Football does not always work out the way clubs imagine when they sign certain players, and the sport has had its fair share of bust players that have cost them dearly.
Radamel Falcao to Manchester United is one example. Alvaro Morata to Chelsea and Michael Owen to Real Madrid are another two examples that stand out as flop trades. However, here is a list of the worst transfers in the history of football according to us that just did not cut it or keep up with the hype that came with it due to multiple reasons.
#5 – Juan Sebastian Veron to Manchester United
Veron was an absolute star in Italy. He was instrumental in Lazio’s success in 2000 as the Italian club went on to win the domestic double, lifting the Serie A Scudetto and the Coppa Italia. This tempted the biggest clubs in the world to come calling and none bigger than Manchester United.
The Argentine was sold to the Red Devils for a Premier League record transfer fee of over $37 million! The midfielder failed to have any sort of impact on Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, which led to him being termed as one of the Scot’s worst ever signings.
Veron only managed to score 7 goals in 51 appearances with the Old Trafford outfit before being sold to Chelsea 2 seasons later. He failed to live up to the hype and even failed to make a mark at Chelsea, totaling 7 appearances in 4 seasons with the Blues.
#4 – Roberto Soldado to Tottenham Hotspur
Who remembers this man? Took us a while, to be honest. Roberto Soldado was a product of Real Madrid’s youth academy and had a fantastic spell with Valencia, which triggered interest from Spurs. Tottenham decided to buy the Spanish striker in 2013 for a record-fee back then worth around $35 million.
Soldado turned out to be dismal for the North London side. He did not score a goal from open play in his first 2 months in the Premier League! His failure to perform led to the quick development of Harry Kane.
The Spaniard only managed to net 7 goals in 52 Premier League games for the White Hart Lane faithful. His failure as the Spurs frontman led to his transfer back to Spain’s La Liga with Villareal after just 2 seasons in London.
#3 – Fernando Torres to Chelsea
Fernando Torres had a spell at Liverpool that made it seem like he could end up not only being one of Liverpool’s greatest ever strikers but also one of the best to ever play in the Premier League. ‘El Nino’ bagged 81 goals for Liverpool in just 142 appearances before moving to Chelsea FC.
From almost leading Liverpool to a Premier League title, Torres felt that it was time to move on and Chelsea came calling. Unfortunately for Chelsea, the Spanish forward failed to really turn up. He seemed to be half the player he was at Atletico Madrid and Liverpool.
He was not worth the $65 million+ that Chelsea paid to acquire his services in 2011. It took Torres 14 games to score his first goal for the London club! He only found the net 45 times in 172 appearances for the Stamford Bridge outfit.
The Spaniard’s move to Chelsea brought an end to his football career in England and he moved back to Spain to play for his boyhood club, Atletico Madrid.
#2 – Andy Carroll to Liverpool
Andy Carroll’s transfer being a flop had more to do with his transfer fee than his move. He scored 11 goals in just 19 games for Newcastle United and that got Liverpool interested.
After the loss of Fernando Torres, Liverpool lacked an out and out prolific goal scorer, so they went ahead and broke the bank to bring the tall English striker to Anfield. This desperation buy ended up proving to be a big failure for Liverpool as he scored only 6 goals in 44 games.
Carroll’s transfer price of around $47 million dollars made him the most expensive British footballer of all-time back then and the 8th most expensive player ever at the time when he moved from the Magpies to Merseyside.
This is one of the most absurd transfers in football history.
#1 – Alexis Sanchez to Manchester United
This is hands down, the worst business in recent memory when one talks about football. Alexis Sanchez was one of the best players in the Premier League during his time. He was Arsenal’s leader in a lot of ways, creating and scoring goals.
He was lethal and the focal point of Arsene Wenger’s team as they challenged for the top 4 Premier League spots every season. Jose Mourinho wished to strengthen his Manchester United squad at the time and brought in a disgruntled Alexis Sanchez from their rivals.
Things went downhill for Sanchez once he moved to Manchester. He only made 45 appearances over 2 seasons with United. In those games, he only scored 5 times and had 9 assists. The Chilean was a big burden for the club as he ended up costing almost $90 million because of his weekly salary along with add-ons.
The club was relieved when they managed to sell him to Inter Milan and get him off their books. His terrible performance for the club is one of the biggest failure stories amongst big players who could not cut it after leaving their clubs where they had so much success.
There have been many other failed buys by clubs. Another one that is easily forgotten in Sir Alex Ferguson buying Bebe. That one really stands out. He may go down as the worst ever player to put on a Manchester United shirt.
Sport is dynamic and there is so much more to the success of players in different teams than we may imagine but no matter what, a quality player is expected to have some positive impact on their team and these names above failed to cut it.
We look forward to more dramatic transfers in the future.