Ranking the 10 most overpriced signings of all time

#8 Nicolas Pepe | €79 million, Arsenal

Arsenal v Chelsea - Premier League

Although Lille struggled in Ligue 1 at the time, Nicolas Pepe was the club's shining light. Scintillating performances from the wing caught the interest of top clubs, including Arsenal and Barcelona, and when he finished the 2018-19 season with 22 goals, the north London club put in a bid for the star. However, the €79 million they paid - more than Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's record €62 million - for Pepe might have been way too much.

While with Lille, Pepe scored a brilliant 37 goals in 80 appearances, averaging nearly a goal every two games. His Arsenal record, so far, has been the opposite, with the star managing just 25 goals in 95 appearances for the Gunners, averaging a goal every five games. This season has continued in a similar manner for Pepe, as he has managed just one goal in six games.

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#7 Kepa Arrizabalaga | €80 million, Chelsea

Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea - Premier League

After starring and performing between the posts for Athletic Bilbao from 2016 to 2018, Chelsea broke the world record for goalkeeper transfer fees by paying his €80 million release clause, making Kepa Arrizabalaga the most expensive goalkeeper in the world. He started his career at Stamford Bridge in fine form, keeping six clean sheets early on in the season.

Notably, the star goalkeeper refused to be substituted by Maurizio Sarri during the 2019 League Cup final.

Although he would go on to win the Europa League with Chelsea, a series of unfortunate mistakes led to Kepa getting booed by Blues fans and getting relegated to the bench.

By 2020, Edouard Mendy had joined Chelsea as the new first-team goalkeeper under Frank Lampard. Kepa's fortunes changed somewhat positively as Thomas Tuchel opted to play him more often than Lampard did, but an €80 million goalkeeper getting stuck on the bench seems quite hard to comprehend.

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#6 Eden Hazard | €100 million (+ €46.1 million in add-ons), Real Madrid

Real Madrid v FC Sheriff: Group D - UEFA Champions League

A world-class player in his own right, it's quite understandable why Real Madrid opened their checkbooks to spend such an amount of money on Eden Hazard. His performances for Lille in Ligue 1 were spectacular. His creativity and presence for Chelsea in the Premier League were simply glorious. He would almost be worth the price if he could've continued in such fine form.

However, his Real Madrid days have been rather sub-par. Riddled with poor form and struggling with injuries, Hazard has made just 51 appearances for Madrid since 2019, scoring just five goals - this includes the eight appearances he has had so far this season. Notably, the star played more games for Chelsea during his first season in England alone than he has played throughout his Madrid career.

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#5 Ousmane Dembele | €105 million (+ €40 million in add-ons), Barcelona

FC Barcelona v SD Huesca - La Liga Santander

For someone who scored 12 goals and made 20 assists for Borussia Dortmund during his debut season in the Bundesliga, Ousmane Dembele's performances for Barcelona have been too inconsistent to be worth the massive amount it cost to bring the youngster to Camp Nou. With injuries hampering the star, Dembele has only managed to cross the 10-goal mark twice in four seasons.

So far this season, the star is yet to play for Barcelona, having picked up an injury while on international duty with France during Euro 2020. Although he remains a potential star player, these consistent injuries might hamper his progress in the game.

With the player in the final year of his contract at Barcelona and reports indicating that he might leave on a free, the €105 million fee paid for Dembele might look even more of a mistake in hindsight.