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It's that time of the summer when every club looks to bolster their squad by adding talented names to their disposal and chopping the deadwood for as much money as they can.
We have already seen big names like Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Jadon Sancho and Memphis Depay leaving for new clubs this summer. The summer transfer market is only half done and there is still enough time for the clubs to make more moves this year.
In the recent past, football has become a financially luring prospect for rich businessmen as many have invested huge amounts of money into the game. This has resulted in inflated transfer prices and increased wages for players.
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Sometimes, a club offers a player according to their reputation. If the player doesn't justify his salary tag, he will be considered as an overpaid footballer.
In this article, we will look at five players across Europe who have not justified their salaries. We have also mentioned one massively underpaid player based on his output for his respective club.
#5 Çağlar Söyüncü - 45k-a-week - massively underpaid
Contrary to the rest of this list, Çağlar Söyüncü is an example of a player who is not being paid enough. Leicester City signed him back in 2018 and the Turkish international was put on a very reasonable 45k-a-week deal. It was a fair wage cap considering he entered the fold at Leicester City as a backup centre-back.
However, he has proved his worth for the foxes over the last three years. Söyüncü is one of the most important members of Brendan Roger's squad. Since the departure of Harry Maguire to Manchester United in 2019, Soyuncu has made 57 league appearances despite an injury that affected the 2021 season.
He averages almost three defensive actions and three aerial duels per game. He is still on the first contract with the Foxes, which means that last season Wes Morgan was on a higher salary than him, despite featuring for just 15 league minutes in the whole campaign. The likes of Marc Albrighton and Hamza Choudhury also earn close to 50% more than Soyuncu despite being just rotation options.
Contract negotiations with Soyuncu have reportedly been going on for months but nothing has been agreed upon yet. With just two years left on his deal, it needs to be sorted quickly or the defender will get paid what he deserves elsewhere.
#4 Kepa Arrizabalaga - 150k-a-week - overpaid
Kepa's move to Chelsea was a gamble at best by the Blues. Chelsea were left red-faced by Thibaut Courtois' sudden departure to Real Madrid. It had left the club with veterans Willy Caballero and Rob Green as the only two senior goalkeepers in Mauricio Sarri's squad.
Chelsea decided that Kepa was the best option available on short notice. They paid Athletic Bilbao his £72 million release clause, with the expectation that 23-year-old would be No.1 at Stamford Bridge for the foreseeable future.
The £72 million paid for Kepa is a world record fee for a goalkeeper. The Spaniard signed on to the dotted line for 7 years, earning 150k-a-week. This put him on par with compatriot Cesc Fabregas, only behind Eden Hazard as one of the club's top earners back in 2018.
However, after three years, the move has completely failed for Chelsea. Kepa is no longer the starting choice goalkeeper after a horrendous 2019/20 season. Chelsea replaced him with Eduard Mendy last season.
And to add insult to injury, the Senegalese stopper's wage is just 50k-a-week, putting him amongst the lowest earners in Chelsea's first team.
Kepa is still due another £31 million over the next 4 years of his contract in wages, if he sees out his contract. Surely, Roman Abramovich will want to cut his losses sooner rather than later.
#3 Miralem Pjanic - £300k-a-week - massively overpaid
In reality, there are a few Barcelona players that could have been mentioned in this list. Injury-plagued players Ousmane Dembele and Samuel Umtiti are both being paid around 250K a week.
Meanwhile Antoine Griezmann is earning almost triple that amount. However, the Miralem Pjanic deal is just quite baffling. One of the few recent examples of Barcelona's failure in the transfer market is Miralem Pjanic.
After a swap deal between Barcelona and Juventus with Arthur heading to Italy, the Bosnian international was handed a 4-year contract with a salary of 300k-a-week.
This made Pjanic the fourth highest-paid player at the Nou Camp heading into the campaign last year. He played just 1295 minutes across all competitions and contributed zero goals and assists.
This summer, the club is even trying to shift the 31-year-old either on a free or on loan. This will help the club get rid of his huge wages off their books. In the current financial situation, Barcelona would do well not to make a deal like this again.
#2 Aaron Ramsey - 400k-a-week
Aaron Ramsey is earning a prodigious amount of wages at 400k-a-week in Turin from Juventus. Ramsey left Arsenal 2 years ago when he moved on a free transfer, following talks with several clubs across the continent.
However, as is the case with most names on this list, he's hardly proven value for money. The 30-year-old has made just 46 appearances for the Bianconeris since 2019 and only 24 of those have been starts. With only Cristiano Ronaldo earning more than him, it has been an absolute waste of money for Juventus
Ramsey's case has been further complicated by the fact that he is part of a stacked midfield with Rodrigo Bentancur, Adrien Rabiot, Weston McKennie and Arthur. They have all racked up more league minutes than the Welsh international.
Ramsey has often been shunned out on the left flank to be accommodated as a starter. The problem is his wages, which is preventing him from earning a move away from the Allianz Stadium.
Ramsey has long been linked with a return to the Premier League, but his current wage would see him as the highest earner in England. This has made the move to the Premier League quite doubtful.
#1 Eden Hazard - £470k-a-week
It may be slightly harsh to put Eden Hazard on this list but as the highest earner at one of the world's biggest clubs, he has massively under-impressed at Real Madrid.
Chelsea reluctantly sold him to Real Madrid for an initial £100 million in 2019. The Belgian icon agreed to terms that would see him be paid 470k-a-week equivalent to £25 million a year.
Two years into his 5-year deal and the 30-year-old has spent more time on the sidelines than he has on the pitch. Hazard has missed 59 of the possible 103 games due to a variety of injuries.
He has started in just 30% of the fixtures that Los Blancos has played since his arrival. In fact, having made just 43 total appearances, Hazard has cost his club almost £1.2 million in salary alone each time he has stepped on the pitch.
He further complicated matters following interactions with his former team-mates at the end of Real Madrid's Champions League defeat to Chelsea.
While it would certainly help out Madrid's financial situation if the Belgian moves elsewhere, as of now it doesn't look like he will. Let's hope Carlo Ancelotti can get a lot more out of Eden Hazard this coming campaign.
