€100 million transfers will be a "distant memory" after coronavirus

€100 million transfers will be a "distant memory" after coronavirus

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EFE

An Italian economist says the transfer market is set for a reality check

Transfer fees of more than 100 million euros will become a "memory" when the coronavirus pandemic ends and football resumes, according to the Italian economist Marco Bellinazzo. 

It's a line of thinking which is shared by directors of Serie A clubs, who expect the transfer market to be severely affected by the global pandemic. 

The cost of transfers has been rising for years. The current record was set in 2017, when Paris Saint-Germain paid 222 million euros for Barcelona's Neymar. 

As a knock-on effect, Barça spent over 100 million euros on Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele, but Bellinazzo inflation is set to end. 

"The bubble generated by the Neymar signing to PSG will burst," Bellinazzo told Il Sole 24 Ore. "The inflation in signings after the Neymar signing by PSG will be a distant memory. It will be difficult to see those sort of deals again." 

Other players to have been sold for more than 100 million euros include Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid to Barça), Joao Felix (Benfica to Atletico) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid to Juventus). 

Bellinazzo continued: "People won't spend 100 million euros on a Dembele again. The CIES estimated recently that player values have gone down 30 percent. If all clubs have to revise their accounts, it's going to be difficult to spend. 

"This crisis will be another problem for clubs like Juventus, who invested a lot of money in recent years and usually fix their accounts with sales." 

Swap deals and academies will become more important than ever, especially for the smaller clubs, but also for Europe's elite. 

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