Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho claims Neymar is not 'expensive' at almost £200m

The Barcelona forward is on the verge of completing a record-breaking £198m move to Paris Saint-Germain, making him the world's most expensive footballer

Mark Critchley
Wednesday 02 August 2017 23:44 BST
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Jose Mourinho believes Neymar is worth the money but fears the effect on the market
Jose Mourinho believes Neymar is worth the money but fears the effect on the market (Getty)

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Jose Mourinho does not believe that a fee of almost £200m is too ‘expensive’ a price for Neymar, as the Barcelona forward prepares to complete a record-breaking move to Paris Saint-Germain.

Manchester United made Paul Pogba the world’s most expensive footballer less than a year ago, yet already the £89.3m paid to Juventus last August is set to be trumped.

Despite condemnation of the move in some quarters, Mourinho believes the £198m price is a fair reflection of Neymar’s talent, but nevertheless fears that the move will further inflate the transfer market.

“When we paid that amount for Paul [Pogba] I said that he was not expensive,” Mourinho said after United’s 2-1 pre-season friendly win over Sampdoria in Dublin.

“Expensive are the ones that get into a certain level without a certain quality. I think with Neymar it is going to happen the same. I don't think he’s expensive for £200m.

“I think he’s expensive for the fact that you are going to have more players of £100m and more players of £80m and more players of £60m,” he added.

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