Paul Parker: PSG are fools for paying Neymar's buyout clause and Mbappe is over-hyped

I think somewhere along the line we had to believe the Neymar move was going to happen, with the amount of money that was involved. Clubs have more to spend and want to show their wealth – they are saying ‘we can get whoever we want!'

With Neymar and the €222m buyout clause put on him – I really don’t think Barcelona thought that anyone would want to pay it. As far as I’m concerned, if someone wants to pay that kind of money, think of the rewards they will reap.

More fool PSG for paying it.

I don’t know what they think one individual can bring them.

Long term, we have to look at Neymar and what his ambition is. It can’t be that he wants to prove himself in the French league. I think people will be questioning his integrity a little bit – saying that he’s jumping for money.

You can always say that he needs to move on – to get away from Lionel Messi and become world player of the year – but it takes a lot to do that if you are playing in the French league. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a lot of goals and it didn’t get him any closer to winning it.

Moving on from Neymar, they always say the big moves, in the second half of the window, will trigger a whole load of smaller ones everywhere.

Anthony Martial came out of the French league and everything was great – everyone said that he was going to be the next Thierry Henry. I think we have to be concerned that everyone is going over the odds on potential – and that’s what it is with Kylian Mbappe.

There is not enough meat on the bone at the moment to suggest the teams are buying a player that is ready-made and will hit the ground running.

The first concern with him going to Real Madrid is where is he going to play? Who’s place will he take? Certainly not Ronaldo’s, probably not Benzema’s. They will be looking to release one of the three as one of them can’t play if Mbappe moves.

They’ve got Isco fighting for a place as well and he’s already proved himself.

It’s been said that Bale and Benzema shouldn’t play in the same team and all of a sudden you have another player coming in. So how does that affect the local boy?

And if Bale was going to move to Manchester United, how would he fit in? The way he plays is not really the way that suits Mourinho – in the sense of tracking back and sitting deep. And he would cost £100m – he’s got Champions League medals. Just because they made a big signing doesn’t mean Real will sell cheap!

At this moment in time it will be the same next year as clubs will have more to spend. Nobody is worth that much money but the question is when will it stop? When will reality set in?

Manchester City have also been mentioned as potential suitors for Mbappe, but as an 18-year-old if you are looking at a choice between them and Real Madrid I think he’ll look at Real and the drama and razzmatazz. They’ve won the European Cup, the Champions League.

But if he’s an 18-year-old with an old head on his shoulders, and wants somewhere that he’ll play straightaway then perhaps he’ll look at City.

I just think the opportunity to go and play for Real Madrid is not one that any 18-year-old will turn down. You just can’t turn down that opportunity.

It would be easy for me to come out and say Manchester United but football is not going that way. You look at clubs and their history in that sense, clubs as they are now, and Real Madrid are now. That is the sort of club that Manchester City are trying to become.

He’s got a change of pace and showed a lot of confidence in the Champions League – nothing seemed to faze him, whoever he was up against.

I would like to think he would get in the game a bit more this season – but he does tend to burst into matches.

We have to use that word with a large ‘P’ – it is still potential. But if you have the money to go out and buy the potential and harvest it then that gives you a head start. There are a lot of clubs that would want to go out there and get him.