Paul Pogba’s transfer from Juventus to Manchester United for £89 million broke the world transfer record this summer and has made us forever re-evaluate players valuations.
When Zinedine Zidane broke the record in 2001, he was one of the most exquisite players in the world and had won the World Player of the year twice. It took 8 years for his fee to be surpassed when Ricardo Kaka and then Cristiano Ronaldo convinced Real Madrid to loosen their wallet for their services.
We’re getting used to much shorter time gaps for these records to be broken though, and it is with that anticipation we look to seek out the players who could possibly surpass the extraordinary fee paid for Paul Pogba’s services in the next summer window.
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Here they are:
1) Antoine Griezmann
The Frenchman has just had the best year of his professional career, and should improve even further in 2016. His stellar performances to drag Atletico Madrid to the Champions League final and then France to the Euro 2016 final got him on the shortlist of the UEFA Best Player award and will surely see him finish on the podium of the FIFA Ballon d’Or as well.
Considering both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are ungettable, Griezmann might just be the best player in the world that any other team has a remote possibility of buying. If the Frenchman shows the level of improvement he’s shown in the last few years and does even better this season, he could persuade several clubs to swoop in with a new world record bid.
2) Neymar
Neymar is already very high up on the list of the most expensive transfers of all time and considering he’s only 24 years old, another transfer would surely have to come at a cost of considerably more than the fee Barcelona paid Santos for his services.
He already has 85 goals in 141 appearances for Barcelona and has come a long way from the initial doubts fans and experts had over him acclimatising to a European League when he first arrived on Spanish shores.
Barcelona will have no intention of letting go of the Brazilian of course, but with Lionel Messi still consistently brilliant and Luis Suarez firing on all cylinders, Neymar might be tempted by the opportunity of starring for another club. It will still take a world record sum to get the La Liga club to part with him though, not that some clubs are afraid of splashing the cash.
3) Paulo Dybala
Paulo Dybala is affectionately called ‘La Joya’ by his fans, which translates to ‘The Jewel’. The Argentinian forward is a sensational talent, and when put together with his great humility and pride, it puts the world at his feet.
Barcelona have been keen admirers for a while, and there were rumours that they had an €80 million bid rejected by Juventus early on in the window. Dybala scored 23 goals in his first season with Juventus and should only get better in this campaign.
The 22-year-old has a huge margin for improvement and has impeccable technique already. Don’t be surprised if Dybala has a stellar Champions League campaign with Juventus this year and has the biggest clubs in the world chasing his signature. And as Juve have already shown, they do not part with their jewels for cheap.
4) Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard might not have had the best of seasons last year but it remains an aberration in a career that has constantly been in ascension. Moreover, towards the end of the last Premier League season and in the beginning of this one, it would appear that the Belgian is getting back to his best scintillating form that terrorised defences across Europe.
Antonio Conte will extract the last ounce of sweat and drive from Hazard this year and it could lead to him having a splendid campaign that would put him back on the priority list of clubs like Real Madrid and PSG.
The latter especially might think of next year as a perfect time to make another marquee signing and flex their financial muscles to land the Belgian winger.
5) Marco Verratti
The 23-year-old Italian was devastated to miss Euro 2016 after he was beginning to make an impression with Italy on the international stage. Verratti would have been a crucial player in unlocking defences at the European Championships and epitomises the one creative element that was lacking in Antonio Conte’s otherwise perfect tactical setup.
Verratti is an abundantly gifted midfielder, his ability to dribble in tight situations and play Pirlo-esque passes is unrivalled and he could recapture the imagination of Europe’s biggest clubs in this season after a considerable injury spell.
He’ll be central to any hopes PSG have of capturing the Champions League trophy this year, and should Les Parisiens fail at that, Verratti might just feel his chapter in France can now come to a close. They certainly won’t be any shortage of suitors, even if the price is high.
