Neymar looks Set to Smash World Record Signing for PSG for £197 million ($253m)

Football peaked in ~2008 or 2009. I think these sums are absurd and I'm not gonna contribute shit to this business anymore and haven't done so for a while.
 
A few thoughts on this.

- Yes, the money is absurd. But if you look at the source, it makes sense. The way the game has evolved (at least the business/transfer side of things), now the richest of the rich are involved and to pry away a top 5 player in the game from a top 5 big club, this is the cost. It kinda makes a joke of the FFP.

- Neymar is gonna score buckets in Ligue 1. Like 40+ goals good.

- Can't wait for the inevitable PSG/Barca CL matchup.

- If someone like Lucas is maybe no longer required at PSG, Mou needs to jump on that. He'd be a great addition

- And what's of more interest now is who Barca buy now and the domino effect it has all over Europe. I'm sure they can buy both Dembele and Dybala with that money and still come out unscathed, perhaps even improved.

I would hold off Lucas until right before the transfer window closes. There is a slight chance that Bale might become available, that should be Woody's target. Also, surprised Barca failed to land Verratti in return.
 
I would hold off Lucas until right before the transfer window closes. There is a slight chance that Bale might become available, that should be Woody's target. Also, surprised Barca failed to land Verratti in return.

Window is still open, and Barca is about to go HAM.
 
this. its almost as bad as going into the italian league...nah, its better than that at least.

The Italian league is way better than France. Big gap between Spain - Germany, England, Italy - France, Portugal, and Russia.

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I still remember when £15M for Shearer was the record and everyone putting him in their fantasy footy team.

Wasn't sure they'd actually go for it but looks like it's gonna happen now.
 
I would hold off Lucas until right before the transfer window closes. There is a slight chance that Bale might become available, that should be Woody's target. Also, surprised Barca failed to land Verratti in return.

Let's get both!! But seriously, I don't think Bale wants to leave Madrid (at least right now). Maybe after a season on the bench potentially playing behind a teen will change his mind. But at that point I don't know if he'd be worth the potential ridiculous outlay at his age.
 
There are so few elite players, odds are you are not replacing Dybala with a comperable talent.

Yeah true. But with just a month left on the transfer window we're probably gonna see some even crazier figures comparatively to that of Neymar. I mean 250m is pumped into the market through a single player and that is gonna make some waves.
 
No player is worth 222 million. I wish PSG the best though. Let's hope Neymar can stay on his feet the entirety of a match instead of dropping to the floor when a fly hits him in the face.

222 million. Christ. Insane amount for Neymar. If it was Messi or Ronaldo ... yeah. But this?

If this transfer is done, the transfer market is dead.
 
Let's get both!! But seriously, I don't think Bale wants to leave Madrid (at least right now). Maybe after a season on the bench potentially playing behind a teen will change his mind. But at that point I don't know if he'd be worth the potential ridiculous outlay at his age.

He won't want to sit on the bench any longer then he has been so far. I think he wants to prove that the injury is behind him, and that he can play a full match, and not be subbed in later.

That being said, I don't know what team would take that current transfer fees, and salary.
 
A few thoughts on this.

- Yes, the money is absurd. But if you look at the source, it makes sense. The way the game has evolved (at least the business/transfer side of things), now the richest of the rich are involved and to pry away a top 5 player in the game from a top 5 big club, this is the cost. It kinda makes a joke of the FFP.

- Neymar is gonna score buckets in Ligue 1. Like 40+ goals good.

- Can't wait for the inevitable PSG/Barca CL matchup.

- If someone like Lucas Moura is maybe no longer required at PSG, Mou needs to jump on that. He'd be a great addition as we lack proven wingers.

- And what's of most interest personally is who Barca buy now and the potential domino effect it has all over Europe. I'm sure they can buy both Dembele and Dybala with that money and still come out unscathed, perhaps even improved. Maybe they swoop for Mbappe and piss off their rivals? Gonna be an entertaining August till the window closes.

