5 times PSG overpaid for a player

#3 Jese - €25 million

Jese playing for Real against PSG in the Champions League

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.

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#2 Javier Pastore - €42 million

Pastore failed to live up to his billing

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.

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#1 Neymar - €222 million

Neymar was touted to win the Ballon d'Or before joining PSG

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.

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