Chelsea fans have been put through the wringer this season, with every impressive win quickly followed by an embarrassing defeat.
However, there have been a few bright spots for the Stamford Bridge faithful to celebrate, such as their progression to the FA Cup Semi-Finals and the brilliant performances of Conor Gallagher and Cole Palmer.
The pair have arguably been the club's best players this season, and yet their combined wages amount to less than those of a former flop who left west London with little to show for his efforts.
Conor Gallagher and Cole Palmer's wages
Gallagher joined the Blues as a youngster and has been a fan all his life, while Palmer completed his £42.5m move from Manchester City last summer.
The former enjoyed a reasonably impressive season in London last year, in which he made 45 appearances, scored three goals, and provided one assist. At the same time, the latter was playing a bit-part role for the treble winners, seeing just 849 minutes of action across 25 games.
Appearances
38
34
Goals
4
14
Assists
7
12
Goal Involvements per Match
0.28
0.76
This year, the pair have made 72 appearances between them, although the new boy has had the most significant impact at the sharp end of the pitch. The 21-year-old gem has scored 14 goals and provided 12 assists, meaning he is averaging a goal every 1.3 games.
That said, while the Epsom-born Gallagher's return of four goals and seven assists is substantially lower, he's still having a significant impact on the team's performances from slightly deeper on the pitch and has even been described as "the heart" of the club, by talent scout Jacek Kulig.
With their undeniable importance to the team, fans might expect them to be some of the club's highest earners, but that's just not the case. Gallagher's £50k-per-week wages mean that there are 18 players currently earning more than him in the squad, and Palmer's £75k-per-week wages mean that there are 15 players earning more than him.
What's worse is that a former flop was on more than the pair of them combined.
American superstar Christian Pulisic is the man in question as, despite having bags of talent and even demonstrating said talent in glimpses at Chelsea, he ultimately left as a flop.
How much Christian Pulisic cost Chelsea in total
The Hershey-born ace cost the Blues around £58m when Maurizio Sarri signed him from Borussia Dortmund in January 2019. However, he wouldn't actually join the team for another six months as he played out the rest of the campaign in Germany.
Despite the enormous cost and pressure, the then-20-year-old transitioned to Premier League football relatively smoothly in his first year, returning a respectable 11 goals and ten assists in just 34 games.
However, in January 2020, he suffered an abductor injury that saw him miss 13 games for club and country, which was a sign of things to come for the right-footed dynamo.
Over the course of his four years in the capital, the 5 foot 10 winger missed 65 games for club and country and spent a staggering 413 days out of action, or about 1.13 years.
Transfer fee
£58m
Wages per week (Total)
£150k (£31.5m)
Total Cost
£89.5m
Appearances
145
Cost per Appearance
£617k
Goals
26
Cost per Goal
£3.4m
Assists
21
Cost per Assist
£4.2m
Goal Involvements
47
Cost per Goal Involvement
£1.9m
During this time, the American "magician" as described by sports writer Al Butler, was taking home a hefty pay packet of £150k-per-week, for which he scored 26 goals and provided 21 assists in 145 games.
Therefore, when taking into account his £58m transfer fee and the 210 weeks he was earning £150k – £31.5m – he cost the Pensioners a whopping £89.5m in total, which translates to around £3.4m-per-goal, £4.2m-per-assist, or £617k-per-appearance.
Ultimately, while Pulisic had talent and is looking rather impressive following his £20m move to AC Milan – registering 20 goal involvements – he was a flop for Chelsea, and the fact that his weekly wage was more than Palmer's and Gallagher's combined is absurd.
Wage Burners
Football FanCast's Wage Burners series explores the salaries of the modern-day game.