In the twilight of the transfer window in England, on Monday (1st), Liverpool, current Premier League champion, realized the biggest hiring in its history.
For 145 million euros (R $ 920 million), brought from Newscastle to his ranks the Swedish center forward Alexander Isak, 25, deputy scorer of the 2024/2025 English Championship, with 23 goals in 34 matches-his front of him, only the Egyptian Mohamed Salah (29 goals in 38 matches), who will be colleague in Reds.
Liverpool’s expenditure is risky. The facts show that the most expensive players were far from yielding to their contractors the desired result. They became disappointments.
The three footballers for the most paid to today are Neymar (from Barcelona to PSG, 222 million euros), Frenchman Mbappé (from Monaco to PSG, 180 million euros) and another French, Dembélé (from Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona, 148 million euros).
The fourth in this ranking is Isak, and the fifth, Philippe Coutinho (from Liverpool to Barcelona, 135 million euros).
By paying these fables, what do the clubs expect? A return to height, which in Europe means not only presenting a fastful football, full of goals and assists, but leading the team to achievements that go beyond the national terrain: Champions League and World.
How many Champions Neymar earned PSG from 2017 to 2023? Zero. Mbappé, also for the Parisian team, from 2017 to 2024? Zero. Dembélé, with Blue and Grená Catalan, from 2017 to 2023? Zero. Coutinho, for the same Barça, from 2018 to 2022? Zero.
The two brasucas, Neymar and Coutinho, 33 years each, are back in Brazil (in Santos and Vasco, respectively), with some moments of brightness and fighting against the worn body that pushes them to retirement.
Neymar is expected to still dispute another World Cup in Brazil, 2026 (it would be his fourth), but the physical fall, with constant injuries, doubt this perspective.
It is interesting to note that, except for Isak, the most expensive have Champions League and/or World Curriculum, but not for the club that disbursed the money for them.
Neymar won Champions and World Cup in 2015 for Barcelona in a memorable attack with Messi and Suárez. Coutinho won, borrowed and reserve, Champions with Bayern Munich’s shirt in 2020, surpassing Neymar and PSG in the final. Dembélé triumphed for PSG last May.
Mbappé, in his first year of Real Madrid, was crowned world champion in late 2024, in a FIFA renamed tournament for Intercontinental Cup in order not to be confused with the new club world, held with 32 teams in the middle of this year.
Remembered events, it is concluded that compensation for the very high investment in this court of players was far short of the expected by the clubs.
Certainly Neymar and Mbappé miss the PSG, which reached the top of Europe without them, nor Dembélé (today star in the French capital) and Coutinho in Barcelona.
What about Isak? It arrives to further strengthen the super-riced Liverpool suartime, a favorite to win everything this season, including coveted Champions.
Against the Swedish scorer, just an uncomfortable reality: the curse of the expensive.
Gift Link: Did you like this text? Subscriber can release seven free hits from any link per day. Just click on F Blue below.