Nah Lucas isn't good, he doesn't have any football intellect imo. I hope Mourinho doesn't try to get him.
 
No player is worth 222 million. I wish PSG the best though. Let's hope Neymar can stay on his feet the entirety of a match instead of dropping to the floor when a fly hits him in the face.

222 million. Christ. Insane amount for Neymar. If it was Messi or Ronaldo ... yeah. But this?

If this transfer is done, the transfer market is dead.

The transfer is done. He is younger than both Messi and Ronaldo. He is about to enter his prime and next year is a WC year. His star could not be shinning brighter from a business perspective and potential on the pitch.
 
The transfer is done. He is younger than both Messi and Ronaldo. He is about to enter his prime and next year is a WC year. His star could not be shinning brighter from a business perspective and potential on the pitch.

Pretty much this....usually its impossible to get a player like this from Real or Barca if they dont wanna sell.

I also understand the argument that +200m for a player is stupid...but 50-100m is fine ? All these prices are ridiculous, but soccer is a business at this point and the only thing dictating the price is the demand.
 
As far as I can tell the £200 million price was set to deter any transfer attempts,cause of how ridiculously large it is. Yet now we have a team actually willing to pay that much.
 
As far as I can tell the £200 million price was set to deter any transfer attempts,cause of how ridiculously large it is. Yet now we have a team actually willing to pay that much.

Can't wait for the next Barcelona player with a £300 million release clause.
 
Pretty much this....usually its impossible to get a player like this from Real or Barca if they dont wanna sell.

I also understand the argument that +200m for a player is stupid...but 50-100m is fine ? All these prices are ridiculous, but soccer is a business at this point and the only thing dictating the price is the demand.

That's the thing, though. They always sell. The presidents at Barca and Real have such short attention spans, they get rid of all their best players every two or three years anyways.

only Messi and Ronaldo are exempt.
 
Yeah, in the past it would deter every team. When Messi just broke through I think Inter was looking into a way to court him because there was a loophole in his youth contract. Barca quickly upgraded his contract and clause. Italian clubs were financially powerful back then. Those clauses ofcourse didn't go beyond 150 million, which was an unthinkable amount in 2005 or so.

But with these billionaires swooping in, even 222 million isn't safe. They need to upgrade to 500 million or even a billion.

Ronaldo and Messi might have clauses of a billion and 300m respectively, but no one is going to pay that much for 30+ aged offensive players. They're nearing the end of their careers. Ronaldo already gets spared the less important matches and is pretty much a full on striker now. I think European teams especially are smart enough not to target these. Perhaps China is so crazy, but I wonder if they ever want to play there.
 
To be fair if Barcelona did not want to sell Neymar they should have done what RM did with Benzema of all players, 1B buyout.
 
Neymar is amazing but 200m is good money for him. I don't think he is good enough to reach Messi levels.

Probably not.

What we've witnessed with Ronaldo and Messi is something inhuman. In a "bad" season, they score like 35 league goals. People say "yeah, they missed some games and had some bad games this season" Before their era, a player with those averages would've been considered the best striker on the planet.

People will realize it once they've been retired. We won't see averages of 80 goals in a calendar year anytime soon.

And not only that, but also realize that these guys are doing it for 10 years straight. Other legends, like Ronaldinho, they could hold on for perhaps 3 or 4 seasons before fading away. What these 2 guys are doing is absolutely ridiculous. Thats why I always laugh when fans say that Hazard is as good as Messi, who had been through an absolutely shit season already. Something Messi and Ronaldo never experienced thus far. These guys are the best players in the history of football.
 
£515k per week after tax for 5 years, presumably with additional goal and assist bonuses, is fucking insane. It's an insane amount of money. I rate him but he isn't good enough to warrant that kind of money imho. He's not worth crazy money and his presence doesn't automatically make them genuine Champions League contenders. PSG still aren't as good as Barca, Bayern, Real, Juve, Chelsea and probably Man City. Gonna be very interesting to see how he does next season.
 
