Most Overpaid Football Players

By: Eniko

Posted: July 16, 2020

Updated: July 16, 2020

Many players chose to play in China for the huge salaries
Alexis Sanchez and David de Gea are in the highest paid PL players
Oscar earns a staggering £400,000 each week

After football salaries have started to reach the sky, top players can earn huge amounts each week. But some of these players can’t really justify their price tags and prove to be less successful or talented as they were thought. As it’s not easy to sell them though, they often stay at the clubs and become the most overpaid football players. Let's see the most famous ones in our top 10. Mesit Ozil has only scored one goal this season in the 23 games he made an appearance. He is one of the most well-paid players at Arsenal and in the whole Premier League with his £350,000 weekly salary. He receives this amount even though he hasn’t played in any game since the restart. In the last four games he wasn’t named even in the squad. But Ozil is not the only player who is paid huge amounts for doing nothing. In the following list you can find players who either under perform at their club or just simply paid more than they deserve.

Top 10 of the most overpaid football players

10. Hulk

The Brazil player has been champion and top goalscorer in his first European club, Porto where he also won the UEFA Europa League. Then he joined Zenit in 2012 where he got further domestic and top goalscorer titles. In 2016 Hulk joined the Shanghai SIPG in the Chinese Super League for a then record fee of €58.6 million. He still plays there and earns £320,000 per week which is definitely more than his normal wage was before.

9. Alexis Sanchez

Alexis Sanchez has been playing in several top European clubs now, where his salary has grown significantly despite his declining form. While in Barcelona he was earning £80,000 per week it increased to £130,000 at Arsenal. But what happened when he signed a contract with Manchester United just seems crazy. He was offered a £350,000 per week salary, plus bonuses, which made him the highest earning player in the Premier League. The Chilean was a great player earlier, but he was already 29 at the time of his signing and couldn’t prove his cost since.

8. Diego Costa

Another forward with a big routine and experience, high salary and lack of goals. Diego Costa is next on our list. The Brazilian-born player started his career in Spain and joined Atletico Madrid in 2010 where he spent 4 great years. He continued his great form at Chelsea, scoring 52 goals in 89 appearances. But his return to Atletico didn’t prove to be too successful after struggling with injuries and lack of form. He scored only 5 goals in La Liga last season and 5 this year as well. This performance isn't really worth his £300,000 per week salary.

most overpaid football players — They are definitely overpaid.

7. James Rodriguez

Real Madrid is famous for offering lucrative salaries to his star players, and James Rodriguez is one of them. But what makes him one of the most overpaid football players right now is that he has only had one league appearance since mid October following his injuries. Of course there have been worrying signs as he wasn’t convincing in Bayern either, where he spent the last two seasons on loan. But after the German side didn’t opt to buy him, he returned to Real, where he is earning £200,000 a week for just sitting on the bench.

6. Aaron Ramsey

Another player who often suffers from injuries is Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey who still managed to get a great deal from Juventus. Ramsey is a very talented player and scored important goals for Arsenal in two FA Cup finals. But his £400,000 a week salary that he is paid at Juventus seems too much money for him. With this salary he became the highest-earning British player ever as online sportsbooks news in the UK were reporting. In his first season in Torino he had 30 appearances with 4 goals scored, but he might need to improve on that if he wants to stay at the club.

5. Jerome Boateng

The German defender is a great player, no doubt about it. He was a key member of the German World Cup team in 2014. He has also been a solid player in Bayern in the last 9 seasons. But in recent years he was struggling with injuries and was sidelined by former Bayern manager Niko Kovac in the previous season. He had 24 appearances this season in the Bundesliga, completing only 64% of his tackles. The team still won another title but Boateng’s salary of £205,000 a week seems too much for his performance.

4. David de Gea

David de Gea was one of the best players of Manchester United in the 2017/18 season, but his form has dropped since a lot. He made several huge mistakes in the Premier League this season though he is still capable of amazing saves. He earns £375,000 a week which is the highest in the whole Premier League. But mistakes like palming the ball into his own goal after a soft shot from Tottenham player Steven Bergwijn can cost him his place eventually.

3. Graziano Pelle

In the top 3 we find another player from a Chinese team. Italian Graziano Pelle who joined the team of Shandong Luneng in 2016 after scoring two goals at Euro 2016. Pelle was a player of Southampton before, playing in the Premier League. But he couldn’t resist either the £350,000 per week salary. This offer made him the world’s seventh-highest paid player at that time. Not bad for a player who hasn’t got such remarkable results or performances.

2. Christian Benteke

Though Christian Benteke’s salary is not as huge as former mentioned Chinese League players, in the Premier League a £120,000 weekly salary is not bad. Especially if you’re a player of Crystal Palace which definitely doesn’t belong to the top teams. And you’ve only scored 5 goals in your last three seasons as a striker. Benteke’s teammate, Wilfried Zaha earns just a little more. While other much better Premier League players like Sadio Mane, Dele Alli and Gabriel Jesus are earning less than this amount.

1. Oscar

On the top of the list of the most overpaid football players we find another Brazil player, Oscar. He supposed to have a great future ahead of him, but moved to China in 2016 after spending four years at Chelsea. He was only 26 at that time, with plenty of other opportunities, but he chose money instead of fame. Oscar is earning a staggering £400,000 a week. It made him the fourth highest-paid player after Neymar, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at that time. But his chance of winning or even playing in the biggest club tournaments like the Champions League are over. Where his former team, Chelsea are still in the competition. Online gambling sites in the UK are offering high odds for their victory over Bayern Munich though.