The salaries of some players in Ligue 1 reflect a discrepancy with their real performances on the pitch…Here is the “Top 10” of “overpaid” players in the French Ligue 1.
JÉRÔME BOATENG (OL, €400,000)
Jérôme Boateng has a salary that matches his CV. On the other hand, if we look at its usefulness within Olympique Lyonnais, the contrast is obvious. The former Bayern defender, who arrived in L1 in 2021, is the 20th highest paid player in the championship, with €400,000 in salary. He ranks second in the Rhone squad, behind Alexandre Lacazette (€450,000).
It is not his six matches this season nor his impact on the group that can legitimize at Les Gones, modest 10th in Ligue 1 after 28 days. In the role of the experienced player called upon to be a defender, OL even had to call Dejan Lovren (who receives the same salary) to the rescue. Boateng in Lyon: the years pass and the acknowledgment of failure remains significant.
ERIC BAILLY (OM, 450 000€)
He arrived with a big CV last summer and was to be the leader of the Marseille defense. On loan from Manchester United, the Ivorian international, who passed through Villarreal, saw his salary covered by Olympique de Marseille this season. A season that turned into a fiasco. Embarrassed in the heart of autumn by a thigh injury, Eric Bailly was suspended for seven matches after his extremely dangerous intervention against the Hyères player (2-0) in the 32nd final of the Coupe de France.
Returning to the field in early February, the 28-year-old is no longer part of OM’s eleven. Indeed, Igor Tudor no longer counts on him and favors Chancel Mbemba, Samuel Gigot, Sead Kolasinac and Leonardo Balerdi more. In three months, Eric Bailly will return to Manchester United where he is under contract until June 2024. He will probably leave a bitter feeling for Marseille fans.
HOUSSEM AOUAR (OL, 300 000€)
Barring an exceptional reversal of the situation, Houssem Aouar will leave Olympique Lyonnais free in three months. A time followed by Arsenal or Juventus, the 24-year-old midfielder finally stayed in his training club. His current lease, the future Algerian international (note: he has announced that he wants to join the ranks of the Fennecs but has not yet been called up) signed him in 2018. At the time, Aouar was a great hope for the club, on which the management could hope for an XXL capital gain.
But since the Final 8 of the 2020 Champions League, Houssem Aouar has not managed to pass a new milestone. Worse, the native of Lyon is no longer an indisputable holder in the Lyon midfield and has been relegated to the hierarchy. He is even sometimes preferred Johann Lepenant (20 years old), who arrived last summer from Stade Malherbe Caen. This season, Houssem Aouar has played eleven Ligue 1 matches, only six of which as a starter… hence his presence in this ranking.
JUAN BERNAT (PSG, 730 000€)
Seriously injured in a knee in September 2020 (rupture of a cruciate ligament), Juan Bernat never regained the satisfactory level he had once displayed at Paris Saint-Germain. Arriving from Bayern Munich in 2018, he established himself as a solid starter. Almost five years later, he can no longer claim such a status.
Ninth in the PSG (and Ligue 1) salary rankings, he was also extended in March 2021, when he had not returned to competition. A risk-taking, in the light of the doubts that remained about his ability to regain the fullness of his means. Risk rather losing than paying… for Paris, with which Bernat is linked until 2025.
RENATO SANCHES (PSG, 540 000€)
The Renato Sanches of Paris Saint-Germain has nothing to do with that of LOSC. Whether due to chronic physical fragility or shyness that contrasts with the punch he showed in the North, the 25-year-old Portuguese midfielder is disappointing.
When we put his salary in perspective with the emoluments of his teammates (12th in the PSG hierarchy, 14th in L1), there is no question of an industrial accident. But there is still the feeling that it is expensive, for such a low contribution, if only quantitatively (5 tenures).
MAMADOU SAKHO (MONTPELLIER, €150,000)
In 2021, Mamadou Sakho arrived in Montpellier with confirmed Premier League player and French international status. But for two years, the former Parisian, often annoyed by injuries, has not been able to continue with the Paillade club. This season, the hero of France-Ukraine 2013 has played eleven matches in the French championship, including five as a starter.
Since the return of Michel Der Zakarian to the MHSC bench in February, Mamadou Sakho has been a regular on the sidelines. He only came into play nineteen minutes against Angers (5-0) on March 5 when victory was already assured. Under contract until June 2024, Sakho is preceded by Christopher Jullien and Kiki Kouyaté, recruited during the winter transfer window to strengthen a desperate Hérault defense.
MOUSSA SISSOKO (NANTES, €310,000)
Nantes wanted to sign an experienced player for the European Cup this season and set their sights on Moussa Sissoko last summer. For this, the club chaired by Waldemar Kita paid a high price. According to L’Equipe, he would be the most expensive player in the history of FC Nantes. But this season, the French international midfielder (71 selections) has not always been established by Antoine Kombouaré (28 matches in all competitions including 22 in the starting lineup).
Despite his desire to win, Moussa Sissoko does not have the same impact as during his time at Tottenham (2016-2021) and his arrival did not prevent FC Nantes from experiencing a complicated start to the championship. But now, the 2001 French champion is on track to save himself (7 points ahead of the first non-relegation). Under contract until 2024, Moussa Sissoko will have another opportunity to prove his worth to the Beaujoire public.
JEFF REINE-ADELAIDE (TROYES, €100,000*)
After two ruptures of the cruciate ligaments (December 2019 and February 2021), Jeff Reine-Adelaïde joined Troyes in the last hours of the last winter transfer window to revive. Within ESTAC, the former Angevin, transferred for some 25 million euros to OL in the summer of 2019, benefits from the highest salary in the history of the club, according to L’Equipe. Indeed, the current eighteenth of L1 pays 100,000 euros per month and OL pays the rest * (note: as part of this loan, “JRA” agreed to see his monthly salary go from 250,000 to €200,000).
But for now, the 25-year-old hasn’t won at ESTAC. Indeed, he only played three matches in two months (note: 102 minutes) for a single tenure in Reims (0-4). Three times, against Montpellier, Monaco and Brest, Jeff Reine-Adelaïde remained on the bench without even coming into play.
ADAM TROUSERS (LENS, €129,000)
The Polish international from MLS cannot be judged on his performances. And for good reason, he has hardly played this season with RC Lens. Four ends of matches, time to relapse. The 26-year-old striker drags his ankle problem like a ball and chain.
Result: the comparison hurts between his salary – the second highest in the Sang et Or – and his weight in the good season of Franck Haise’s men. He places himself on the podium, between Seko Fofana (€190,000) and Brice Samba (€119,000), as for them essential for the 3rd in L1.
JOE RODON (RENNES, €240,000)
Without being a shipwreck, the loan with option to buy Joe Rodon in Rennes is not a huge success. His contribution can be considered correct, but seeing him appear at the foot of the podium in the Rennes club’s salary grid makes you wince.
His salary of €240,000 gross per month places him, for example, ahead of Amine Gouiri (€190,000) or Benjamin Bourigeaud (€180,000). The 25-year-old Welsh international, under contract with Tottenham until 2025, has only played fourteen times in Ligue 1.
BUT ALSO… KEVIN STROOTMAN
On the sidelines of this list, a player who does not play in Ligue 1 in 2022-2023: Kevin Strootman. According to L’Equipe, the OM midfielder, on loan to Genoa, “costs 4 million euros” to the Marseille club. His loan is ‘with conditional purchase obligation’, according to Transfermarkt, and the Dutchman’s contract expires anyway. Finally, it will be one less financial problem for Marseille.
With Eurosport.fr
