United and England fan, but has gone to see Leyton Orient play with his O's season ticket in the 2013/14 campaign. Aside from football, Richard has written articles on Doctor Who and studies English Language and Linguistics at the University of Westminster. Aspiring sports journalist.