I find myself wondering: " Does Porto really need a 36-year-old defender right now? "
They don't need to, especially since they currently have the best defense in the competition.
I believe this deal was a low-cost opportunity to add more depth to the squad.
After this break, things will get much more complicated until the end of the year, with many games and several cups taking place in addition to the league. Having another player could help keep the team fresher on several fronts.
I held off on posting here for a few days so I could find out what Chris Smalling’s salary at FC Porto would be. To my shock, he won't come cheap for the club. I’m not sure how reliable this source is, but if it is accurate, it claims Chris Smalling will earn €74,038 per week a gross annual salary of €3,850,000 on a one year contract. That’s for a 36-year-old defender. Honestly, I just can't see this as a good deal; it’s something I can’t wrap my head around. Just look at how his salary compares to other Porto players:
source:
https://www.capology.com/club/porto/salaries/Gabri Veiga is currently Porto FC's top scorer, he is 24 years old very young and earns a salary of €38,462 per week (
€2,000,000 gross annually ), which is well below that of the 36-year-old player recently signed.
Pepê currently has the highest number of assists, he is 29 years old and earns €48,077 per week (
€2,500,000 annually ), a figure also lower than the salary of the recently signed 36 year old. In my opinion,
Jakub Kiwior is currently Porto's best defender, he is 26 years old and earns €81,346 per week (
€4.23 million annually ), which is not much higher than the salary of the recently signed 36-year-old. In my view, the money spent to sign Chris Smalling for just one year could have been used to sign a good young player on a permanent, long-term basis in the next transfer window.
