— Santiago Rossi (@santiagolatino4) August 8, 2017
Manchester United’s £75-million man is officially on the board.
Romelu Lukaku, not long after missing a sitter in Tuesday’s UEFA Super Cup against Real Madrid, made amends for his blown opportunity by opening his account with the Red Devils.
The burly Belgian’s simple tally, which cut Madrid’s lead in half, goes down as his first competitive goal for the club since his expensive move from Everton.
If Real Madrid plays Gareth Bale in Tuesday’s UEFA Super Cup clash against his Manchester United, there’s no point pursuing his signature this summer. But if Zinedine Zidane opts to keep Bale on the bench, that’s a different story.
Real Madrid has been linked with a move for AS Monaco star Kylian Mbappe, and Zidane might reportedly offload Bale to fund the move. The Guardian’s Jamie Jackson reports Bale has been assured he remains a part of Real Madrid’s future, and that the club will pursue Mbappe next summer. Mourinho is willing to test those reports by attempting to gauge Madrid’s thinking Tuesday.
When asked if he was considering a move for Bale, Mourinho told reporters, as quoted by the Daily Mail: “If he’s playing tomorrow then I wouldn’t think of that.
“If he’s playing tomorrow it’s because he’s in the club’s plans. He has that ambition to continue in Madrid.
“I haven’t even thought about the possibility. If he’s not in the club plans – that what you are writing is true – with the arrival of another player, then we’ll try to wait for him on the other side and fight with other coaches.
“If he plays tomorrow it’s probably confirmation they’ll count on him next season.”
Paris Saint Germain’s newest star, Neymar, says he felt no obligation to remain with Barcelona and that the prospect of embarking on a new challenge was too much to resist while contemplating his future in the days leading up to his transfer to the French capital.
The Brazilian began a new chapter in his illustrious career with his unveiling to the media Friday, alongside club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, after PSG secured his services for a world-record fee of €222 million.
The motive behind the switch was the primary focus as the media searched for an explanation as to why Neymar would spearhead a transfer away from one of the biggest club’s in the world.
Speculation that joining PSG was fueled by greed or an eagerness to escape Lionel Messi’s shadow were rejected by Neymar, who declared that a desire to take on new challenges convinced him to end his four-year stay in Barcelona.
Related: Winners and losers from Neymar’s world-record move to PSG
“This was about ambition,” Neymar confessed, courtesy of the BBC. “I wanted a bigger challenge, and my heart made this decision and I followed my heart. I want to help this club achieve and win trophies.”
He rejected the notion that Messi’s influence at Barca, as well as his status as arguably the world’s best player, had impact on his decision to leave.
“No, quite on the contrary,” he responded when asked about moving out of Messi’s shadow.
“One of my motivations to play for Barcelona was to play alongside Lionel Messi, he was my role model.
Related – Watch: Neymar gets raucous welcome from jubilant PSG fans
“There was no pressure at all there, only during the first week at Barcelona where I was nervous to train with my role models.
“But after that first week, I was relaxed and to play with the best is very easy because every player wants to play with the best in the world to win titles together.”
Al-Khelaifi was adamant that the extravagant price paid to Barcelona was a worthy investment, as Neymar’s value, along with the club’s, would skyrocket in the coming years. In fact, Neymar’s arrivals has already boosted the value of the club.
“Before Neymar the value of the club was $1 billion, now it is $1.5 billion,” he said.
Related – Timeline: How PSG pulled off the most expensive transfer in history
While PSG is already considered one of the world’s finest following the injection of money when a Qatari investment company became the majority stakeholder in 2012, football’s most coveted prize, the UEFA Champions League, has eluded the six-time Ligue 1 champion.
However, the club’s failure in the competition, including last season’s humiliating elimination at the hands of the Brazilian and Barcelona, is a challenge Neymar revealed that he was eager to accept.
“I want to write history at PSG, this is the only reason,” Neymar said. “There are new challenges and I want to help write history. Our biggest challenge is the Champions League, but want all the trophies.”
Al-Khelaifi echoed his sentiment, and clarified reports suggesting Neymar paid the €222-million buyout clause rather than PSG: “Our ambition is to win the Champions League, that is always there. We want to win the maximum trophies we can. It is our dream and we will fight for it. The players need to enjoy it.
“We paid the buyout clause, not Neymar.”
Al-Khelaifi also revealed that the French side is in the process of working with the European governing body, to ensure all aspects of the transfer agreement are transparent.
Meanwhile, Neymar has come under intense criticism from the Barcelona faithful, who have deemed him a traitor and have drawn parrallels with Luis Figo, who famously departed the Catalans in favour of joining rivals Real Madrid in 2000.
He reaffirmed his appreciation for the support during his four years at the Camp Nou, but explained that he was not abandoning the team and that it was his right to pursue other opportunities.
Related – Neymar bids Barcelona farewell, asks for father’s blessing
“I have done nothing bad. I am sad about the fact that the fans think that. I hope it is only a minority. I never lacked respect to the fans and I think every player should be allowed to stay or leave a club,” he said.
“You are not obligated to remain at a club, if you wish to leave then the player has that right.
“Once again, I want to thank the fans, the club, the players.”
Neymar added that he’s prepared to feature in his new team’s Ligue 1 opener against Amiens on Saturday, but PSG has yet to confirm whether he will be available for selection.
Paris Saint-Germain’s €222-million transaction for Neymar triggered a stern response from international footballers’ union FIFPro, which called on the European Commission to revamp the “unjustified and illegal” transfer system.
Having already lodged a legal complaint to the European Union in 2015, FIFPro again demanded action on Friday from authorities.
General secretary Theo van Seggelen – who has lobbied for the abolition of transfer fees, restrictions on squad sizes, and caps on payments to agents – denounced the disproportion of wealth in the game.
“The world-record transfer of Brazilian Neymar from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain is the latest example of how football is ever more the domain of a select group of rich, mostly European-based clubs,” Seggelen said in a statement.
Related – Football’s cash obsession: How to fix the inflated transfer system
“Given much of football’s transfer activity occurs within Europe, where significant transfer fees are exchanged between clubs, FIFPro is asking the European Commission to launch a thorough investigation of the transfer rules it approved in 2001 and which are now in need of urgent review.”
Only 14.4 percent of the 14,591 international transfers in 2016 fetched a transfer fee, according to a FIFA press release, emphasising just how exclusive the transfer market is.
Neymar’s transfer came at more than double the cost of the previous world-record outlay for a footballer, set by Manchester United last year when it signed Paul Pogba for €105 million.
Booming television revenue and inflated sponsorship agreements have armed the biggest clubs with the financial power to spend more and more, but it’s a reality FIFPro hopes to end.
“FIFPro claims an inflated and distorted market, with escalating transfer fees at the heart of it, has helped to destroy competitive balance,” Seggelen added. “The transfer rules governed by FIFA are anti-competitive, unjustified, and illegal.”