So, with this deal totalling in excess of £450m, when do you all reckon we'll get our first £1bn player?

I give it until Christmas. Transfer rises have been ridiculous.
 
One day we look back on this figure and look back fondly on the good old days when we were only paying £200 million for players.

Insane amount of cash.
 
Probably not.

What we've witnessed with Ronaldo and Messi is something inhuman. In a "bad" season, they score like 35 league goals. People say "yeah, they missed some games and had some bad games this season" Before their era, a player with those averages would've been considered the best striker on the planet.

People will realize it once they've been retired. We won't see averages of 80 goals in a calendar year anytime soon.

And not only that, but also realize that these guys are doing it for 10 years straight. Other legends, like Ronaldinho, they could hold on for perhaps 3 or 4 seasons before fading away. What these 2 guys are doing is absolutely ridiculous. Thats why I always laugh when fans say that Hazard is as good as Messi, who had been through an absolutely shit season already. Something Messi and Ronaldo never experienced thus far. These guys are the best players in the history of football.

But would Messi be able to do it in a more competitive league like PL? Ronaldo have done it.
 
So, with this deal totalling in excess of £450m, when do you all reckon we'll get our first £1bn player?

I give it until Christmas. Transfer rises have been ridiculous.

Never. Transfer fees and wages will be capped by the time a player ever reaches a billion.
 
So, with this deal totalling in excess of £450m, when do you all reckon we'll get our first £1bn player?

I give it until Christmas. Transfer rises have been ridiculous.

Not sure if you follow but the latest TV deal in U.K. Is considered crippling without huge price rises. There is reason to believe that Sky is trying to end BT. This could be the peak. I've spoken to people at BT and this is the end.
 
Crazy to think this is actually happening. I knew Pogba's fee would be broken within a year.

Making a mockery of FFP
 
Football peaked in ~2008 or 2009. I think these sums are absurd and I'm not gonna contribute shit to this business anymore and haven't done so for a while.

This is nothing. Live sport is only going to become more important to content providers as it's hugely profitable for advertisers and still massively popular with the public who want to watch these events as they happen not on demand like everything else.

I expect prices to rise even more the next time the rights come up because services like Amazon will attempt to get in on it as streaming continues to take over. Football, NFL, NBA etc will be swimming in cash for years to come.

The only saving grace for the English game is the pay structure of the PL means the money is evenly spread between teams so nobody will get left behind. Saying that the reach needs to increase because the gap between the lower leagues is already massive and only going to get worse. I think the leagues all over the world will need to restructure these payments for the good of the game and stop one club buying all the Neymar's of the world.
 
Football peaked in ~2008 or 2009. I think these sums are absurd and I'm not gonna contribute shit to this business anymore and haven't done so for a while.

Don't be so dramatic,this has been happening for the past 20-30 years and as long as the audience grows so will the prices, the football on the pitch is better than it ever has been.

A player is worth whatever a club is willing to pay.
 
Don't be so dramatic,this has been happening for the past 20-30 years and as long as the audience grows so will the prices, the football on the pitch is better than it ever has been.

A player is worth whatever a club is willing to pay.
The Zidane/Ronaldinho/Henry era was better.
 
Not sure if you follow but the latest TV deal in U.K. Is considered crippling without huge price rises. There is reason to believe that Sky is trying to end BT. This could be the peak. I've spoken to people at BT and this is the end.

If Sky were trying to end BT they would have outbid them for every contract last time out. It was the other way around.

Sky need BT to die because BT don't need sports to thrive, but Sky depend on it.
 
I was watching L'équipe's coverage of this and they said something interesting. The implications of this transfer are pretty huge. The buy-out clause is not a transfer fee, it's something the player himself has to pay to get out of his contract. This is of course something PSG pays through him, but since it's not a normal transfer fee, Santos will not get any solidarity contribution on that transfer. I don't have the numbers, but even a small percentage of the 200 million is a lot of money lost for Santos.
 
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