You can trust Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho to give his own twist to everything that happens in the world of football. As per Jose, Liverpool would have sold Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for more than £100million had Paris Saint-Germain not stunned the market with the world record transfer of Neymar.
Mourinho’s claims come in the wake of the closed summer transfer window that has literally changed the landscape of football business. Neymar’s switch from Barcelona to Paris for a reported £200million has set the tone for not just this season but for the years to come.
PSG doubled the world record fee for a player by splashing the cash on the Brazilian, triggering his release clause. Mourinho believes that in the event of this transfer, the dynamics have changed so much that clubs are now expecting more. He also went on to add that if not for Neymar, Coutinho could have been sold to Barcelona.
“I think Lukaku on August 31 would have been £150m. Matic would have been £60m or £70m. Neymar changed everything.
If the biggest transfer in history had still been Pogba, I think Philippe Coutinho would now be in Barcelona at £101m.”
That is an interesting thought from the Portuguese tactician because the summer transfer window has been crazy this year. Spurred by the riches of the new broadcast rights, most of the English Premier League clubs went shopping with no limits. The icing on the cake was Neymar’s chase, with PSG setting new standards in the transfer market.
But, if Neymar’s sale hadn’t happened, would Coutinho have landed at Barcelona? Mourinho may have a point because the mega sale has opened the flood gates in the transfer market.
That changed the expectations of every club as teams started doubling their asking prices. A £20million player was being looked at as a £40million player, the £40million players becoming £80million and so on.
A look at the deadline day would reiterate the same as clubs went crazy in search of their targets. Thankfully for the fans, the Red Devils finished their business very early in the season and stayed away from this mayhem.
I come from the same school of thought as Mourinho, about this transfer window. One huge sale changed the dynamics and the fabric of the whole window.
Do you agree with Jose Mourinho’s comments?
