Paris St. Germain has snatched Neymar. But it cost them plenty.
An astronomical 45 million euro a year.
Neymar’s wage – which equates to $67 million Australian dollars before tax, will double the highest ever fee paid for a footballer.
[infogram id=”neymar_loves_the_dosh” prefix=”7Oh” format=”interactive” title=”Neymar Loves the Dosh”]The €222 million transfer fee is more than twice the €105 Manchester United spent on Juventus’ Paul Pogba last season.
Neymar is also the crown jewel in a Brazil side that’s been rejuvenated recently, having lead them all throughout the 2014 World Cup – when Neymar was injured, Brazil crumbled in the infamous 7-1 loss to Germany.
Another fact – Neymar is currently the only footballer to currently earn more from off-field endorsements than his playing contract at Barcelona (per Forbes): currently earning €18 million from the likes of Nike, Gillette, Panasonic, and Beats by Dre. He was also the first person to have his own set of custom Air Jordan shoes.
The fact also remains – PSG will have spent more on Neymar than 13 Premier League clubs have spent on their entire squads (exempting Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, and Everton.)
So, the question resides in a lot of people’s minds resides: why would Neymar leave Barcelona for a side that’s never won a Champions League?
Neymar was part of one of the great attacking triumvirates in football history. Alongside the divine Lionel Messi and predatorial Luis Suarez, Barcelona were carried to Champions League finals, Spanish League and Cup wins and into the forefront of every footballing fan’s mind. People looked at Barca’s front three with envy, and that is exactly why PSG (and Qatari Sports Investments) are willing to fork out the monstrous money needed to procure him from the Catalan side.
And that is very much why Neymar wants the move to PSG – the money, for one, is colossal – yet the fact he was forced into doing a lot of the side’s hard work while not reaping the benefits would frustrate a young Brazilian who wants to become the best player in the world. The Ballon D’Or – the award given to Europe’s best player annually – is something Neymar has always wanted, and feels like he will never obtain while in the shadow of Lionel Messi.
PSG, meanwhile, were already spending three times as much on player wages as the team that beat them to the French Ligue 1 title – AS Monaco – and will now have a wage bill more than ten times that of OGC Nice – who finished one place below them on the league table.
It’s clear what PSG want – a successful UEFA Champions League campaign – and they’re looking to their Brazilian champion to lead them to it. On top of that, the marketing brand provides an opportunity for Qatari Sports Investment Group – which is a subsidiary of Qatar itself – to cash in on one of the most high-profile sportsmen on the planet.
This is a man who made a cameo in a Hollywood film (specifically XXX – The Return of Xander Cage), a man with his own set of Air Jordan shoes and the hero of a passionate, football-frenzied country who see Neymar as more deity than man.
Comparatively, Neymar’s incredible deal is the latest – and most grandiose – in a long sequence of big money deals made in sport.
Earlier this year, James Harden signed a new contract with the Houston Rockets that would see him become the highest paid player in NBA history – earning €143 million over four years.
In 2014, Baseball’s Giancarlo Stanton signed a whopping 13 year deal for the Miami Marlins, worth €272 million.
In the one deal rivalling Neymar’s, Formula 1 racing driver Lewis Hamilton will earn over €700,000 per week after he signed a contract with Mercedes worth ₤100 million pounds. That equates to ₤1.5 million per race.
Similarly, NFL Quarterback Andrew Luck signed a new deal with the Indianapolis Colts that will see him earn up to $140 million US Dollars over a six year period (€117 million).
Neymar will likely see more money than any of those sportsmen – and that is outrageous. What it means for football is anyone’s guess – but this one will be talked about for a long time.
