Neymar’s record-breaking €222 million euro move to Paris St Germain is now complete and the Brazilian is officially the most expensive player in the history of football.
Not only has a new financial precedent been set but the scales of European competition have been unbalanced, however briefly.
Here, Press Association Sport examines some of the potential consequences of Neymar’s historic move to Paris.
When PSG made their interest in Neymar clear Barcelona insisted he would not be sold for a cent less than the 222m euros stipulated in his release clause. Qatar Sports Investments, which has owned PSG since 2011, is not short on cash, originating from a nation which boasts a sovereign wealth fund of 335 billion US dollars.
The target was there to be hit and PSG were bold enough to call Barca’s bluff and push through an historic move for the player who 15 years ago was still playing futsal in the streets of Sao Paulo.
Eye on the ball: Neymar.
Alarm bells are ringing over the eye-watering one-off payment, which obliterates the 105m euro (£89m) fee Manchester United paid Juventus for Paul Pogba last summer, as PSG will somehow have to account for the transfer in their UEFA Financial Fair Play submissions.
The Parisians have made a profit in recent years for FFP accounting purposes and can therefore subsidise some of the subsequent loss from the Neymar deal, although they will inevitably have to sell a number of players and set up more lucrative commercial deals. To that end, worldwide superstar Neymar will help to pay his way.
Barcelona, who have now lost one of the stars of their three-pronged MSN strike force, which still contains Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, have a long-standing interest in PSG playmaker Marco Verratti but have been rebuffed at every turn so far.
The French club even teased the Catalans by posting a picture of Verratti smiling on Twitter, together with the words “Hope you’re having a great day!” on Thursday as Neymar finalised his move. Javier Pastore has conceded his number 10 shirt to Neymar and could be vulnerable, while the likes of Jese, Hatem Ben Arfa and Lucas look increasingly surplus to requirements.
Neymar was paraded on Friday.
There is a big hole to fill at the Nou Camp and Neymar’s departure could inspire Barca to look to England for a replacement. New boss Ernesto Valverde is reportedly keen on Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil, who has one year left on his contract, while the Catalans have tried and failed to sign Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool.
Their coffers have been filled and it would be no surprise if they went back to Anfield with a bumper offer for that world-class Brazilian.
Despite his abundant talent on the pitch, the key issue concerning Neymar’s move to PSG is the astronomical sum of money involved. UEFA has the power to investigate breaches of FFP and impose sanctions should it find just cause, but Europe’s governing body cannot change international policy.
International players’ association FIFPro is among the organisations to have expressed a concern that football is becoming “ever more the domain of a select group of rich, mostly European-based clubs”, accusing FIFA of governing transfer rules that are “anti-competitive, unjustified and illegal”. Until legislation changes at the highest level, fees will continue to skyrocket.
