When Roy Keane speaks, he’s not going to
take any prisoners. The former Manchester United star has decided to enter the
conversation on the absurd amount that clubs spend on their transfer fees.

Inflation over the years has led to transfer fees soaring to new heights completely, and the 2017 summer dealings have been the most concrete evidence of the utter absurdity.

Neymar moved to PSG for a world-record £198 million, Ousmane Dembele has joined Barcelona from Borussia Dortmund for an initial £97 million, while 18-year old sensation Kylian Mbappe is to sign for PSG on loan, before a £166 million move away from Monaco goes through next summer.

Then there’s deals involving Alvaro Morata, Romelu Lukaku, Kyle Walker, Benjamin Mendy and Gylfi Sigurdsson, which have raised plenty of eyebrows.

Image: PA

£50 million has well and truly become the new £30 million in today’s market, as in that is what clubs must player for a decent player, and the Ireland national team assistant boss, opinionated as ever, was quizzed on transfer fees in a press conference ahead of Ireland’s World Cup qualifier against Georgia.

In answering questions from journalists, Keane, who won 17 major honours with United, soon began to have his say on what his former Manchester United teammates Ruud van Nistelrooy, David Beckham and Ryan Giggs would be worth if they were playing today.

Check out the clip here:

Keane rated Van Nistelrooy and Beckham’s talents at £1 billion, Ryan Giggs worthy of £2 billion before giving himself a modest price tag of £3.75 million – the very same fee United paid to land him from Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest in 1993. Classic Keano.

As quoted by The Telegraph, here is Keane’s full assessment of the transfer market:

“It’s mind-boggling, the figures that are out there – especially for the average players. If ever there was a time to be a professional player it’s now. Average players are going for £35 million. My goodness.

“I don’t really analyse it too much, but that’s the market place at the moment. There aren’t many top players out there. The really big players are going for big money and it’s filtering down now.

“When average players are going for £30-40 million, it does make you scratch your head, but if the clubs are prepared to pay that, then it’s not the players’ fault.”

Thoughts on Keane’s comments? Let us know.

Featured Image Credit: PA