The ManicaPost
European clubs paid on average 30 percent more than a player was worth during the recent transfer window, a study says.
The CIES Football Observatory, using a transfer value algorithm, claims Paris St-Germain’s proposed 180 million euros (£165,7 million) deal to sign Monaco forward Kylian Mbappe was the most overpriced.
It says the fee was 87,4 million euros (£80,4 million) more than his estimated worth.
The study also suggests Manchester City overpaid by 29 million euros to sign Benjamin Mendy from Monaco for 57,5 million euros.
The Football Observatory uses various statistics, including age, goals and points won by the team, to calculate a value for a player.
Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (23) left Sunderland for Everton for 34,3 million euros (£31,6 millon) in the summer was called up to the England squad last month.
However, according to the Football Observatory, that fee was 27,5 million euros (£23,5 million) more than Pickford’s estimated worth.
The study also said Manchester United overpaid by 20,1 million euros (£18,5 million) to sign Nemanja Matic from Chelsea, although former England striker and BBC pundit Ian Wright described it as the “last part of the jigsaw” for United.
Mohamed Salah’s 50 million euros (£46 million) move from Roma to Liverpool was less than the forward’s estimated value of 69,4 million euros (£63,9 million).
Total change or tweak to the transfer system?
According to the Football Observatory, clubs in Europe’s big five leagues (England’s Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A, Germany’s Bundesliga and France’s Ligue 1) spent a record 5,9 billion euros (£5,4 billion), a 41 percent increase on the previous year.
Following Neymar’s 222 million euros (£204 million) move from Barcelona to PSG, world players’ union Fifpro criticised the “anti-competitive, unjustified and illegal” transfer rules governed by Fifa and called on the European Commission to investigate transfer fees within the European Union.
The Football Observatory is also keen for the distribution of transfer fees to be addressed, suggesting an increase in indemnities paid to the clubs that develop players. – Wires.
