Jake Humphrey Exclusive: “£198 Million Isn’t Too Much”
Following his world-record £198 million move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain, there is only one place in the UK where you can watch Neymar in action.
That place is BT Sport, the exclusive home of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League as well as Ligue 1 football.
The Brazilian has been the talk of the footballing world over the past few weeks, and BT Sport presenter Jake Humphrey was keen to express his views when I interviewed him at the broadcasters media day.
Speaking exclusively to By Far The Greatest Team, Humphrey believes the move suits PSG more than it does Neymar.
“It’s a statement, an absolute statement,” he said.
“£198 million is a lot but I don’t think it’s too much money. They aren’t just buying Neymar because he’s an unbelievable talent but because of the age he’s at as well.
“Let’s wait and see if PSG go and win the Champions League this season, which they now have to do having spent that kind of money on a player like Neymar. They’ll definitely challenge but I’m not sure if they’ll win it.
“As for Neymar, I’m not convinced it’s a good move for him as I think from Barcelona the only way is down.”
The world-record departure has left Neymar’s former employers with a huge void that needs to be filled.
Liverpool attacker Philippe Coutinho and Borussia Dortmund star Ousmane Dembele are both being eyed up by the Catalans, with their respective clubs demanding in excess of £120 million to part with their services.
Humphrey is a huge fan of Dembele but he thinks that Coutinho is the man Barcelona will turn to, also saying that the club are in a ‘beautiful position’.
“Dembele is a fantastic, fantastic young player, but I think Coutinho will be the man to replace Neymar.
“Barcelona are in a beautiful position as they can pretty much get whoever they want. If they make the right noises, a player will do everything they can to go and join them.
“There are few teams, bar probably Real Madrid and Manchester United, who are a step up for any player, which is definitely the situation for both Dembele and Coutinho.”
Another player who has been touted for a huge move this summer is Kylian Mbappe.
The 18-year-old took the world by storm last season, helping himself to 26 goals in his debut professional season for Monaco.
His emergence as the best young footballer on the planet has seen plenty of interest from most of Europe’s elite clubs, with Real Madrid seeming his most likely destination should he leave France.
Although talk of a move to Madrid for Mbappe been rife this summer, a deal could well be done next summer rather than this according to Humphrey, with another attempt to sign Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea also on the cards.
He said: “I think, for the time being, Mbappe will stay at Monaco and Real Madrid will go in for him in about a year’s time.
“They will also sign David de Gea in a year. If not then, they will get him at some point but Real Madrid have accepted that they don’t need to fight for him right now.
“I believe Real Madrid will win their third Champions League in a row and then look to strengthen, change and improve.”
One man who has been linked with a move away from the Bernabeu is Gareth Bale.
Numerous reports have stated that the Welshman could be sold in order to raise funds to sign Mbappe, but, Humphrey, who knows Bale well having spoken with the BT Sport ambassador on numerous occasions, is confident he will remain with Real Madrid.
Humphrey exclusively told By Far The Greatest Team that: “One of my questions for Gareth was, is there any other team you’d like to play for? He mentioned one club and it’s not a Premier League team, it’s just one club close to his heart that he wouldn’t mind finishing his career at.
“I won’t name the club out of respect for him, but I don’t think he harbours ambitions to play for another top team. He loves life at Real Madrid, he has a new house, kids, loves the lifestyle, his team mates.
“Probably more importantly than that, the president, Florentino Perez, absolutely loves him. All the messages they have been giving Gareth is that he’s there to stay, they love him and they want to keep him.
“I don’t think he wants to leave. He’s playing at one of the best teams in the world and I think they’ll make it a hat trick of UEFA Champions League trophies this season. Imagine playing for that team and being involved in that era, they’ll go down as legends.”
With less than a month of the transfer window left, there is still time for some big money moves but who will be next?
Whoever it may be, you can watch them on the exclusive home of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League as well as where the best in domestic and European football go head to head.
You can catch Neymar’s Paris Saint-Germain debut on BT Sport 2 from 19:45 on Sunday, 13 August.