French Ligue 1 giants PSG reportedly lost £326million after recording the highest wage bill of £643million in 2022.
Football fans may likely be thrilled with the PSG magic, but deep below, it is at a great cost. When the numbers are laid bare, one is poised to ask whether it is worth it.
Nassr Al-Khelafi is a genius, pulling all the great stars and best legs of the game into PSG, but it appears the club’s financial records is not smiling as the brilliance and class of players domiciled at the club.
The signing of Lionel Messi and other football’s finest pushed the club’s financial resources to the extremes, dragging it to an astonishing and a record £643m – the highest ever football wage bill in 2022, according to reports.
Reports also claimed the club witness a sudden and sharp rise in the club wage bill after the legendary Argentina and former Barcelona playmaker Lionel Messi joined the club.
The wage bill increased by 45 per cent, not only because of Lionel Messi’s signing but the acquisition of the likes of Sergio Ramos, and Achraf Hakimi.
In his first season with the club, Lionel Messi earned £25.6m. This added up to the overbloated earnings of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar Jr.
Football Benchmark’s European Champions Report for 2023 confirmed PSG’s wage bill for 2021-22, is the highest wage bill ever recorded in football history.
Meanwhile, the estimation excludes the gargantuan contract the club signed with Kylian Mbappe worth £547million for three years.
According to the report;
”Paris Saint-Germain registered the highest staff costs growth amongst major European champions [+45 per cent year on year], reaching a record figure of EUR 728m (£643m), the highest ever reported by a football club.
‘The summer signings of Lionel Messi, Achraf Hakimi, Gianluigi Donnarumma, among others, are the main drivers behind this increase.’
Due to the historic and astonishing wage bill, the club reportedly lost £326m that same year despite their claims they are cashing out from shirt sales and other financial fortunes the big names have brought to the club.
Collisions with FFP Rules
Unsurprisingly, PSG has come under the searchlights of UEFA for breaching Financial Fair Play Rules. They were slammed with a £56m fine by UEFA in September 2022, for a breach of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
They were to pay £9m in full while the remaining £47m will be split over the years and they will pay depending on how they adhere to the FFP Rules.
In 2019, Barcelona was the leading club with the highest wage bill. Their estimated wage bill was £478m. This was when Lionel Messi was playing for the Catalans. Now, PSG has eclipsed them with the likes of Kylian Mbappe (1.22m weekly), Lionel Messi (1 08m weekly), Neymar Jr, (957,000 weekly), Sergio Ramos (463,000 weekly), and Gianluigi Donnarumma (309,000 weekly) constituting the moneybags of the club.
Heavy spending, no Champions League trophy
PSG’s heavy spending has been linked to their desperation to win the Champions League. The coveted trophy has eluded them with their closest attempt coming in the 2020-21 campaign. They played Bayern Munich in the final in Lisbon and lost by a lone goal.
PSG’s recent big-money signings
Sergio Ramos tops the list of the club’s recent big-money signings. Joining in 2021 from Real Madrid, the Spaniard reportedly takes home a whooping £440,000 monthly after tax deduction.
Also on the list is Achraf Hakimi, who signed from Inter Milan for £51m in July 2021. Others include Gianluigi Donnarumma and Georginio Wijnaldum.
