Coutinho, Pogba: 5 players who failed to justify their price tag of over €100 million
The last decade of football has seen a lot of money change hands. While some players have been worth the big splashes, some have just not justified their price tag and perhaps never will.
Paying €100 million for any player always has a risk attached to it, especially since the money is paid on their potential. In other cases, it ends up being paid for a player who might perhaps be past his prime or not have enough years on hand to prove his worth. Regardless, every big club often takes a chance on the "next big thing" in the market or a "world-class talent".
However, the last decade has seen more flops than successful pieces of business, especially when one pays more than €100 million.
On that note, let’s take a look at five players who have failed to justify their €100 million plus price tag.
#5 Ousmane Dembele (€140 million)
Ousmane Dembele was one of the young French stars who Barcelona thought would take on the baton from Lionel Messi once the club legend retired. While the South American star has since left the club, the ex-Borussia Dortmund ace is yet to come into his own.
Eric Dier on transfers: "It’s not Ousmane Dembele’s fault that he’s good at football and someone is willing to pay £140million for him." https://t.co/QAJwmZshEk
Barcelona paid a whooping €140 million for the young winger back in 2017, after they received €222 million from the departure of Neymar Jr. While Dembele seemed like a viable replacement for the now Paris Saint-Germain star, the truth could not be further.
Injuries, inconsistencies and poor form have seen the France international make only 132 appearances over the last four and a half years. In that period, he has scored 31 goals and 24 assists, which is far below his standards. So the massive chunk of cash spent by the Nou Camp outfit now looks like a fairly poor investment.
To roughen the blow, Dembele could now leave Barcelona on a free transfer in the summer. It is fair to say they will look back upon this deal with great regret.
#4 Antoine Griezmann (€120 million)
Antoine Griezmann remains one of the most confusing transfer mistakes in football history. The centre-forward was excellent during his five years at Atletico Madrid, and convinced Barcelona to pay €120 million for his services in 2019.
Two years ago today, Antoine Griezmann was unveiled as a Barcelona player after his €120 million move from Atletico Madrid 📸 https://t.co/cZHoIkweF5
However, the Blaugrana club decided to do so at a time when they already had an incredible striker in Luis Suarez. The two could never play alongside each other due to their similar abilities. The presence of Lionel Messi meant that Griezmann had to shift to the left wing.
It never worked out for the Frenchman, despite Suarez leaving the club a year later. In total, he made 102 appearances for the five-time Champions League winners and scored 35 goals and provided 17 assists during that time.
Griezmann is currently on loan at Atletico Madrid, who will have an obligation to buy him at the end of the season for €34 million. So in addition to the player being a flop at the Nou Camp, Barcelona might only be able to recoup 1/4th of his original transfer fee.