8 superstars who barely played after making lucrative transfers: Neymar, Pogba…
Former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United stars are among the superstars who barely played after making lucrative transfers.
With the vast sums of money now sloshing around in football, players can easily take their eye off the ball when earning big weekly paycheques.
We’ve taken a closer look at some high-profile transfers in recent years and have found eight players who barely played after making a big-money move.
Neymar
While the Brazilian was riddled with injuries throughout his time in Paris, he still averaged 28.8 appearances per season which is by no means disastrous.
However, following his mega-money switch to Al-Hilal, the 32-year-old had to endure an injury nightmare as he’s spent the majority of the last 18 months on the sidelines.
In total, Neymar has earned around £126million in wages during his time in Saudi Arabia. During that time, he played a total of seven matches and scored one goal.
Following weeks of speculation, Al-Hilal recently mutually agreed to terminate his contract as the winger looks set to return to his boyhood club Santos.
From a financial perspective, Neymar’s move to Al-Hilal is arguably the worst transfer of all time.
Paul Pogba
Upon his return to Juventus in 2022, Pogba became one of the highest-paid players in Serie A.
The Frenchman lit up the Allianz Stadium during his initial stint in Italy, but the less said about his second spell with Juventus, the better.
In total, Pogba only made 12 appearances during his two seasons back at the club, all while pocketing a sweet weekly wage of £166,000.
His first season was interrupted by injuries and a doping investigation derailed his second year. After months of speculation, he was eventually hit by a doping ban in February 2024 and in November he was released by Juventus.
Now on the lookout for his next club, the 31-year-old will be eligible to play once again in March.
Eden Hazard
In 2018-19, Hazard was undoubtedly one of the best players in the world, but he suffered a sharp decline after moving to Madrid.
During his four-year stint in Spain, Hazard averaged a mere 7.5 starts per season in La Liga, all while pocketing a weekly wage of around £500,000.
While the Belgian winger did win six trophies during his time at Madrid, his contribution was minimal in winning those titles.
Following an injury-hit four years, he took the decision to retire in 2023, aged 32.
Alexis Sanchez
“Sometimes there are things that you don’t realise until you get there, and I remember the first training session I had, I realised a lot of things,” Sanchez told Sky Sports when reflecting on his move to Manchester United.
“After the session I got home and I told my family and my agent ‘can you not rip up the contract to go back to Arsenal?’. They laughed, I told them there’s something that doesn’t sit right, it doesn’t seem good.”
Despite being United’s highest earner at the time on £350,000 per week, Sanchez looked like a shadow of his former self after moving to Manchester.
In total, he only made 21 league starts for the club, despite earning just over £45million in wages during his two and a half years on the books at United. Ouch.
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Donny van de Beek
Prior to joining Manchester United, Van de Beek was one of the 30 players nominated for the 2019 Ballon d’Or.
His stock was at an all-time high when he made the switch to Manchester, but the Dutch midfielder quickly found himself in a tricky situation.
After failing to dislodge the likes of Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Fred and Scott McTominay from the starting XI, Van de Beek’s confidence never seemed to recover following his disappointing debut season.
In total, the Dutch midfielder only started in six Premier League matches during his entire four-year spell on the books at United.
Thankfully, he now seems to be getting his career back on track with Girona.
Jonathan Woodgate
After making the lucrative switch to Real Madrid in 2004, Woodgate had to wait for over a year until he eventually made his debut.
Then following a calamitous first appearance where he scored an own goal and was sent off, he only went on to make 13 more appearances for the club before he was let go.
This transfer seemed doomed from the get-go.
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Danny Drinkwater
Alright, we wouldn’t exactly describe Drinkwater as a ‘superstar’ but his £35million switch to Chelsea in 2017 certainly wasn’t cheap.
Following his heroics at Leicester City, Chelsea decided to hand him a five-year deal worth £100,000 per week.
Understandably, Drinkwater was keen to see out his entire contract at the club, despite almost instantly being deemed surplus to requirements.
In total, the holding midfielder earned £26million in wages while on the books at Stamford Bridge, despite only making 23 appearances for the club.
He spent the vast majority of his time out on loan and following his release from Chelsea, the midfielder retired aged 33.
Kalvin Phillips
Signed for £45million, Phillips only managed two Premier League starts before he was discarded by Manchester City.
He’s still on their books today, picking up a weekly wage of £150,000, but is currently out on loan with Ipswich Town where he’s been afforded more opportunities.