Just when you think another benchmark cannot be set, the football news blows fans away by the cost of the latest mega-money deal.
Value is one thing and cost is very much another.
It’s always been that way.
From the very first eye-catching deal to the current one, inflation has always played a part. But the sums involved nowadays have soared to heights no betting tips could ever envisage.
Yet the market which has spiralled beyond recognition in recent years still shows no sign of abating in the run-up to the new club season.
He may not play like one of the best players in the world – certainly, his World Cup showing was hugely disappointing with some of his antics bordering on cheating – but Neymar remains the most expensive footballer of all time.
His £198-million move to Paris Saint-Germain last summer is the benchmark, and the Parisian giants would surely accept nothing less should any other club wish to acquire his services this summer.
However, Qatari-owned PSG must be mightily relieved they agreed the signing of Kylian Mbappe last summer rather than now after his World Cup to remember.
He has now usurped Neymar as the star name in the capital of romance following his exploits in Russia. If the bidding was starting again, it would certainly cost more than the £166 million they agreed with Monaco nearly 12 months ago.
Indeed, the move would have happened earlier but was initially a loan deal to ensure the French champions avoided financial fair play pitfalls.
Then there’s Phillipe Coutinho, one of Neymar’s replacements at Barcelona who swapped Merseyside for Catalonia in January for £105 million. The deal could reach £142 million with add-ons, still lagging some way behind Neymar and Mbappe.
Barcelona certainly used the Neymar money as quickly as possible, parting with £97 million for Ousmane Dembele who, aged 20, briefly became the second-most expensive footballer of all time.
After his injury woes during his debut season, Barca will hope to see a lot more of him in the months ahead.
The tag of the most expensive footballer in the world had briefly stuck with Manchester United’s French World Cup-winning midfielder Paul Pogba who made the move from Juventus two summers ago for £89 million.
That figure now seems relatively low key when you think what has followed.
Although even two of the big money moves last season did not quite reach that figure.
Pogba’s friend Romelu Lukaku has been an instant hit as his new club-mate after United also parted company with £75 million to scoop up the Belgian strike from under Chelsea’s noses, while Virgil van Dijk is the most expensive defender in the world after Liverpool paid Southampton the same amount for the Dutchman’s services.
In the end, Chelsea turned their attention to Alvaro Morata who arrived in west London from Real Madrid for £60 million – although his tenure, certainly to date, has not been as productive in front of goal as Lukaku’s first 12 months.
Morata, incidentally, replaced Diego Costa who re-joined Atletico Madrid for just under £50 million.
The two clubs absent from this column so far are European champions Real Madrid and the biggest spenders of them all, Manchester City.
That is because it’s a number of years since Madrid broke transfer records – recruiting Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009 from Man Utd for £80 million and then following it up by snapping up Gareth Bale from Spurs for £85 million.
Both have been brilliant acquisitions and proof that money can buy you quality and success.
The fact Ronaldo, 34 in his next birthday, has just been sold to Juventus for even more money – £88.3 million – is a masterstroke from Madrid where he scored 450 goals and won numerous honours en route to becoming the best player on the planet.
It will be some time before there is a more successful transfer deal in world football than that provided by CR7 (twice) – he was also immense as Sir Alex Ferguson picked him up for just £12 million as David Beckham’s replacement at Old Trafford in 2003.
Whether Ronaldo can inspire the already-prolific Gonzalo Higuain to new heights at Juve next year remains to be seen. If he does, coupled with profitable shirt sales, the deal may seem common business sense.
As for City, they are regularly spending big, backed by their lucrative Kuwaiti owners, although have yet to enter the top 10 list.
Riyad Mahrez (£60 million), Aymeric Laporte (£57m), Kevin de Bruyne (£55m), Raheem Sterling (£49m), John Stones (£47m), Kyle Walker (£45m), Bernardo Silva (£43m), Leroy Sane (£37m), Ederson (£35m), and Nicolas Otamendi (£32m) are all big-money recruits as they bid to become established at the top of the European game.
Add Liverpool making Brazilian international Alisson the most expensive goalkeeper in a world-record £65 million deal, and the period of the most expensive transfers in world football shows no sign of easing.
It all makes it even more exciting for the Premier League betting odds at SBOBET!
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