1. Breel Embolo—$29.15m
Far and away the biggest signing in Schalke history, Breel Embolo was supposed to be the life that this Royal Blue attack sorely needed. His versatility in playing both up top, out wide, and as a central creative attacker made him an open book of possibility. Hence why it was the most exciting move in club history.
Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out. Perhaps the injuries are primarily to blame, but Embolo could not find the consistency on the pitch to be a reliable source of goals and when the time came to make a decision, Schalke opted to sell.
Naturally, they sold for far under what they had initially paid for him, letting him fall to Borussia Monchengladbach for just $11m—nearly one-third of the price they initially paid for him.
Amazing what three years of instability can do to a player’s value.
Embolo hasn’t exactly taken off at Monchengladbach either, but he’s still young and there’s still time for him to build a decent career for himself.