Jurgen Klopp Hopes Neymar Fee Is an 'Exception' Ahead of Expected PSG Transfer

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp hopes Neymar's €222 million (£199 million) move to Paris Saint-Germain is an "exception" in the transfer market. 

After Barcelona confirmed the Brazilian has asked to leave the club on Wednesday in a statement on their official website, Neymar is set to depart in a world-record deal.

Klopp isn't keen on seeing these kinds of massive acquisitions, though, and questioned the relevance of financial fair play if moves like this can go ahead.

"I thought that [financial] fair play was made so that situations like that can't happen?" he said, per Glenn Price of ESPN FC. "But that's more of a suggestion than a real rule. I don't know, and I don't understand that. I don't know how it happens. That's not the next step, I hope. I hope that it will stay an exception, but you don't know."

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has had his say on the transfer and believes the process Klopp fears may have already started:

Neymar's transfer from Barcelona will be by far the biggest in the history of the game, eclipsing the £89 million United paid to sign Paul Pogba from Juventus last summer.

As noted by Bryan Swanson of Sky Sports News, Neymar is set to earn an extraordinary amount at PSG:

Some managers will share Klopp's concern about the deal and how it can be done in an age of FFP. As noted by Paul MacInnes of the Guardian, the rules mean clubs are only allowed to spend money they earn in addition to €30 million from owners over a three-year period.

As noted by Saj Chowdhury of BBC Sport, PSG have breached those regulations in the past and were slapped with a £20 million fine in 2014.

Per MacInnes, Barcelona can make a complaint if they believe FFP rules have been broken, or UEFA can look into the transfer themselves. "The decision to do so would begin a long and protracted process that will involve UEFA's Club Financial Control Body and a substantial number of lawyers," it's added.

The La Liga president, Javier Tebas, told AS that they would be ready to act if UEFA don't independently investigate the deal, per Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC:

With that in mind, it appears PSG have a few hurdles to overcome regarding the transfer. Although that's to be expected when brokering one of the biggest deals in history.

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For Klopp and other managers at the elite level, while £200 million transfers may not end up being the norm, there's no doubt big money is going to change hands much more frequently in this window and in those to come. According to James Dutton of the MailOnline, Barca are ready to offer around £107 million for the Reds' star man, Philippe Coutinho.

And given Liverpool bid £66 million for RB Leipzig's Naby Keita earlier this summer, per Andy Kelly of the Liverpool Echo, it appears they are prepared to embrace this world of extortionate fees, too.