David Luiz, Ronaldinho... & the most lucrative PSG Sales: Where are they now?

From Javier Pastore to Goncalo Guedes, here takes a look at the 7 most expensive players sold by Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain and where they are now.

7. Javier Pastore - Roma

He may be the seventh most expensive sale ever made by Paris Saint-Germain, but the reigning Ligue 1 champions still lost over €15 million on Javier Pastore. The skilful Argentinian attacking midfielder was brought to the Parc des Princes in a near-€40 million deal from Palermo, and he returned to Italy 7 seasons and 16 trophies later in €24.7 million move to Roma. Having been a regular in his first four seasons in Paris, Pastore struggled with a calf injury in his last three campaigns, and he’s scored 2 goals from 5 starts since signing for Roma.

6. Serge Aurier - Tottenham

Signed by PSG from Toulouse, Serge Aurier was a fairly regular fixture in the PSG side for three seasons, but his exit was a little ugly. The marauding right-back called Angel Di Maria a clown and made some unsavoury comments about Laurent Blanc in his final season in Paris, which saw him demoted to the reserves and ultimately sold to Tottenham. Spurs forked out more than €25 million for the Ivorians services, making him PSG’s sixth most lucrative sale, and Aurier has since made 35 appearances in a season-and-a-half competing with Kieran Trippier for that right-back spot in the Tottenham team.

5. Lucas Moura - Tottenham

Making it back-to-back former PSG players now plying their trade in North London, Lucas Moura is another entrant in this seven who Paris-Saint Germain actually lost money on. With his searing pace, direct running and impressive close control, Moura had won many admirers in Brazil with Sao Paulo. It took a €45 million bid to bring him to Paris, where he made over 200 appearances but didn’t quite live up to the inflated fee and many people’s expectations. He joined Tottenham for around €28 million last January, and after a quiet first season, he’s looked really dangerous in the early parts of this season under Mauricio Pochettino.

4. Ronaldinho - Barcelona Ambassador

Image was processed with digital filters.) Ronaldinho is pictured inside the photo booth prior to The Best FIFA Football Awards at Royal Festival Hall on September 24, 2018 in London,...

A man who recently featured in our look at the 100 greatest footballers of all time - yes, I’m still plugging that - Ronaldinho is the only player to feature in this seven from before PSG’s 2011 Qatari takeover. Ronaldinho joined Paris Saint-Germain from Gremio for just €5 million, and they had a six-fold return on their investment just two years later. Having come close to signing for Manchester United, who ended up signing Cristiano Ronaldo having missed out on the Brazilian, Ronaldinho ultimately signed for Barcelona in a €30 million. He would go on to achieve one of the great peaks of a footballer at the Camp Nou, quite rightly becoming a Ballon d’Or winner, but he couldn’t sustain that level for a number of years. Now aged 38, Ronaldinho hasn’t played professionally since 2015, currently being employed as an ambassador for Barcelona.

3. Blaise Matuidi - Juventus

A hard working, tough tackling box-to-box midfielder who won a World Cup over the summer, Blaise Matuidi made almost 300 appearances and twice made the Ligue 1 Team of the Season during a seven-year stay at the Parc des Princes. One may ask, and indeed many did, just what were the club were doing selling him to Juventus then?

Well, Matuidi had turned 30, he was keen for a new challenge, PSG had other options in the centre of midfield and were also looking at one or two FFP complications. Matuidi is the trickiest inclusion in this seven, since the fee which took him to Juventus has been reported with a lot of variation. An up front fee of €20 million euros with a potential further €10.5 million in future add-ons seems the most likely figure, and that’s enough to put him third.

2. David Luiz - Chelsea

It is probably a mark of PSG’s free-spending approach to the transfer market that three of the players in this seven were sold at a loss. David Luiz is the last of those three, having been sold to the club that PSG bought him from. Luiz set the Parisians back £50 million in 2014, which made him the most expensive defender in world football. He returned to Chelsea in a £34 million deal two years later, and is currently a regular fixture for the Blues under Maurizio Sarri.

1. Goncalo Guedes - Valencia

Long considered one of the brightest prospects in Portuguese football, Goncalo Guedes joined PSG from Benfica for €30 million in January 2017. After half a season, he was loaned out to Valencia, and having impressed last season, he joined the La Liga outfit for €40 million over the summer, making him the most expensive player sale in PSG history. Guedes is still only 22, and if the quick, tricky and versatile forward can improve his final product, he’ll be a frightening proposition for any opponent.