Lille owner Gerard Lopez has rejected claims that the values of elite players such as Kylian Mbappe will not plummet following the coronavirus pandemic.
Football has been plunged into a state of uncertainty amid the Covid-19 outbreak, which has seen more than two million people infected worldwide since it began in December, including the loss of over 160,000 lives. As a result of the virus, leagues around Europe have stopped, prompting cashflow issues for clubs of all sizes.
Daniel Cohn-Bendit, a French politician, had suggested that as a result of the crisis, the worth of top footballers would plummet, with the veteran left-wing former MEP picking out Mbappe as a player who might “cost at most €35-40m”.
Lopez, who is recognised as one of the game’s shrewdest movers in the transfer market following his work with Monaco and Lille, refused to support that position.
“I think that the price of the best players will not drop because the rich clubs will fight to sign these stars,” he told AFP. “The upper end of the market – players who have a price of more than €60m or €70m – won’t move too much because there aren’t many players who make up that level.
“But I don’t think that there will be a mega transfer of €130m or €150m this summer, even if we’re not immune from a surprise.”
Several Lille players have been touted for big moves away this summer, with centre-back Gabriel linked to Everton and Arsenal, midfielder Boubakary Soumare linked to Barcelona, Real Madrid and Liverpool, and striker Victor Osimhen associated with a handful of big Premier League sides, including Chelsea.
Lopez has confirmed that clubs are already in the process of making moves, despite the current climate of uncertainty.
“In fact, Lille have received three definite offers in the last two weeks, including a couple from England,” he confirmed. “I don’t think that any price drop will penalise the club because we have young players who have a lot of potential and who will be in great demand. Only three or four players will leave, not 10, so this won’t influence our transfer window.”