Not much in modern-day football will surprise supporters anymore, but the fact that former Manchester United ace Angel Di Maria is reportedly on €900,000-a-month is still pretty shocking.
French daily L’Equipe can be credited for releasing information on the top earners in Ligue 1, and unsurprisingly French giants Paris Saint-Germain lead the way for the most part.
However, looking at it from a Premier League angle, there are several familiar names that make the top of the list too with Di Maria joined by Radamel Falcao and Mario Balotelli.
That trio ultimately failed to deliver in England, with Di Maria unable to reach the level of performance at United that he displayed with Real Madrid.
In his defence, the Argentine international essentially struggled to adapt and that can happen to the top players, but it was still disappointing to see him fall short of expectations.
Further, injuries and a lack of form combined to ensure that Falcao wasn’t able to make a success of spells with United and Chelsea as he has since returned to Monaco and has found his form again this season.
As for Balotelli, his stint with Liverpool was a major disappointment as he managed just four goals in 28 appearances for the Reds.
Nevertheless, that clearly didn’t do much to put off PSG, Monaco and Nice in splashing out on their respective salaries, as the graphic below which is taken from the print version of L’Equipe on Friday shows just how much they’re earning.
Di Maria is well ahead with €900,000-a-month gross, while Falcao pockets €600,000-a-month and Balotelli takes home a cool €450,000-a-month.
Life isn’t too bad after the Premier League it seems…
