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While clubs like Manchester United and Barcelona used to center their legacy on developing raw talent, newcomers Manchester City and PSG have had a much smoother road to the top. The heavy investment in both these cash-laden clubs has led them to superstardom, attracting any player that fancies them on their way to numerous titles. PSG, in particular, have created a monopoly in their domestic league, killing any competition with the flick of a pen.
PSG's exorbitant spending over the past few years
Since their big-money takeover by the state-run shareholding organization Qatar Sports Investments in 2011, PSG have never shied away from forking out sumptuous amounts of cash. The French giants have purchased as many as 11 players for a fee in excess of €40 million in the last decade.
Their €145 million acquisition of Kylian Mbappe in 2017 from direct title-rivals Monaco solidified PSG's position as the biggest footballing powerhouse in Ligue 1. While other promising French teams are periodically raided for their talents, Les Parisiens have the liberty of poaching stars from the biggest clubs. To quantify their financial dominance, PSG have racked up transfer bills amounting to €1.4 billion since 2011.
With such a huge overall spend, the nine-time Ligue 1 champions are bound to have issued undeserving transfer fees for some of their signings. On that note, let's take a look at five of the most overpaid PSG signings of all time:
#5 Thilo Kehrer - €37 million
With the combined purchases of Sergio Ramos, Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes, PSG have finally addressed their defensive issues in a reliable manner. The Parisians had tried to fix their backline woes earlier, with the procurement of Thilo Kehrer in 2018, but to no avail.
Aged 22 at the time of his transfer, Kehrer was viewed as the next big thing in German football. His versatility alerted several top clubs in need of a young centre-half. However, PSG successfully fended off interest from all interested parties, paying €37 million to Schalke for Kehrer's services.
Safe to say, the 25-year-old German has failed to set the world alight in his three-year spell in the French capital. His failure to match his team-mates' quality at the back has resulted in PSG allowing the signings of several defensive recruits. With new arrivals, Kehrer has fallen further down the pecking order, justifying his inclusion in the list.
#4 David Luiz - €49.5 million
In the summer of 2014, PSG were in dire need of some defensive reinforcements. Aside from a 20-year-old Marquinhos, who was yet to find his footing in France, Thiago Silva was the only world-class centre-half at the Parc des Princes.
Possessing all the riches in the world, PSG decided to shell out a whopping €49.5 million on Chelsea's star defender David Luiz, making him the most expensive defender back then. The erratic centre-half did have his moments in a PSG shirt, famously scoring against his former side in the Champions League Round-of-16 in 2015.
Nevertheless, the fee paid by Les Parisiens to acquire Luiz was undoubtedly overpriced since the Brazilian was sold back to Chelsea just two years later. Moreover, he was offloaded to the Blues for a significantly less amount, resulting in a €15 million loss for PSG.
Also read: 5 players PSG should sell in 2022
#3 Jese - €25 million
Another example of reckless spending done by PSG, the nine-time Ligue 1 champions, inexplicably forked out €25 million on an untested Jese Rodriguez. A product of the Real Madrid academy, Jese exuded immense potential in his youth but could never record an individual achievement of any sort.
Nevertheless, PSG decided to take a punt on him and included him in their first team ahead of the 2016-17 season. Injuries and countless disciplinary issues restricted him from ever succeeding in France, and PSG spat him out on loan to Las Palmas just six months after purchasing him.
While Jese's initial promise was recognized by the entire football fraternity, PSG's decision to splash an amount as significant as €25 million proved to be heavily short-sighted. After four separate loan spells, the Spaniard was finally released in 2020, having scored just two goals for the club.
#2 Javier Pastore - €42 million
The first signing of the Qatari era, Javier Pastore's arrival at the Parc des Princes was supposed to be a statement of intent, a signal of what is to come. The Argentinian playmaker was one of the hottest properties at the time, having produced 20 goal contributions with Palermo in the 2010-11 season.
His signing attracted a lot of buzz from worldwide media, with everyone acknowledging PSG's might in the transfer market. Following two seasons of promising football, Pastore endured a significant dip in form, never recovering from the fall again.
While the attacking midfielder showed definite potential in his ultimate season at Palermo, PSG's newfound wealth allowed them to spend an exorbitant amount of cash on him. It eventually backfired as Pastore could never replicate his initial form and was subsequently sold to Roma in 2018 for a much lower fee.
#1 Neymar - €222 million
Neymar's record-shattering transfer to PSG in 2017 is the major reason behind the massive spike in inflation in football. As soon as the Parisians shelled out a whopping €222 million to acquire his services, the market values of every other player practically shot through the roof.
While the subsequent four years have brought a lot of success for both Neymar and PSG, the two parties have failed drastically to justify his hefty signing fee. The French giants were already a dominant force in their domestic league at the time of the transfer. Unfortunately for PSG, it is the only trait that defines them right now.
Neymar hasn't been able to fix his side's tendency to bottle on the European stage, with a solitary appearance in the Champions League final being their biggest accomplishment.
Even though a return of 88 goals and 54 assists in 124 appearances is nothing to be scoffed at, the little progress that PSG have made since the signing conforms to the overpriced part. With the Brazilian turning 30 next year, PSG have little time to extract the best out of the most expensive transfer in the history of football.
Also read: 5 players who did not deserve to play for PSG
