5 football players whose wages don't make any sense
There’s a saying “Do what you do best, rest will fall into place”. It sounds like a certain morale booster for top professionals from every field but when it comes to football, the proverb states only half the truth.
For example “The Saints” wanted to get rid of their underperforming Italian frontman Graziano Pellè this season and then he was offered a weekly salary of £260,000 over the course of two and a half years by Chinese Super League topper Shandong Luneng.
A little statistical analysis can prove the point that amongst all the top division leagues played in all over Europe, England has a bizarre reputation of prioritising big names over performance. With certain priority comes certain value. For example, Samuel Eto'o joined Chelsea for £7million a year salary when he was 32 years old.
Bastian Schweinsteiger came to Old Trafford when he was 31 for a transfer fee worth £7.5 million and his weekly wage is £200,000. Now we don’t need to tell you about their performance statistics. Do we?
Let’s look at 5 such players whose insane wages don’t make any sense at all.
#1 Raheem Sterling
When Raheem Sterling penned his contract for the Citizens of Manchester, the social media went viral with brutally funny memes. His £49 million move from Anfield made him the most expensive English player and his current wages at the club is £180,000 a week.
The only possible justification behind this insane price tag can be given for his role in 2013/14 season when Liverpool finished second in the Premier League just behind Manchester City. He scored 9 goals that season and assisted another 7 playing a crucial role in Liverpool’s success but since then it’s all became mere hope and utter disappointment.
His finishing has been horrible, aerial balls are unreachable, his free-kicks hardly breach the wall, and he’s missing spot kicks as well. His recent performance in European Championship will certainly be a matter of concern for Pep Guardiola and yet he remains the most expensive player in England.
Just another example of priority to name over performance.