One plausible explanation for Neymar’s decision to swap Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain is that he wanted to emerge from Lionel Messi’s shadow.It makes sense. Despite the presence of Edinson Cavani, Thiago Silva and Angel di Maria, Neymar immediately becomes PSG’s main man.The fact that the French club sold more than 10,000 ‘Neymar 10’ jerseys on the Brazilian’s first day proves his popularity.

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Neymar was an important player at Barcelona and formed an incredible partnership with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez but it was always the Argentinian who was the most admired.

Neymar had his moments in the spotlight, including after his virtuoso performance in Barcelona’s memorable 6-1 win over PSG in the Champions League in March, but those moments were far too infrequent for his liking.

The 25-year-old is expected to make his debut against Guingamp on Sunday after Spanish football authorities finally delivered his international transfer certificate, but one man who probably won’t be tuning in is Robbie Savage.

Savage's comments on Neymar

In his column for the Mirror, Savage has questioned Neymar’s world-record price tag and, rather incredibly, suggested the attacker isn’t a better player than former England player Trevor Francis, who became England’s first £1m player when he signed for Nottingham Forest in 1979.

“Neymar, £198 million? He may not even have been in the top three players at Barcelona, if Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez or Andres Iniesta floats your boat more,” Savage said.

“Is Neymar really worth £108m more than Paul Pogba, who was previously the most expensive player on the planet?

“I can just about remember Trevor Francis becoming the first £1m footballer in Britain in 1979. Even allowing for inflation over the last 38 years, Neymar is not worth 198 Trevor Francises, nor 100, nor a dozen.

“I’m not even sure he’s a better player, full stop.”

Wow. Everyone knows Savage is an outspoken character but that ranks up there as one crazy quote.

Twitter reacts

The former Wales international was ridiculed on Twitter for his comments.

Savage continued by questioning the fees Manchester City and Watford paid for Kyle Walker and Andre Gray respectively.

“Kyle Walker, £50 million? He has often been one of England’s best players in recent internationals, but for that money you would expect the best defender in the world – and he’s not,” he added.

“Andre Gray, £18 million? Good luck to him at Watford, but that’s a lot of money for a guy who has only scored nine Premier League goals in his career to date.”

Does Savage have a point, or is he talking nonsense? Let us know in the comments section below!