It's been a slow start to the Oliver Glasner era at Crystal Palace over the last couple of months, but with six points from his first seven games, things aren't looking too bad.
The defeat to champions Manchester City last time out was far from ideal, but with 30 points on the board and seven games to go, the Eagles look set to play Premier League football once more next season.
It hasn't been the easiest introduction to English football for the Austrian, especially with the number of injuries he has had to deal with, including star defender Marc Guéhi, who hasn't played a game since the defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion two months ago.
The young Englishman is one of the club's most talented players, although his current wage isn't even half of what a former flop used to earn.
Marc Guéhi's salary at Crystal Palace
The south Londoners completed the £18m signing of Guéhi from cross-city rivals Chelsea in July 2021, and to say he's been a success at Selhurst Park in the years since would be an understatement.
GK – Vicente Guaita
RB – Joel Ward
CB – Cheikhou Kouyate
CB – Marc Guéhi
LB – Tyrick Mitchell
CM – Jairo Riedewald
CM – James McArthur
RM – Jordan Ayew
LM – Jeffrey Schlupp
ST – Wilfried Zaha
ST – Jean-Philippe Mateta
Since making his debut for the club against his old team in August 2021, the 23-year-old "rock", as talent scout Jacek Kulig described him, has played for the Eagles 108 times, scoring five goals and providing two assists.
The Abidjan-born titan has been so impressive in red and blue that he has picked up nine senior England caps since making his debut in March 2022.
He also became the club's youngest captain in over a decade when he was given the armband for a Premier League game against Watford in February 2022 – a game the Eagles won.
In all, the 6 foot centre-back is one of the most important players at the club, although you wouldn't think that from looking at his pay packet, as at the moment he earns £50k-per-week, which means ten players in the team earn more than him.
It also means that a former player who didn't enjoy the most fruitful spell in south London earned more than double his wage.
Christian Benteke's salary at Crystal Palace
The player in question is former Aston Villa and Liverpool forward Christan Benteke, who, after a shoddy season at Anfield, joined Alan Pardew's Eagles for £27m in August 2016.
It was a sizeable investment from the south Londoners at the time, and while Benteke had struggled on Merseyside, his record of 49 goals and 12 assists in 101 games for Villa gave fans hope that he could become a lethal number nine in red and blue.
Unfortunately for all involved, this never happened, and while he wasn't dreadful, a return of 37 goals and 12 assists in 177 games across six seasons was undeniably disappointing.
Team
Aston Villa
Liverpool
Crystal Palace
Appearances
101
42
177
Goals
49
10
37
Assists
12
6
12
Goal Involvements per Match
0.60
0.38
0.27
This underwhelming output was made worse by the fact that the Belgian forward earned a whopping £120k-per-week for all 310 weeks he was at the club, amounting to a final total of £37.2m.
Therefore, when combining his wages and his transfer fee and taking away the €5.46m – about £5m – they received for selling him to DC United, the former Villan cost Palace a staggering £59.2m all in.
Fee
£27m
Wages per Week (Total)
£120k (£37.2m)
Sold For
£5m
Total Cost
£59.2m
Appearances
177
Cost per Appearance
£334k
Goals
37
Cost per Goal
£1.6m
Assists
12
Cost per Assist
£4.9m
Goal Involvements
49
Cost per Goal Involvement
£1.2m
In other words, the 45-capped international cost the Eagles around £1.6m-per-goal, £4.9m-per-assist, or £334k-per-appearance.
Ultimately, while Benteke did score a reasonable number of goals during his time at Selhurst Park, it would be hard to call his time at the club anything other than a disappointment due to the finances involved.
Crystal Palace are being rinsed by Pardew signing earning more than Wharton
While the veteran has been a loyal servant to the club, his wage is excessive.
ByJack Salveson HolmesApr 4, 2024
