London — Neymar’s imminent mega-transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain is "beyond calculation and rationality", Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said on Thursday. Referring to PSG’s superrich Qatari backers, Wenger said the €222m deal was a consequence of what happens when "a country owns a club". "It is the consequence of the ownerships and that has completely changed the whole landscape of football in the last 15 years," he said. "Once a country owns a club, everything is possible." Wenger said Qatar’s use of football as a vessel for soft diplomacy meant PSG’s owners did not need to worry whether the transfer represents value for money. "We are not in a period anymore where you think: ‘If I invest that, I will get that back.’ We are beyond that," he said. Citing the 1979 transfer from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest of Trevor Francis, who became Britain’s first £1m player, Wenger said fees were now out of control. "It also looks like the inflation is accelerating," he sa...
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