Zero games in 17 months: Forgotten flop Malang Sarr costs Chelsea a fortune
Tom Weber
- Updated: 24 Oct 2023 11:43 BST
- 4 min read
Malang Sarr is among Chelsea's highest earners despite not having played a game for the Blues since May 2022.
The defender arrived on a free transfer in 2020 with plenty of promise. A solid player who looked to be on the verge of breaking into the senior French national team setup at OGC Nice, Sarr appeared to be a potentially low-risk, high-reward signing.
Yet, even an ostensibly good deal has since become a nightmare for Chelsea. Since Todd Boehly took over the club from Roman Abramovich, the Blues have undergone a radical shift in transfer policy away from signing world-class, high-profile players to youngsters with sky-high potential.
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This, naturally, has also altered Chelsea's wage structure. Youngsters are generally paid less than more experienced players and even Todd Boehly and company, despite their erratic running of the club, recognise that.
Currently, only three players under the age of 23 are among Chelsea's top ten earners - Wesley Fofana, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, all three of whom were big-money signings, with the latter two even being record deals. Incredibly, however, Malang Sarr is also among the top ten.
Sarr pockets a fortune
The Frenchman has not featured for Chelsea since May 2022, spending last season on loan at Monaco. He didn't particularly impress back in Ligue 1 and has not resurfaced since.
French media reported in the summer that the Blues were considering terminating his deal and there was some Premier League interest from Nottingham Forest and Fulham in his services, but nothing ultimately materialised.
FULL LIST OF CHELSEA WAGES: How much does each player earn?
Sarr remains on Chelsea's books and reportedly pockets a salary of £6.2 million, making him the club's ninth-highest earner. Sarr thus makes more than Thiago Silva, €70m man Mykhailo Mudryk, deputy club captain Conor Gallagher and summer arrivals Cole Palmer, Robert Sanchez and Nicolas Jackson.
