Neymar to PSG: Why haven’t Premier League clubs tried to hijack Barcelona star’s move to Paris Saint-Germain?
Samba superstar is expected to complete world-record £198million transfer to the French capital this week
NEYMAR'S world-record move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain should be completed in the coming days.
It is a deal that few would have predicted when the summer began.
The Brazilian seemed content at the Camp Nou.
He was part of the most fearsome attacking trident in world football and was seemingly being groomed as the long-term replacement for Lionel Messi.
However, Neymar wants to step out of the diminutive Argentine’s large shadow.
That is, supposedly, his motivation for switching La Liga to Ligue 1.
But why is a move to the Premier League not a possibility?
None of the top six clubs have even attempted to hijack a deal. But is it solely down to the money?
If the reported figures are correct, Neymar is going to cost PSG in excess of £330m over the next five years.
It’s a staggering amount of money even in the increasingly ludicrous financial bubble that top European football clubs operate in.
And it’s why the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Chelsea haven’t even considered entering the race for Neymar, despite his undoubted talent.
Quite simply, it’s a deal that is too rich for their blood.
Chelsea, despite being owned by billionaire Roman Abramovich, have curbed their spending in recent years.
They no longer pay over the odds and tend not complete deals until a large chuck of the fee is offset by a player sale.
This summer is a prime example. The Blues will receive £40m for Nemanja Matic and have reinvested that money in Tiemoue Bakayoko.
Antonio Rudiger arrived after Nathan Ake joined Bournemouth for £20m and the eventual departure of Diego Costa will have helped finance Alvaro Morata’s £60m arrival.
So if the Blues were ever going to consider moving for Neymar, they’d need to recoup a sizeable fee for one of their own.
And the only man that would get in excess of £100m is Eden Hazard, who Chelsea wouldn’t want to sell.
So there is no chance a deal could be done to bring Barca’s Brazilian to Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool and Tottenham, meanwhile, have shifted their focus towards younger players who can be nurtured into world stars.
It’s very rare either side have bought the finished article in recent seasons and neither clubs’ owners would be willing to sanction such an extravagance on one signing, let alone pay Neymar’s reported £520,000-a-week wages.
It would be a similar story for Arsenal. The Gunners are baulking at Alexis Sanchez’s £400,000-a-week demands and risk losing the Chilean on a free transfer.
The club aren’t going to entertain the idea of matching what the Brazil star would want in order to move to the Premier League.
So we’re left with two Manchester clubs. Both of whom could, if they wanted, trigger Neymar’s release clause and pay his wages.
However, apart from the odd murmuring last month about City being interested, neither have attempted to hijack the deal.
There is no doubt Neymar is a player every manager would want to have in their side, but only if a deal makes sense.
For United and Jose Mourinho, signing the Brazilian would go against what he is seemingly building at Old Trafford.
The arrival of Matic suggests the Portuguese is building a imposing side that can win a game through sheer physical dominance if required.
Neymar, who reportedly weighs less than 11 stone, wouldn’t fit into the land of the giants despite his ability.
Manchester United transfer target Ivan Perisic, for example, is more a Mourinho player.
Powerful, quick and technically sound, and a fraction of Neymar’s asking price.
The Red Devils don’t have to break the bank, and their pay structure, to land the Barcelona forward when a Croatian from Inter Milan can fulfill Mourinho’s instructions to the letter.
Across the city, Pep Guardiola is flush for attacking options.
Neymar would be a lavish purchase the club don’t need.
He would take up a place in the side that would’ve been occupied by the likes of Leroy Sane or Bernardo Silva, who were both signed for in excess of £40m.
Their development would be stunted without regular minutes and with Gabriel Jesus, Sergio Aguero, Kevin de Bruyne, David Silva and Raheem Sterling also in contention for a starting berth, Neymar’s signing would give Guardiola an even greater selection headache that he doesn’t need.
So yes, the main reason as to why Neymar isn’t being courted by Premier League clubs is financial.
It’s a deal that simply doesn’t add up for the majority of the elite top flight sides.
And by joining PSG, Neymar isn’t strengthening a European superpower that will dominate the Champions League for years to come.
The French club, despite big spending by Qatar Sports Investments, haven’t progressed beyond the quarter-finals of European football’s Premier League competition since 1995.
Neymar’s imminent arrival is designed to change that.
He is a special talent but one that can’t guide PSG to success alone, especially in Europe.
He isn’t making PSG more of a threat and that is partly why Premier League sides are happy to let him trade Barcelona for Paris.