The coach acknowledged that, while he did not believe a move for the Brazil star was right for the Blues, he had no problems with PSG’s move.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has no problems with the world-record fee Paris Saint-Germain paid to secure Neymar from Barcelona.
The Brazil superstar was unveiled to the media Friday after the Ligue 1 giants handed over a stunning €222 million to meet his contractual release clause.
While some in the game – including Conte’s fellow Premier League manager Jurgen Klopp – expressed concern over the move , the Blues boss does not have a problem with a player of Neymar’s calibre commanding such a hefty price.
“It’s a difficult topic,” Conte told the media ahead of Chelsea’s Community Shield match with Arsenal. “I think Neymar is one of the best players in the world and for sure all these type of players finish their career in the same team, otherwise if they decide to change we must be ready to accept this kind of money.
“For a normal player now you must spend £40-50 million for a player. If you want to buy a top player you must be ready to spend this money.
“It’s a difficult, difficult topic and for sure it’s impressive. It’s an impressive amount of money, £200 million. But if PSG is able to do this, why not?”
However, just because PSG allocated their transfer budget to one player does not mean Chelsea will follow suit. Instead, Conte said he preferred to spread out his budget on building depth throughout is squad.
“For us it’s very important to try to improve our squad in the numerical aspect. We have a small squad and I think only one player is not enough to improve our team. We need more players. Not of the top level like Neymar, but more players to improve our quality.”
Premier League title winners Chelsea face FA Cup champions Arsenal in the Community Shield on Sunday. The Blues kick off their title defense August 12 against Burnley, while Neymar and PSG begin their season Saturday against Amiens.