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By Blake Welton
Last Updated: 10/07/19 2:26pm
3:54 Any huge transfer outlay on Neymar and Paul Pogba could be offset by their global appeal, according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire.
Being two of the biggest names in world football, summer moves for either is expected to see eye-watering transfer fees involved.
Brazilian Neymar became the world’s most expensive player ever two summers ago when PSG paid £198m to sign him from Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Manchester United paid Juventus £89m three years ago for Pogba’s services – which was the world record until the Neymar deal went through.
However, Maguire believes any deal could prove value for money when considering the additional global attraction both players have as brands.
0:57 “Neymar has 122m followers on Instagram – when he joined PSG he instantly brought five million new followers to the club’s own account,” Maguire said.
“PSG also leveraged Neymar’s fame and standing on social media to negotiate better commercial deals which will have helped cover his transfer fee and wages.
“So it would be a financial loss to PSG which would be picked up by Barcelona if he went to them.
“Barcelona will see him as an investment because he is so popular globally as a brand in his own right.”
Although Pogba may not have as big a social media pull as Neymar, the same principle still applies for the France midfielder.
1:33 “He doesn’t quite have the same allure as Neymar but he still has 36m followers which is still more than Manchester United itself,” Maguire added.
“Paul Pogba is also multi-lingual and if you take a look at his Instagram account the images of him at the Adidas store in New York brought huge numbers.
“It helps a lot when clubs are trying to increase their global potential and it’s absolutely essential for the major clubs of today because they are constantly trying to attract new interest, new fans and new sponsors across the world.”
Follow the Summer Transfer Window on Sky Sports
Sky Sports News brings you the very latest news from this summer’s transfer market with three new shows.
Start your day with Good Morning Transfers at 9am as our team of reporters bring you the latest news and insight. Transfer Talk then follows at midday delivering analysis of the biggest stories. And join us at 7pm for the definitive round up of the day’s news with The Transfer Show.
And as well as tuning into Sky Sports News, don’t miss a thing with our dedicated Transfer Centre blog.
There’s also the Transfer Talk Podcast, the daily UK, Regional and European Paper Talk, plus features across skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.
