5 worst January signings in PSG history
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have managed to position themselves among Europe's elite clubs through strategic investment and spending. The club was known for its shrewd business model that attracted a number of stars in the past, including Ronaldinho and Jay-Jay Okocha, among others.
PSG's fortunes turned around after their 2011 takeover
Immediately after the club was taken over by Qatari Sports Investment in 2011, big money signings began flowing in. The club did not shy away from making moves in the summer and winter transfer windows as they looked to beef up their squad with quality players.
Owners like the Qatari based group in charge of PSG are โobsessedโ with winning the Champions League. Since their takeover in 2011, more than ยฃ1b has been pumped into the Paris project. They have since only got past the QF of the competition once in recent years. https://t.co/kah6vdLt8f
Majority of these players, such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Lucas Moura and Alex, among others, helped take the club to the next level. However, some of these projects did not exactly go according to plan, and the players did not live up to expectations in the club. Without further ado, here is a list of five of the most disappointing January signings in PSG history.
#5 Souza
Following the success of South American players like Ronaldinho, the club tried to sign more players from South America. In January 2008, Willamis Souza joined for โฌ4 million from Brazilian side Sao Paulo.
The Brazilian attacking midfielder was handed the number 10 shirt at Parc des Princes upon his arrival. The midfielder was 28 at the time of the transfer and joined from the Brazilian side, where he played alongside future Selecao stars Joao Miranda and Hernanes.
Souza's time in Paris did not exactly go according to plan, as he made only 17 appearances for the club before leaving for good. He failed to find the net in any of his appearances and made only three assists for the club.
Souza left for Gremio on a season-long loan deal after only six months at the club. The midfielder eventually moved to the Brazilian club on a permanent deal for โฌ2.2 million after one year.
#4 Everton Santos
In the same transfer window that PSG signed 28-year-old Souza, the French club picked another budding Brazilian star in Everton Santos. The attacker was signed for a fee of โฌ2 million from Corinthians as a 20-year-old in January 2008.
The youngster was immediately included in the first-team at Parc des Princes, but failed to make an impression at the club. Santos made only three appearances for the club before being loaned out just six months later to Fluminense in the Brazilian Serie A.
The former PSG striker Everton Santos is @MumbaiCityFCโs attacking firepower during @IndSuperLeague 2017-18. His talent in playing across the frontline makes him a valued player to the Mumbai City squad #HeroSuperCup #OdishaTheNewSportsCapital https://t.co/pCWINbviSj
Despite being highly rated in Brazil, where he made 25 senior appearances for Corinthians in his debut campaign, Santos failed to make the cut in Europe. The Brazilian was sent on a series of loans to clubs in Brazil, Japan and South Korea before eventually leaving for free in January 2012 after his contract expired.