In the last few years, money being spent on transfers in football worldwide has really been taken to the next level. Paul Pogba’s move to Manchester United last summer for a fee of around £89 million remains the most expensive transfer deal in history to date. However, this is on the verge of being smashed by Paris Saint-Germain.
The Ligue 1 outfit are closing in on signing Barcelona winger Neymar for a whopping fee of around £197 million. The La Liga club have already stated that PSG must fork out Neymar’s release clause in full if they are to secure the winger’s signature.
With the astronomical fees involved with this deal, is Neymar really worth it?
Since joining Barcelona in 2013 from Brazillian club Santos, Neymar has gone on to establish himself as one of the best players in world football. During his four-year spell at the club, he has scored 105 goals in 186 appearances. This is very impressive for any winger, let alone a winger playing at the highest level.
His most successful season in front of goal came in the 2014/15 campaign. He found the back of the net 39 times in 51 appearances in all competitions. This included 10 goals in 12 appearances in Europe.
He has made a huge contribution to Barcelona during his time at the Nou Camp. He has helped his side win two La Liga titles, three Copa del Rey titles and one Champions League crown. Therefore, it could be argued that he has achieved everything he possibly can at Barcelona and a move away could give him a new motivation to push on even further.
One of the main reasons why Neymar is said to be keen on a move to PSG is because he feels overshadowed by the presence of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at Barcelona and feels he would have a better chance of winning the Ballon d’Or if he was to make the switch.
This could be looked at in two different ways by PSG. They could see this as a positive motive in regards to the fact that he will put in maximum effort to try and be as successful as possible in France to try and win the award in the next few years. However, one concern might be that he could arrive at the club with a massive ego, believing he is by far the best player at the club and therefore be playing for himself rather than the team.
There is no doubt that the 25-year-old would be under enormous pressure to produce not only in Ligue 1 but in the UEFA Champions League for the French side. PSG have struggled to really get close to claiming a European trophy in the last few years, so this will be an enormous pressure for him to carry on his shoulders.
It will certainly be interesting to see how he performs in an arguably worse side next season if he does make the move. At Barcelona, he has been surrounded by the world’s best players such as Messi, Suarez, Andres Iniesta and so on. He will not have the same level of quality around him at PSG. This will cause many to doubt whether he can produce the same level of performances.
Many people will question his motives if this move does go through in the coming days. However, if Neymar can lead PSG to both domestic and European glory next season, then he might just repay the £197 million they are set to fork out on him.
