Former Arsenal hero Aaron Ramsey has been slammed over his stint at Cardiff City this week.
Back in 2008, Aaron Ramsey left his boyhood club, Cardiff City, to link up with the Gunners.
The Welshman went on to have a prolific career with the Gunners, including winning the FA Cup and Community Shield on multiple occasions.
Ramsey made 369 appearances for the North London outfit in all competitions, scoring 64 goals and providing 60 assists.
He was a key figure toward the end of Arsene Wenger’s stint as manager before eventually departing on a permanent basis in July 2019 for Juventus.
After spells in Italy, Scotland and France, the midfielder eventually returned to Wales in 2023, signing from OGC Nice on a free transfer.
His spell back at Cardiff has not exactly gone to plan though, with one expert now dubbing it a ‘massive failure’.
Photo by Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images
Photo by Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images
Aaron Ramsey transfer to Cardiff City slammed
During his first season back at Cardiff, Ramsey only made 13 Championship appearances, scoring three goals.
In the 2024/25 campaign, meanwhile, the 34-year-old has featured even less, only lining out on eight occasions in the league.
This is largely due to persistent injury issues, with Ramsey now expected to miss the rest of the season with another problem.
In turn, speaking on the Second Tier podcast this week, Ryan Dilks and Justin Peach have been discussing the ex-Arsenal man and his move back to Cardiff.
Dilks said: “Since re-joining his boyhood side in the summer of 2023, he’s started just 13 league games in two entire seasons.
“Now he is out of contract in the summer, and it remains to be seen whether he’ll stay at Cardiff
“But with that being said, what do you think Justin, has this move got to go down as a failure?”
To which Peach responded: “Well, how do you judge a footballer? It’s whether or not they’re available right.
“If they’re not available they’re not contributing, not having any impact.
“For me, I think this move is a massive failure, and it goes back to what I said when he first signed, and we got a lot of stick for it’s a long time ago now.
“For me, when you’re signing a player who has a chequered history with injuries whose in his 30s, at the tail end of his career, when you sign him in the Championship, you’re taking a risk; you’re taking a massive risk
“Whether he’s on big wages or not, like I said, players are only useful when they’re available.
“He’s got undoubted quality, but if he’s not contributing on the pitch where is he contributing?
“Yes, you can argue that he’s got experience in the dressing room, but is that experience having an impact on the squad? No, because Cardiff aren’t performing very well, so where is value added here?”
Aaron Ramsey wage at Cardiff City
As mentioned above, Ramsey will be out of contract at Cardiff at the end of the 2024/25 season.
According to Capology, the Wales international is currently earning £50,000, or £2,600,000 for the campaign.
That makes him Cardiff’s highest paid player by £5,000-a-week ahead of Calum Chambers.
There is then a big gap with Callum Robinson taking home £35,000-a-week as the third-highest earner.