'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) boast arguably the best squad in Europe at the moment after signing a number of superstars during the summer. The Ligue 1 giants signed Lionel Messi on a free transfer while also bringing in the likes of Georginio Wijnaldum, Sergio Ramos and Gianluigi Donnarumma without spending a penny.
The club have also improved their full-back options by bringing in Achraf Hakimi from Inter for €60 million while signing left-back Nuno Mendes on loan with the option to buy.
With so many talented superstars in the squad, PSG also boast one of the biggest wage bills in the world. Lionel Messi is currently their highest-paid player while Neymar Jr. and Kylian Mbappe are just behind the Argentine in terms of salary.
The likes of Angel Di Maria, Marquinhos and Marco Verratti also rank amongst the highest-earners at the club.
A few PSG players have not justified their wages
Barring new signings, all the players mentioned above have performed extremely well for the Parisians and have shown why they are paid such huge wages. However, a few players have not lived up to expectations and have failed to justify their salaries at the club.
On that note, here we take a look at the five most overpaid players at PSG right now:
#5 Layvin Kurzawa - £80,000
In a bid to replace club legend Maxwell at left-back, PSG decided to bring in Layvin Kurzawa from AS Monaco for €25 million. The french international was a regular starter at Monaco and at the time was considered one of the best young full-backs in Europe.
Unfortunately, injuries at regular intervals meant that Kurzawa was unable to make more than 20 league appearances in a season. In fact, the full-back has made just 106 appearances in the league across six seasons at the Parc des Princes.
Kurzawa performed well whenever fit during his initial years at PSG. He even scored a Champions League hat-trick in 2017, becoming the first defender to do so.
But Kurzawa's form also seems to have dropped in the last couple of seasons, prompting PSG to bring in Juan Bernat in 2018.
Kurzawa was linked with a move away from PSG this summer but a transfer failed to materialize before the end of the window. The 29-year-old is yet to play a single minute of the 2021-22 Ligue 1 campaign.
#4 Juan Bernat - £90,000
Kurzawa's replacement at left-back, Juan Bernat, is another player who has failed to convince during his time at PSG.
PSG brought in Bernat from Bayern Munich in order to provide stiff competition to Kurzawa and provide suitable cover for him. Kurzawa's injury problems meant that Bernat played 25 league games during his first season at the club.
But the Spaniard also started suffering injury problems with the defender making just three league appearances during the 2020-21 season before rupturing his cruciate ligament.
Bernat and Kurzawa's injury problems meant that PSG needed a new left-back. As such, the club brought in the talented Nuno Mendes from Sporting CP during the summer. The Parisians also have Abdou Diallo at left-back, who the club brought in from Borussia Dortmund in 2019.
With both Diallo and Mendes performing well so far this season, Bernat might be sparingly used by the Ligue 1 giants. Hence, a salary of £90,000 is definitely big for a player who might barely play this season.
#3 Rafinha - £90,000
Product of the La Masia academy, Rafinha decided to move to PSG after seven years at Barcelona where he failed to establish himself in Blaugrana's first-team.
He arrived at PSG with the hope that he would play regularly for the Ligue 1 giants. Unfortunately, the Brazilian has suffered a similar fate in Paris.
The 28-year-old did make 34 appearances across all competitions last season, but only 18 of those came as starts. He managed to register seven assists during that time but nothing about his performances has been eye-catching so far.
With PSG bringing in Georginio Wijnaldum this summer, Rafinha might see his playing time get reduced even more. As such, PSG will certainly be keen to offload him, given that he takes home £90,000-a-week in wages.
#2 Julian Draxler - £125,000
Julian Draxler arrived at PSG from VfL Wolfsburg with a big reputation. The German playmaker was signed for around €36 million to bolster PSG's attack.
However the 28-year-old has failed to nail down a regular starting spot during his four-year stint at the club. He has made 183 appearances for PSG, with only half of those appearances coming as a starter.
Much of this has happened due to the fact that Draxler has to play out of position at PSG. Having excelled at left-flank during his time at Wolfsburg and Schalke, Draxler had to settle for a spot in midfield to accommodate the star-signings of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
This affected Draxler's playing time while the former Schalke man could also not provide the same spark and creativity from midfield.
Draxler's £125,000-a-week wages definitely makes him one of the overpaid players in the squad, considering that he has been mostly used as a substitute. With the arrival of Lionel Messi in the summer, it looks likely that Draxler might depart the club in the near future.
#1 Leandro Paredes - £140,000
Midfielder Leandro Paredes is arguably the most overpaid player at PSG right now.
The Argentina international arrived at the club during the January transfer window in 2019 from Zenit St. Petersburg for a fee of around €40 million. He immediately became an integral part of the squad, playing in all the league matches after his arrival during the 2018-19 season.
However, the midfielder managed to make just eight league starts in the following campaign, with the likes of Idrissa Gueye and Pablo Sarabia preferred over the 27-year-old.
Since then, Paredes has mostly been used as a squad player with the former Roma man making only 58 starts during his two and a half seasons at PSG.
Paredes has also been unable to deliver for the Parisians in big games. He has earned a reputation for being hot-headed when things go wrong, having picked up a whopping 21 yellow cards and one red card since joining PSG in 2019.
With the arrival of Wijnaldum, Paredes is another player expected to drop down the pecking order. Therefore, his salary of £140,000-a-week at PSG could definitely be termed as exorbitant.
