Armed with a warchest that is bigger than the payroll of many European clubs, Barcelona is looking to boost its already loaded squad ahead of the season. Following the departure of Neymar to PSG, the Catalan club has been linked with two young superstars to replace the Brazilian - fellow Brazilian Philippe Coutinho of Liverpool and young French winger Ousmane Dembele of Borussia Dortmund. And so far, their pockets are still overflowing and the concerns are growing.
On Thursday, Dortmund announced that it had rejected a bid by Barcelona that most believe was north of $100 million for Dembele, who didn't show up at practice.
Sky Sports says Liverpool rejected a $110 million offer by Barcelona for Coutinho on Thursday. That Coutinho bid was the second from Barca Liverpool has rejected, and that's not good.
You see, Neymar's transfer has morphed a wild transfer market into a psychotic one that has no cure. We are headed towards a day and age of the sport where transfers over $100 million are going to be as common as Romelu Lukaku misses from point-blank range, and it's all Barcelona and Neymar's fault. A player going for over $250 million instantly doubles the price tag of what players should be worth.
Let's be honest - Coutinho is a nice player, and leaving Inter Milan served him very well. But he isn't worth $65 million (sanely speaking), let alone over $100 million. Liverpool isn't filled with dummies, though. He's had two good seasons at the club in five years, but his progression has put big clubs on notice and his value could skyrocket. Liverpool has no business letting him go now considering that in a year, after the 2018 World Cup, if he stars for Liverpool and does the same for Brazil in Russia, his value would be well north of $150 million. Hold out a year, and if he continues to play well, he will make that James Rodriguez to Real Madrid move after the last World Cup look like chump change.
And over $100 million for Dembele? He's 20 years old and has played just north of 30 matches in Germany. He's young, his potential is endless, but he didn't even cost Dortmund $20 million a summer ago.
At this rate, Cristiano Ronaldo would be worth his buyout clause of $1 billion, while for Messi a team would have to give a billion bucks, sell all their players and give those funds, and sell their souls.
As a result, Barcelona doesn't have a replacement with the season starting the weekend after next, and because of its Neymar deal, it's going to have to spend a whole lot more of its warchest than it thought to land the guy it wants.
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