Neymar transfer: Why PSG and not Manchester United? An investigation

With the biggest transfer in the history of football set to be completed later this week when Neymar moves from FC Barcelona to PSG, few Manchester United fans could remain disappointed (or will they actually be?). The Brazilian star forward remained a United target for many seasons.

Some believe that had the Paul Pogba move not happened last summer, which remained the costliest buy in the history of the club, Manchester United could have possibly gone ahead and snapped up Neymar.

Read: Who is the rich owner of PSG? All you need to know 

In fact, there were various reports that Neymar even agreed personal terms with the club only for the move to collapse in the last minute. To meet his buyout clause of 222m euros (£198m) looked absolutely insane.

Not for PSG however. The Qatari-backed owners of the Ligue 1 side have splashed the cash in a savage way and look set to sign Neymar after triggering his out-of-the-world buyout clause. In the process, also ridicule the UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations.

Jose Mourinho feels Neymar might be worth £198m but the implications of the transfer worries him. The transfer market will get crazier, money power will remain the order of the day and several new players will now be demanding exorbitant rates, helping none -- themselves, the clubs, their agents or football in general.

United do have the money

Manchester United have been making into the list of richest teams, time and again, consistently and they do have oodles of money. According to a Forbes release last month, Manchester United is third in the list of the most valuable teams and also the most valuable soccer team in the world.

The Forbes 2017 list of the Most Valuable Teams:

1. Dallas Cowboys ($4.2 billion)

2. New York Yankees ($3.7 billion)

3. Manchester United ($3.69 billion)

4. Barcelona ($3.64 billion)

5. Real Madrid ($3.58 billion)

Question remains why the Glazer family is so keen on putting a cap on the transfer funds of the club. We do understand that Manchester United may not need a handful of superstars to elevate their money power status, but what about the players who are really needed at the club?

Not many days back, Mourinho went on record to claim that their targets could be brought down from four to three, on the face of a crazy transfer market. With Lindelof, Lukaku (the original target remained Alvaro Morata) and Nemanja Matic (original target remained Eric Dier) deals done already, it remains a doubt whether Ivan Perisic will even come to Manchester United this summer.

Nevertheless, going back to the Neymar saga, the interest was always there from the Red Devils, but what could be the possible reasons an association never took place or is happening. If any, Jose Mourinho does look the ideal manager to have a player like Neymar in his team.

Investigation results:

One-man army: Neymar wants to be the face of a club, much like Lionel Messi is to Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo is to Real Madrid. The BIG money signing of Pogba last summer may have made the Frenchman the face of the club, but truth be told, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic a part of the same team, United never really had ONE face ruling the club, but a multiple stars.

Neymar, on the other hand, could be having several personal ambitions and looking forward to having things his own way. May be, he was learning a lot from Messi, but the fact that he was still under the Argentine's shadow at Barcelona didn't really seem to go well with his ego.

Past experiences: Remember the Sergio Ramos to Manchester United transfer saga a couple of years back? The Red Devils were made to believe and have high hopes, but in the end, Real Madrid left the English Premier League giants completely bluffed after they offered their star defender a fresh contract and also the captain's armband.

With Neymar, a similar thing could have been possible. With several European giants chasing the Brazilian's prized signature, Barcelona may possibly have had used this ploy like Real Madrid to offer a new contract to Neymar. But, you never know?

Plain and simple, love for Paris: Neymar is only 25 now and there is no reason why he doesn't want to live a lavish lifestyle...that too in a city like Paris. Apart from the material ambitions, PSG's recent history of grooming Brazilian players and getting the best out of them, could have played an important role in luring him to the club.

Not only will Neymar regain the association with his friends from the national team at PSG, the club's future roadmap also has possibly gone down well with Neymar and his father. The UEFA Champions League this season remains a distinct possibility now.

Also, PSG has been looking to making a major statement for long. Now that the Neymar transfer looks almost done, their pursuit to land Cristiano Ronaldo comes to an end.