We'll have to wait until the smoke has cleared to see what the final terms were because while signing a generational talent like FDJ should be the objective of Barca generally speaking, the club does not enter into bidding wars for good reason - particularly when it involves clubs with unlimited finances. The amount, 90 vs 75, doesn't bother me in principle but if the club increased the fee to tip the scales then Barto has gone ahead and done exactly what the club has long never done. The wages, however, there simply may not be any easy way around it in the modern game except for the obvious wage bill issue in the squad. Of course, remains to be seen what the final numbers are, including net wages. Presumably the club will explain this or at least provide us some spin to make it palatable.
I am over the moon to land FDJ but I long believed he would choose the club on equal terms, not dumping cash on his doorstep ala the Qataris whose only achievement in world football thus far is to blow up the transfer market - so in that regards, it's worrying. Maybe not shady worrying like in the original Neymar transfer but financially & philosophically
The good is that this surely spells the end of Rakitic's tenure at Barcelona and hopefully means the end of the Parisian outcast, Rabiot
@Parisian Y
ou can spin it any way you like, the reality is that a club has spent nearly 2 billion in 8 years of ownership of a club that has only been around for a handful of decades pales in comparison to OL & OM in terms of history, culture and makeup of French players. The Paris club has effectively only 1 key French player for a club you would have us believe is the most popular in France - a country that is not all too keen on seeing their clubs dominated by non-continental French players much less foreign ones. Paris is a fantastically beautiful & culturally rich city but they are not a football city/club - anyone who has been in Lyon or Marseilles ahead of a match will feel the palpable difference. As I have already said on more than one occasion, players choosing PSG do so for the cash not sporting reasons as there is no sporting history to be drawn to but rather the marketing juggernaut of the Qataris who are flush with cash. All you have to do is appreciate just how difficult it is for players to leave the club once they sign their names in blood - their 8 year history is littered with examples of holding players ransom to their contracts. The only player who was able to leave relatively unscathed was Matuidi who was in the twilight of his career but even he was blocked when wanting to quit the club
How can people call that a great post or even upvote it.
I referred to you actual articles, real numbers from different sources (from France and L'Equipe being at war with PSG would not see them favor them, from UK, from US). Still, you are unable to link any real sources from what you spout out ?
The simple fact you consider OL as an historical club in France is laughable. OL is praised for being very well managed. No one will ever say the opposite. But, French people will tell you the historical club in that region is Saint Etienne, the actual record holder of Ligue 1 titles. Lyon became only relevant in the early 2000 (and was founded only 20 years before PSG, what a long history compared to PSG haha !) when they won 7 straight titles. You should really stop talking about french football because you are showing your ignorance. By the time Lyon had won their first Ligue 1, PSG had already won 2 Ligue 1, 5 Coupes de France, 2 Coupes de la Ligue, 1 Coupe des Clubs Vainqueurs de Coupe.
If this is not enough, here is what Wikipedia has to say : Paris Saint-Germain established itself as a major force in France, and one of the major forces of European football in recent years. PSG have won a total of 38 trophies, making it the
most successful French club in history by this measure.
[3][4] PSG is also the only club to have never been relegated from
Ligue 1,
[5] the club with most consecutive seasons in the top-flight (they have played 45 seasons in Ligue 1 since 1974),
[6] one of only two French clubs to have won a
major European title,
[7] and the most popular football club in France and one of the most widely supported teams in the world.
[8]
If again, this is not enough proof : why is the french classic match PSG v OM ? I mean PSG is such an irrelevant club, i wonder why it is not OM v OL, right ?
PSG is the only team in France to have won an European Cup, the other one being OM with their bribing scandal that year. That makes PSG an historical team in France. Also, PSG was number 1 team in UEFA coefficient in 1998, only team in France to do that.
https://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/data/method1/trank1998.html
You have just shown your immense bias towards PSG, i suppose you like Lyon because it is closer to your country maybe. Or rather because you are what we call a "footix" in France: basically an uncultured guy that goes bandwaggoning a team or club because they are successful (here Lyon when you started following L1 in the 2000).
Next time, stick to theme you have a good knowledge, i get you dislike PSG, don't talk about it if you can say anything but lies.
For the rest of your post, de Jong finally chose Barça only after they raised their offer to both player and club and promised him playing time. That just shows you players will chose money and playing time first and then chose legacy/favorite club. I have no problem with it because i'm not the dogmatic one that says player come to my club irrespective of money. If anything, it should humble you about the perceived value players are attributing to the prestige of playing at Barca. Seems to be pretty costly as your club pays the most wages in the sporting world.
Anyway, i'm happy for the guy, he got his dream move and plenty of money on top of that. Ajax got well paid too. Wonderful for all parties involved.
