Records tumble in Europe transfer ‘madness’
Barca agree $175m deal for Dembele
PARIS, Aug 26, (AFP): Ousmane Dembele’s transfer to Barcelona in a deal worth up to 147 million euros ($175 million), making him the world’s second most expensive player after Neymar, is the latest dizzying move fuelled by TV money and Gulf-based club owners.
The deal agreed Friday to bring 20-year-old French striker Dembele to the Spanish giants from Borussia Dortmund was a direct consequence of Neymar’s shock 222-million-euro move to Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain that obliterated the world transfer record.
To further fill the gap left by Neymar’s departure, Barcelona are expected to make a final push to sign Liverpool’s Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho before the transfer window slams shut within days.
PSG, determined to mount a serious challenge for the Champions League, are also reportedly about to secure the signa-
PSG and City and their Gulf-based owners “have shaken up the established order”, said Virgile Caillet, a marketing expert who heads the French federation of sport and leisure industries.
“For years a handful of clubs have shared out the best players, without criticising the system, and now they are facing a handful of new rivals and a bidding war that they weren’t prepared for.”
In the case of PSG, Qatar also appears to be seeking to exert its “soft power” at a time that it is locked in a feud with its regional rivals.
In the space of August, records set last year have been swept away, with the £89 million deal that took Paul Pogba to Manchester United in 2016 more than doubled by PSG’s swoop for Neymar that broke up Barcelona’s “MSN” trio of the 25-year-old Brazilian, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi.
Dembele’s move for a fee of 105 million euros with add-ons worth another 42 million euros, following Neymar’s Barca exit, comes as footballers’ union FIFPro has blasted “transfer market madness”.
Neymar’s move, it said, “is the latest example of how football is ever more the domain of a select group of rich, mostly European-based clubs”.
The sum paid for Neymar is however “an exception”, Caillet argued.
And in splashing out on Dembele and his 18-year-old France international teammate Mbappe, clubs are investing in the future.
“These are investments in future superstars who have a high potential resale value. It mustn’t be forgotten that clubs are commercial entities with investment strategies,” Caillet said.