Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand claims he would cost around £170m in the current football market
Former Manchester United defender and legend Rio Ferdinand claims that he would cost around £170m had the Red Devils signed him from Leeds United in the current football market.
21 years ago, United actually paid £29.3m to sign Ferdinand from their rivals. The market then was a nominal one. In the last 5-6 years, it has all gone crazy, starting with Paris-Saint Germain paying £200m to sign Neymar Jr. from Barcelona.
Once the market inflates with the current world economy falling like ninepins, it is difficult to curb it back to what it was during the playing days of Rio Ferdinand.
Here’s what the former United and England defender said about his value right now (h/t Rio’s YouTube channel, via Manchester Evening News):
“I was 30m back in the day.
“Imagine today man. “100m would be cheap for me, serious, in today’s market. “£170m, £400,000 per week, that is what I would be now, I would be that now.
“If you want [my wages] to be that [£500,000-£600,000] they can be that but that is what I am saying 400 to 450.”
It is great to see legends of the game saying things that do not make sense. As much as the current market is inflated, it is generally skewed towards the high prices of midfielders and forwards.
At present, the world’s most expensive defender is Harry Maguire when United signed him from Leicester City for £80m. Liverpool signed Virgil van Dijk for £75m in 2018.
While Maguire hasn’t lived up to his price tag, van Dijk has and probably surpassed that as well. One would think that the maximum price to sign a centre-back is around £100m, isn’t it?
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If it goes above that, the market would have gone crazier than what it already is today. So, although we respect Rio and what he has done during his career, there is no way a club would pay £170m to sign him. The wage part is acceptable to an extent. But, the transfer fee? Not at all. Defenders cannot cost that much. Simple as that.
