Why the Pogba transfer should ring alarm bells

The Paul Pogba saga is over. Manchester United have got their man. He hasn’t come cheap though at a rumoured World Record fee of $150,000,000 or more.

Of course, when deals of this magnitude come off and happen, people from all walks of life will have their say. Ex-players, opposition managers, new teammates, old teammates, everyone will have a view on it.

No player is worth that amount of money. While Pogba is clearly a world-class midfielder I wouldn’t say he stamps his authority on a game say like a Zinadine Zidane or Paul Scholes used to, or Cristiano Ronaldo or Lio Messi do now. The other thing about this deal that sends a warning signal out to the world of football is that with the money floating around in the Premier League, no player is out of reach now.

I don’t think this is good for the long term future of the game. In the summer of 2015 Manchester United spent over $210,000,000 on new players. This summer they have again splashed out over $265,000,000 on new players.

Manchester City in 2015 spent over $259,000,000 and this summer have undergone a reshaping of their squad, with Pep Guardiola bringing in nearly $240,000,000 worth of new talent to the Etihad. When you add Chelsea’s spending power into the mix and what Liverpool have paid over the last few seasons, the amount of money is mind boggling.

With the new Premier League television deal coming into play this season, clubs have even more money to spend and the prices being quoted for players is increasing. This then leads to players from around the globe wanting to join the money feast going on in England and of course the agents.

What chance does this give other teams from other leagues when competing for players?

While there is clear evidence that teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern Munich are still super powers of world football, will they still have the ability to sign world-class players if Premiership clubs come in for them? In the near future – yes, in the distant future, – if the money situation doesn’t change, then it may not be as straight forward.

If a world-class footballer becomes available then there is a clamour for their signature. More often than not at least one of Chelsea, Man Utd, Man City or Arsenal will be linked with them. As soon as those names are mentioned you can add at least $10,000,000 onto the price. Selling teams now they have money and now that they will spend it to ensure their rivals don’t get the player.

There is obviously a need for a strong squad. Some teams will be competing in four competitions, playing over 60 games a season. Those teams though have the finances to buy a player just so they can have them and someone else doesn’t.

Wilfried Bony at Man City is an example of this. Scoring goals for fun at Swansea, City gave them an offer they simply couldn’t refuse and off he went to earn over $180,000/week to sit on the bench behind Sergio Aguero and anyone else that takes City’s fancy in the summer.

What Leicester City did last season was nothing short of a miracle. I am in absolutely no doubt that this will never happen again. There is not a chance. Since then, N’Golo Kante, arguably their most important player last season, has signed for Chelsea, a club that will not be playing European football this season.

Leicester of course will be in the Champions League. Jamie Vardy turned down Arsenal but there are rumours linking Riyad Mahrez away from the King Power Stadium, with Arsenal and Chelsea potential destinations. Money and power talks.

It isn’t just the big fish now that have this money. Bournemouth has spent $25,000,000 on Jordan Ibe from Liverpool, a player that has about half a season’s experience in the Premier League and should not be anywhere near that valuation.

Everton are prepared to spend nearly $60,000,000 on Yannick Bolasie from Crystal Palace, a player that on his day can be unplayable but shouldn’t be valued above $10,000,000. Palace themselves have bid $60,000,000 for Christian Benteke from Liverpool, with that deal rumoured to be very close.

Teams that would never in their wildest dreams be throwing money like this around are suddenly flush and happy to flaunt it.

One of the great things about the English leagues is the swings of power. Back when it started teams like Preston North End, Huddersfield Town and Sheffield Wednesday were challenging for titles, now those teams are in the second tier and have been in the third recently.

Manchester United were relegated from the old Division One by one of their ex-players in the 70s, then you had Liverpool’s dominance in the 80s and Blackburn winning the Premier League.

We are in danger of losing that. Apart from the Leicester miracle last season, realistically looking at the teams, how many could actually, feasibly win the league?

I would say five at a push. As the money goes up and the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ grows football will become boring. The teams lower down the food chain won’t be able to hang onto any talented youngsters as the Premiership vultures will come sniffing. Some of those youngsters who had promising careers will be lost in the black hole of these super clubs.

Fans expect big names and immediate success. This leads in turn to managers having to throw money at players, which in turn inhibits youth player’s progression. Pogba is one such case. Now the tables have turned full circle for him. A player that has been quoted as saying he will never go back to Man Utd because of his treatment there is now the world’s most expensive footballer at that very team.