Lukaku, Hazard and the big earners who are impossible to sell

In modern football, the biggest clubs in the world are all experiencing a common problem in recent years; it is becoming harder and harder to sell players.

The reason for this is because players at the super clubs are earning such high wages that only other super clubs can afford to pay their salaries.

Thus, this limits the number of options for players at these clubs to join unless they are prepared to take a pay cut.

And if their form and fitness drops, then they may struggle to find a new permanent club at all.

Here are five current players who find themselves in this predicament.

Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea)

Romelu Lukaku became the highest-paid player at Chelsea when he joined the club from Inter last summer for a club record €115 million.

Lukaku is paid €19.8m per season until 2026.

His first season back at Stamford Bridge was a disaster and he has requested to leave the club already this summer.

Chelsea are in talks for Lukaku to return to Inter on a one-year loan and they stand to make a huge loss.

The reason Lukaku is moving on loan is two-fold. First of all, no one is prepared to pay a huge transfer fee for him. And secondly, no one is prepared to pay his massive wages.

Thus, he will likely return to Inter for a loan fee of under €10m and with greatly-reduced wages.

Neymar (PSG)

According to numerous sources, PSG want to sell Neymar this summer following a disappointing 2021-22 season.

The Brazilian scored just 13 goals in all competitions and none in the Champions League.

Neymar moved to PSG for a world record €222m fee in 2017 from Barcelona but has largely failed to live up to expectations.

PSG are ready to move on from the failed experiment but no club in the world are prepared to even come close to his astronomical €49m-a-year salary.

If he were to leave, PSG would have to massively subsidise his salary by well over 50 per cent, and probably far more. Right now, there is no interest in him.

Eden Hazard (Real Madrid)

Believe it or not, Eden Hazard will become Real Madrid’s highest-paid player from July 1 when Gareth Bale if officially released.

Just like Bale for the last few years, Real Madrid know that it is extremely difficult to sell Hazard because of his salary.

The Belgian is on €26m a year until 2024, but has done nothing to justify that salary or the €100m transfer fee Madrid paid for him in 2019 from Chelsea.

Hazard’s form and fitness has been atrocious throughout his time in Madrid and, now 31, he is a shadow of the player he was at Chelsea.

Madrid would love to offload him but they know that is unlikely.

Aaron Ramsey (Juventus)

Juventus signed Aaron Ramsey on a free transfer from Arsenal in 2019 but he has proven to be anything but ‘free’.

His €7m per year wages have been a drain on the club’s resources, just like a number of other overpaid players in recent seasons.

Unsurprisingly, Ramsey has been decimated by injuries in Turin and Juventus have tried desperately to sell him for the last two seasons.

But no interested clubs have been prepared to offer him €7m, and Ramsey has refused a paycut.

Even when he went out on loan to Rangers for the second half of last season, Juventus paid for most of his salary. The best hope Juve have of getting rid is to agree a mutual termination this summer.

Phil Jones (Man Utd)

Compared to the other players on this list, Phil Jones earns a pittance.

But at €4.5m per season he earns far too much money for any club to be interested in signing him.

His injury record over the past few years has been atrocious, having played only six Premier League games in three years.

Only smaller teams would be interested in taking an injury-plagued 30-year-old on – and none of them can afford that salary.

Hence the reason he is still at Man Utd, although his contract does at least finally expire next year.