Arsene Wenger, the Legendary manager of Arsenal, has commented on the former club of Lionel Messi. The French icon had a brutal comment about the pedigree of the French club after the exit of Neymar Jr. and Lionel Messi.
PSG lost two superstars in their attacking lineup in the summer transfer window. Neymar Jr. went to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, Lionel Messi moved to Inter Miami in the MLS. Meanwhile, the former Arsenal manager commented on the French club. The user @FootballFactly shared the comment on X: “The greatest title PSG has won in its history is having Neymar in its team.”
The French manager emphasized the impact of the Brazilian winger by stating his presence in the PSG squad in the last six seasons has been monumental for the status of the club. This comment raised some eyebrows due to the failure of Neymar Jr. and Co to land the UCL during his stint at the French club.
“” 🗣️Arsene Wenger: “The greatest title PSG has won🏅 in it’s history is having Neymar in it’s team❤️ pic.twitter.com/7SfweLh0lq
— Football Factly (@FootballFactly) October 11, 2023
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi was also part of the squad for two seasons, and still, Wenger commented in favor of Neymar Jr. showing how much he rates the Brazilian captain for his abilities. Neymar played 173 matches for PSG, scoring 118 goals and 77 assists, before leaving for Al-Hilal.
During his six-season stint, the Brazilian won five French League titles, three French Cups, Four French Super Cups, and two French League Cups. He even reached the UEFA Champions League final with PSG in the 2019/20 season, where he came up short against Bayern Munich.
Arsene Wenger on Neymar Jr.’s move to PSG
The Former Arsenal manager was also vocal when the Brazilian signed for a world-record fee for PSG back in 2017. Wenger claimed that the transfer was “beyond calculation and beyond rationality.” He commented that this deal could have only happened when a country owned a soccer club.
Qatar Sports Investments became the major shareholder of the club back in 2011. Since their arrival, they pumped millions into the revenue stream of the French club helped them flex their muscles in the transfer market.
Neymar Jr – PSG days pic.twitter.com/MPaNmKDwlz
— am7 (@mshrfseven) October 5, 2023
The biggest example was evident when PSG signed Neymar Jr. from FC Barcelona for a world record fee of $243 Million. The signing shocked the world and changed the transfer market forever, raising the price for every player by 10-15%.
Wenger was critical of the transfer as he further explained: “Once a country owns a club, everything is possible. It becomes very difficult to respect the financial fair play because you can have different ways or different interests for a country to have such a big player to represent a country. It can’t justify the investments and looks unusual for the game.”
In stark contrast to Neymar’s transfer, Wenger spent 22 years at Arsenal and spent around $318 Million (Net) during his whole tenure. The mammoth transfer of Neymar Jr. changed the soccer world in terms of the financial power play of big clubs and players.