Paris Saint-Germain quickly became one of the richest clubs in European football when QSI bought the club in 2012....CONTINUE READING
But as many clubs on the continent can attest, money is no guarantee of success, and while PSG has signed big contracts over the years – Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are prime examples – the club has also made a number of mistakes.
The Parisian club has often had to lure players to the French league with exorbitant wages, which in recent years has often meant PSG has had to endure rather expensive relegations.
You could argue that the big deal of Lionel Messi to the club was a failure, but the Argentine has contributed enough to not end up on our list.
Here are the 10 worst deals in history.
Hatem Ben Arfa – free from Nice, 2016
Hatem Ben Arfa’s career seemed to be fully revived when he moved to PSG from Nice on a free transfer after a brilliant season on the south coast. Instead, he spent most of his two seasons at PSG out of the team.
Mentally, he was not suited to the role of reserve player required of him, which led to his relationship with the club being severed altogether. He even threatened to sue them after he was placed in the reserve team. Instead, he trained on his own and did not make a single appearance during the 2017/18 season, before leaving the club when his contract expired.
Gianluigi Buffon – free from Juventus, 2018
Buffon is one of the best goalkeepers of all time and arguably the best goalkeeper of the 21st century, but he spent a miserable 2018/19 season at PSG that will go down in history as a forgettable footnote in an otherwise remarkable career.
Despite his excellent reputation, Buffon struggled to look like the world-class player he undoubtedly is. His miss of Marcus Rashford’s shot sparked Manchester United’s incredible comeback in the Champions League Round of 16.
It’s worth noting that he was hampered by head coach Thomas Tuchel, who insisted on rotating him regularly with Alphonse Areola. It was a move that led to neither of them getting any good results.
Julian Draxler – €42 million from Wolfsburg, 2017
PSG hoped they could revive Julian Draxler’s career when they spent big money to sign him from Wolfsburg in 2017.
Draxler showed exceptional talent at Schalke, but went a bit astray at the Bundesliga rivals.
It was because of his potential that PSG paid around €42 million for the attacking midfielder. After a brilliant start – he reportedly scored 10 goals in his first 25 games – Draxler failed to find a regular place in the team and was mostly a substitute or a player called up due to injury.
After just five league appearances in 2021/22, he joined Benfica on loan.
Goncalo Guedes – €30 million from Benfica, 2017
When PSG bought Goncalo Guedes in January 2017, they thought they were acquiring one of the best prospects in the world, but as with many deals over the winter period, they overpaid for a player who didn’t live up to expectations.
Having arrived for €30 million, he had already left Valencia on loan in September. In Spain, at least, he managed to make such an impression that he was linked with Barcelona. The fact that PSG eventually paid €40 million for him mitigated the fact that he failed at the Parc des Princes.
Jese – €25 million from Real Madrid, 2016
This is a candidate for one of the worst transfers of all time.
Although Jese was promising during his early years at Real Madrid, his career was severely hampered by two long-term injuries and he rarely showed anything like his best form when PSG decided to take him for €25 million.
This seemed like a bad deal for PSG, but it turned out to be a spectacularly bad deal, as Jese only played nine Ligue 1 games in his first full season at the club and scored a single goal, from a penalty kick.
He spent the rest of his time at PSG on a series of loan deals and now plays in Turkey after playing with Las Palmas in the Segunda Division.
Thilo Kehrer – €28 million from Schalke, 2018
When Thilo Kehrer signed for PSG from Schalke in the summer of 2018, he was seen as one of the next big things in German football. Three years later, it’s quite clear that it’s not.
Kehrer failed to establish himself at either centre-back or right-back and was a player that PSG fans dreaded seeing in their team line-up.
Although Hansi Flick brought him back to the German national team for €37 million, he was still a huge waste of money, so he went to West Ham in 2022 for just €12 million.
Sergio Ramos – Free from Real Madrid, 2021
In the summer of 2021, PSG had one of the most high-profile transfer windows in history, signing Messi, Georginio Wijnaldum, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Sergio Ramos for free.
Wijnaldum did disappoint, but at least he played a decent number of games and has now joined Roma on loan.
Ramos, on the other hand, has been a complete disaster.
Due to injury problems, the Spaniard only made eight league appearances in his debut season and considering he is paid €12 million a year, his contribution was very, very expensive.
However, Ramos has featured in all of PSG’s league games so far in the 2022/23 season, which means he can make amends if he stays healthy.
Grzegorz Krychowiak – €27.5 million from Sevilla, 2016
The 2016/17 season was a truly awful transfer campaign for PSG. Not only did they sign Draxler and Guedes in the winter and Jese in the summer, but also Grzegorz Krychowiak.
In theory, his arrival shouldn’t have been such a disaster as it was. The Polish international has spent most of his career in France, before that he had a successful career at Sevilla, where he worked under PSG manager Unai Emery.
He was hampered by injury problems, but in the end the competition for places was too much for him and Le Figaro declared him the “flop of the season” amid some pretty strong competition.
Andre Luiz – €7.5 million from Tenerife, 2002
PSG have spent a lot of money in the years since QSI bought the club, but signing Andre Luiz from Tenerife for €7.5 million – a sum high enough to make him one of the world’s most expensive players that summer – proved to be a disaster.
After impressing in Marseille, he looked like he could shine on the left wing alongside compatriot Ronaldinho, but instead he failed. The club’s official history reads: “His balance was disastrous: he was slow and looked lost on the pitch.”
After just three months he was mocked by PSG fans and less than a year after his arrival he was loaned out to Corinthians, from where he never returned.
David Luiz – €50 million from Chelsea, 2014
While David Luiz may not (always) be as unhappy as he is portrayed, the deal that brought the Brazilian defender to Chelsea in the summer of 2014 was expensive from PSG’s point of view, as they spent €50 million on him.
At the time of signing, this was a world record for a defender, and just how much they overpaid for him was revealed two years later when he returned to Chelsea for almost half as much.
