Mind-boggling fees irk Keane

– Former Manchester United star Roy Keane (above) has slammed the “mind-boggling” spending of clubs paying huge fees for “average” players in a frenzied transfer window.

Keane, who now works as assistant to Republic of Ireland coach Martin O’Neill, has been shocked by some of the sums paid by Europe’s top clubs in the summer.

French giants Paris St Germain have led the way, forking out a staggering €222 million for Neymar and preparing to invest heavily once again in Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe.

In the Premier League, the spree has set a new record for a single window as the 20 clubs splashed out over £1.18 billion.

Manchester City splurged over £200m, while 12 teams broke their transfer records.

Keane is astonished that players he regards as mediocre are being given lavish contracts after making big-money moves.

“It’s mind-boggling, the figures that are out there – especially for the average players. If ever there was a time to be a professional player it’s now. Average players are going for £35 million. My goodness,” Keane said yesterday.

“That’s the market-place at the moment. There aren’t many top players out there. The really big players are going for big money and it’s filtering down now.

“When average players are going for £30 to 40million, it does make you scratch your head. But if the clubs are prepared to pay that, then it’s not the players’ fault.”

Keane played alongside stars like David Beckham Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Ruud van Nistelrooy, as well as Cristiano Ronaldo, who cost Real Madrid £80m when he left Old Trafford for the Bernabeu eight years ago. –

London