Soccer

Soccer’s Most Overpaid Players

Most Overpaid Players in Soccer

Spain v Netherlands: Group B - 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil
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Like any sport, some players are just valued way too highly. And when that happens, big contracts are given to the players that least deserve them. Find out which players are the most overpaid in the world today.

15. Wayne Rooney

wayne rooney england
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15. Wayne Rooney

wayne rooney england
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If we decided who the best players in the world were by their salary, Wayne Rooney would be the seventh best in the world. Ahead of Yaya Toure, Luis Suarez, Sergio Aguero, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery. Clearly, Manchester United is paying too much for Rooney, who while is a great player, has never lived up to the hype.

14. Dani Alves

Brazil dani alves
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14. Dani Alves

Brazil dani alves
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If you look at Dani Alves' salary in comparison to other Barcelona players, he's one of their highest paid athletes at 7 million euros. But if we speak strictly soccer, has he been one of their best? Far from it. The Brazilian has become a huge liability on defense and his attacking runs aren't as harmful as they once were.

13. Frank Lampard

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13. Frank Lampard

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The ever-present Frank Lampard brings in almost million from Chelsea alone (without the extra endorsements), making him the 16th highest paid soccer player in the world. As good as Lampard has been over the years, one can't deny that he doesn't deserve to be paid like a top-20 player.

12. Maxwell

maxwell psg
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12. Maxwell

maxwell psg
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If you look at PSG's star-studded team, you'd be extremely surprised to see the Brazilian left-back Maxwell as one of their highest paid players. While he's a useful player, he isn't good enough to be commanding almost 5 million euros.

11. Samuel Eto'o

samuel eto'o cameroon
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11. Samuel Eto'o

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While he used to be one of the best strikers in the world, today he's only a shadow of his former self. Despite his troubling form, he continues to be paid like one of the best players in the world at over 5 million pounds.

10. Diego Milito

diego milito inter milan
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10. Diego Milito

diego milito inter milan
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Italian side Internazionale is going through somewhat of a rejuvenation, but they have still held on to the Argentine striker, Diego Milito. Subsequently, he's their highest paid player. At 4.5 million euros, he makes more money than Freddy Guarin, Rodrigo Palacio and Samir Handanovic. Considering he's only scored 11 goals in the past two seasons, he's a tad bit overpaid.

9. Kaka

kaka ac milan
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9. Kaka

kaka ac milan
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Ever since his transfer to Real Madrid, Kaka has never been the same. Once considered the best player in the world, Kaka lacks that same creativity, ability, passing and finishing. Despite all this, he's still one of the highest paid soccer players in the world.

8. Alex Song

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8. Alex Song

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Alex Song was brought to Barcelona in an effort to shore up their defensive woes. He was paid a large sum of money to do that. And since his arrival to the Blaugrana, he's spent most of his time riding the bench. Someone paid 5 million euros should be good enough to at least get off the bench.

7. Iker Casillas

iker casillas spain
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7. Iker Casillas

iker casillas spain
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Iker Casillas is the highest paid goalkeeper in the world with an almost 8 million euro salary. But if you saw his performance against Netherlands in the World Cup, you can see he doesn't deserve it. Casillas isn't even a starter for his team anymore, Real Madrid.

6. Robinho

robinho ac milan
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6. Robinho

robinho ac milan
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You can add Robinho to the long list of overpaid Brazilian stars. Perhaps for a season or two, Robinho was considered a star forward, but he's too old to be commanding so much money from AC Milan.

5. Emmanuel Adebayor

emmanuel adebayor tottenham
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5. Emmanuel Adebayor

emmanuel adebayor tottenham
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Emmanuel Adebayor is Tottenham's best paid player, and a top paid striker in the world. But while he was considered that for some seasons, he no longer is today. Adebayor's past two seasons at Tottenham have been disappointing.

4. Andy Carroll

Andy Carroll england
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4. Andy Carroll

Andy Carroll england
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Andy Carroll will always be remembered as the 35 million euro man. That's how much Liverpool paid for the English striker, before selling him again at a 20 million euro loss. He's currently being paid almost 5 million pounds at West Ham United.

3. Ashley Young

ashley young manchester united
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3. Ashley Young

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To say that Ashley Young's time at Manchester United has been a disappointment would be a huge understatement. He's been completely underwhelming. The English star makes almost 7 million pounds a year, which makes him the fourth highest paid player on the team. A little bit too much if you ask...anyone.

2. Dario Conca

dario conca flamengo
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2. Dario Conca

dario conca flamengo
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Just two years ago, Dario Conca was the third highest paid player in the world, right behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. That's right, a player most haven't even heard of was being paid at that level. But when Brazilian side Flamengo bought him back last year, his salary went down to only 10 million dollars a year. Which still makes him extremely overpriced.

1. Fernando Torres

fernando torres chelsea spain
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1. Fernando Torres

fernando torres chelsea spain
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Poor Fernando Torres is the 10th highest paid soccer player in the world. Chelsea is paying a whopping million for his goals. Or lack of goals, I should say. Torres has been nothing but a disappointment since his arrival to Chelsea, and there's little hope for him to start scoring any time soon.

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