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The words 'overpaid' and Barcelona have a layered history with each other, with Blaugrana infamous for shelling out exorbitant wages and transfer fees on players. Years of financial mismanagement finally caught up with them this summer and they were forced to let go of their best player of all time, Lionel Messi, for free. Despite undertaking such drastic measures, Barcelona are still struggling to get back on their feet.
Barcelona and their expenditure lately
As stated earlier, the 26-time La Liga champions have been very careless about their finances in recent times. During the disastrous tenure of Josep Bartomeu, Barcelona employed the practice of doling out mind-boggling wages to underperforming players.
Antoine Griezmann was signed as a 28-year-old on a £108 million fee in 2019. His reported annual wages were around £15.4 million initially, making him one of the best-paid players on the planet with minimum output.
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Similar dealings with Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho, who were signed for £121.5 million apiece, have left a solid dent in Barcelona's books. Miralem Pjanic (£54 million) and Malcom (£36.9 million) are some of the other notable examples of the club's incompetent transfer tactics.
While recent departures and salary cuts sanctioned by president Joan Laporta have reduced the financial load on Barcelona, they still shoulder a wage bill of £357 million. There are many undeserving players who are contributing to this gargantuan amount. With that notion on our minds, let's take a look at five of the most overpaid Barcelona players right now:
#5 Philippe Coutinho - £146,000 per week
Barcelona's most expensive signing marches his way into fifth place on this list. Philippe Coutinho's procurement from Liverpool, for a record-breaking fee of £121.5 million, perfectly embodies what is wrong with the club at the moment. Josep Bartomeu grossly overpaid for the services of the Brazilian midfielder in 2018, the aftershocks of which can still be felt at Camp Nou.
In the two-and-a-half years since, Coutinho has managed to rack up 96 appearances, scoring 23 goals and laying out a further 14 assists in the meantime. Nevertheless, the most memorable moment of his Barcelona career came during a year-long loan at Bayern Munich. The flashy playmaker poetically scored a brace against his parent club in Barcelona's infamous 8-2 demolition to send them crashing out of the Champions League in 2020.
Coutinho has shown glimpses of his genius with Barcelona but his overall performances hardly justify the hefty price that the Spanish giants paid to sign him. On top of that, the injury-prone creator is burning a hole of £146,000 in Barcelona's pocket on a weekly basis. With Lionel Messi gone and Coutinho on the verge of entering his 30s, the Brazilian has one last shot at redeeming his tarnished reputation this season.
#4 Martin Braithwaite - £85,000 per week
No one has been more fortunate in Barcelona's financial plight than Martin Braithwaite, who owes the pinnacle of his career to this. Signed in February 2020 as an emergency recruit, everyone expected Barcelona to dispose of the Danish striker as soon as the next transfer window opened.
Instead, club-legend Luis Suarez was ousted from the club before the commencement of last season, and Braithwaite was handed his fabled No.9 jersey. Predictably, the 30-year-old forward tanked hard with such a big responsibility on his shoulders, scoring a paltry seven goals last term.
Due to a shortage of attackers, Braithwaite continues to enjoy at the topmost level of Spanish football, pocketing a sweet paycheck of £85,000 per week. Nothing more than a one-dimensional player, the big Dane is nowhere near Barcelona's level, especially during the club's most troublesome period.
Also read: 5 players who were lucky to play with Lionel Messi
#3 Ousmane Dembele - £210,000 per week
The fact that Barcelona paid a whopping £121.5 million for Ousmane Dembele in 2017 is painfully mind-numbing considering his current situation. Exuding great potential in his solitary season with Borussia Dortmund, Dembele was a certified prospect at the time of his arrival. However, injuries have thoroughly chewed down his promising career to bits.
The French playmaker is currently suffering from his 12th significant impairment in the last four years. A flashy wideman with an abundance of pace, Dembele did display glimpses of his genius last season, scoring 11 goals.
Nevertheless, considering his hefty price tag, 11 goals should be the least that the Frenchman provides and not his best showing. Moreover, his massive £210,000 weekly salary is constantly unsettling Barcelona's books. With his current deal set to expire next summer, the Blaugrana must renegotiate terms with the 24-year-old and tie him up on a substantially lower wage.
#2 Sergi Roberto - £170,000 per week
Sergi Roberto is one of the longest-serving members of the Barcelona squad right now, having spent all of his professional career at Camp Nou. The La Masia graduate made his debut in 2010 as a central midfielder and has now entered his 12th season with Barcelona as one of the four designated captains.
Making waves as a versatile utility man, Roberto proved to be an integral squad member under Luis Enrique. His pace and robustness were the main qualities that made him essential to Barcelona. However, the very thing that caused him to rise to fame is now hacking down his career at the top.
Jack of all trades, master of none, Roberto is a member of the squad majorly due to nostalgic reasons. With cash-strapped Barcelona lacking severely in the full-back region, the 29-year-old is their only experienced option. Nevertheless, shelling a weekly wage of £170,000 per week for a mere squad member is the definition of being overpaid.
#1 Samuel Umtiti - £208,000 per week
The ideal example of Barcelona's poor transfer dealing skills, Samuel Umtiti is burning a hole of £208,000 in the club's pockets on a weekly basis, without contributing anything. The Frenchman has been completely frozen out of the starting line-up, despite appearing on the bench on every match day.
In steep contrast to his current condition, Umtiti made an instant impact at Barcelona on his arrival from Olympique Lyon in 2016. The sturdy defender established a formidable partnership at the back with Gerard Pique in his initial days, earning deserved praise from everyone.
However, Umtiti's career has stagnated in recent years due to consistent injury problems. Once considered to be a dependable asset, the 27-year-old defender has been a shadow of his former self in his latest outings. With Barcelona constantly looking to offload the World Cup winner, Umtiti's professional career now hangs in the balance.
Also read: 5 former Barcelona players you won't believe are still playing
