Ronaldo and 10 big earners who are impossible to sell

James Shearman

• Updated: 18 Aug 2021 20:39 BST
• 6 min read

The football world is in the middle of unprecedented times due to the ongoing pandemic.

With fans only just starting to come back in their thousands, clubs can finally look forward to gaining much-needed attendance money back.

Without it, many have seen their finances crumble - and not just the small clubs.

Throughout Europe, billions of pounds have been lost in revenue due to empty stadiums, as well as the restructuring of sponsorship deals.

As such, clubs like Barcelona and Inter are in financial turmoil.

Wage bills have since become an issue, with clubs desperately attempting to get high earners off the balance sheet.

So, here are 10 elite players who are available for transfers, yet nobody wants or can afford them.

Cristiano Ronaldo (£950,000 p/w)

Despite now being 36 years of age, Cristiano Ronaldo remains one of the most devastating strikers in world football.

Juventus may have surrendered Serie A to Inter and only just managed to qualify for the Champions League in 2020/21, but Ronaldo was still in form at the top end of the pitch.

In 41 starts in all competitions, he scored 36 goals, including 29 in Serie A.

However, the Bianconeri would be happy to allow Ronaldo to leave as it would allow his exorbitant wages to come off the salary budget.

Ronaldo earns more than the majority of the rest of the Juventus squad combined.

He has been linked with returns to Real Madrid, Man Utd or Sporting CP, as well as a sensational switch to Paris Saint-Germain.

The most likely scenario is that Ronaldo will remain with Juventus, though, before making a decision on his future when his contract expires in 2022.

Antoine Griezmann (£594,000 p/w)

Tactically this was a transfer that always seemed doomed to fail from the outset - and it proved to be so.

If you are a short, skilful, left-footed support striker, you have no chance of prospering in the same team as Lionel Messi. Just ask Paulo Dybala when it comes to the Argentina national team.

Antoine Griezmann and Messi often occupied the same spaces, while the Frenchman was at times shifted out of position in order to co-exist in the same team as the Argentine superstar.

In two years, he scored a very meagre 21 league goals and just four Champions League strikes.

Barcelona have been ordered by La Liga to slash their wage budget, even though Messi has now departed to PSG, and so he is top of the list of players to be put in the shop window.

But, he earns €34 million per season, and at the moment, nobody is willing to pay him that.

Gareth Bale (£564,000 p/w)

Speculation gathered a few months ago that Gareth Bale was planning to orchestrate a move to Major League Soccer in the United States, and although this is believed to be the case the transfer will not happen until 2022.

Bale believes the major reason for his downturn in form at Real Madrid in his last couple of campaigns was due to the presence of Zinedine Zidane, so is looking to see what opportunities he will be given by new boss Carlo Ancelotti, with whom he holds a positive relationship.

Any move to the MLS is impossible at the moment as the North American league is currently reducing costs due to the pandemic, with many players agreeing salary cuts. No club is in a position to even pay a fraction of Bale's €15m net wage packet, in the MLS or in most other leagues.

Eden Hazard (£407,000 p/w)

Time will tell whether Hazard can turn his fortunes around but, so far, it isn't looking good for the Belgian.

A Chelsea icon, it was always a matter of when Hazard would leave England to fulfill his lifelong ambition of playing for Real Madrid and not if. But, maybe the date of the transfer was more important than we imagined.

At 30, it seems injuries have gotten the best of what was the consistently most-fouled player in the Premier League.

Now, rumours of a move back to Stamford Bridge will always grab attention, but the likelihood of any such deal are slim given the huge pay rise Hazard enjoyed as part of his move to Madrid.

David de Gea (£375,000 p/w)

Goalkeeper has emerged as something of a problem position for Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

David de Gea’s confidence appears to be completely shot, while understudy Dean Henderson has not shown himself to be entirely capable of playing to the high standards that United require on a weekly basis.

But given the Spaniard remains the highest-paid player at the club, despite the signings of Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane, he is the one that is up for sale.

Although, until the day comes that de Gea has no chance at occupying the starting role, you won't see him move elsewhere, as an enormous pay cut would be in store.

Samuel Umtiti (£212,000 p/w)

Samuel Umtiti's struggles at Barcelona have, at large, been a result of a terribly long list of injuries.

In total, the Frenchman has missed an incredible 83 games through numerous physical problems since joining the club in 2016.

That means the central defender has missed on average 16.6 games per campaign, which has clearly warned off any potential buyers this summer.

That said, had a team been brave enough to ignore his injury history, and enquire about the 27-year-old, his wages are enough to prevent any deal from taking place.

Willian (£192,000 p/w)

Willian arrived from Chelsea in controversial circumstances a year ago.

Despite the Gunners laying off a number of staff during the pandemic, they subsequently brought Willian in on a free transfer after enticing him with a reported salary of £192,000 per week.

The Brazilian has repaid the significant wage outlay with just one Premier League goal and five assists in 27 appearances.

Arsenal are open to offers for Willian, but with those current wages it is difficult to see anyone opening up their chequebook to offer something similar, especially considering how poorly he performed last season.

Aaron Ramsey (£187,000 p/w)

Aaron Ramsey is the player that Juventus are most eager to get off their books this summer.

The Wales international joined the club in 2019 amid much fanfare after a successful 11 years with Arsenal, but his time in Turin has proven to be testing.

Ramsey has turned out 65 times for Juve, scoring six goals and creating six more, yet he has been deemed surplus to requirements.

His wages have far outweighed his production, therefore, and as such, no team is currently willing to take a gamble on the 30-year-old.

Kepa Arrizabalaga (£155,000 p/w)

A world-record fee for a goalkeeper was agreed for Kepa Arrizabalaga in 2018, as Chelsea desperately needed a replacement for Thibaut Courtois, but it’s not gone to plan.

Under Sarri, Kepa was average at best, but looked promising in spells. The 2019/20 season under Frank Lampard, however, was another story.

He had the lowest save percentage of goalkeepers in the league, conceding 47 Premier League goals whilst making just 1.7 saves per 90, the least of any keeper with more than one appearance in the league.

A year on, and with replacement Edouard Mendy assuming first-choice duties, Kepa will be limited to occasional cup appearances this season, unless someone is willing to take a very expensive gamble, which seems highly unlikely.

Kingsley Coman (£141,000 p/w)

Kingsley Coman may have been the player that won Bayern Munich the Champions League in 2019/20, scoring the only goal in the final versus Paris Saint-Germain, but his future at Bayern is far from certain.

If Leroy Sane was performing to the best of his abilities, it is likely that Coman would be on the bench with Serge Gnabry on the other flank.

So, Bayern baulked when they discovered that the Frenchman wanted to become one of the highest paid players at the club, alongside the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Manuel Neuer and Thomas Muller.

Coman's current deal runs out in two years, so if Bayern want to cash in on him, the time is now.

A fee of around €70m has been mentioned, with Coman linked with various Premier League sides - none of whom will meet that asking price.