Transfer spending in Europe is out of control. The fees paid for even the most marginal of players were astronomical this summer. Manchester City broke the defender price scale. Club and world record fees fell with great regularity. But from the ashes of countless Euros, dollars, and pounds being lit on fire, Juventus emerges with quite the bargain. Blaise Matuidi will play in Turin next season for a meager €20m. It is a deal that will not be topped by window’s end.
Let’s put this deal into perspective real quick. I get it. Matuidi is 30, out of contract at the end of this season, and was surplus to requirements in Paris. But if you delve into player comparisons of both quality, situation, and age, he is still woefully undervalued. Factor in the boom of fees from this summer and it is even more magnified. Juventus have made a living off this though. From Paul Pogba to Arturo Vidal to Andrea Barzagli to Andrea Pirlo, no big club thrift shops like the Old Lady.
You must also look at the business done this summer, as well as some still in progress, to get a handle on how criminally cheap this transfer was. Nemanja Matic moved from Chelsea to Manchester United for over double Matuidi’s price at age 29. The Blues are looking to replace him with Leicester City’s Danny Drinkwater, a 27-year-old with one above average season on his resume, for twice as much as well. If you want to argue that all fees in the Premier League are subject to scrutiny with the influx of cash the league has, then explain Paulinho‘s move to Barcelona from Guangzhou Evergrande for €40m, a move already in the works before Barca became flush with Neymar cash.
With Milan spending like drunk pirates and Roma and Napoli still improving, Juventus needed to dig deep this summer to keep their Scudetto streak alive. They’ve brought Douglas Costa in on loan with an option to buy. They’ve made loan moves permanent for Mehdi Benatia and Juan Cuadrado. Gianluigi Buffon’s temporary successor, Wojciech Szczesny, is in the squad. Matuidi is just the cherry on the sundae.
He is an adept passer of the ball. The Frenchman’s ability to make a tackle and reverse the play is uncanny. He is comfortable in roles throughout the midfield. There is little difference in his play style whether he is asked to play a holding role or to provide ancillary attack options. His left foot provides quality to the wings through the air and to his central strike force on the ground.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvBrZSOQZSY
But what gets me most about the move is where PSG let him go. Outside of Monaco’s miracle run last season, PSG has had Ligue 1 on lock. Domestic form is of little concern to the Parisians and their Qatari ownership. The Champions League is where they want to make their mark. They’ve come up short time and time again. Adding Neymar will help loads, but what good does selling a stud midfielder at a cut rate to one of your biggest UCL competitors do? Juventus have been where PSG wants to be, the final, in two of the past three seasons. Why would you make their job easier by selling them a need at about 60% of his market value?
It is a conundrum that makes little sense to an outsider but is one that nonetheless makes Juventus strong once again. Blaise Matuidi will be 33 at the end of his Juventus contract. The France international is showing no signs of slowing down. With panic buys surely to come towards the end of the summer window, I’m sure we’ll be lauding this move even more in the coming weeks. The rich get richer in the football world, but some do so with trips down the clearance racks. No team does that more effectively among the European giants than Juventus.