Well, they know how it goes. Sometimes you buy a product that looks tempting, promising high quality and longevity, only to find out that it’s an entirely overpriced piece of junk. It’s sometimes the same with soccer players.
It is not easy to buy a quality player for good money. Even the best managers sometimes disappoint. They sign a footballer who rocks like a god, but by the time he moves to a new club, he is just a shadow of his former self.
This happens in many football leagues and in the best competition in the world – English Premier League. We have picked out the 13 worst transfers in the history of the English Premier League that managers regretted signing.
Massimo Taibi, Venice to Manchester United (£4.5 million, August 1999)
Not even the master coach Alex Ferguson has cut a good chunk out of himself from time to time. That is precisely the case with goalkeeper Massimo Taibi, who arrived at Old Trafford to replace the legendary Peter Schmeichel.
Taibi played only four league games, during which he proved that he is one of the worst goalkeepers in the Premier League. The manager did not give him any more chances, and in the following season, he was back as a catcher in Italy.
Konstantinos Mitroglou, Olympiakos Piraeus to Fulham (£11.4m, January 2014)
With Fulham threatened with relegation from the Premier League in the 2013/14 season, they purchased striker Konstantinos Mitroglou from Olympiakos Piraeus for £11.4 million at the last minute before the January transfer deadline. As soon became apparent, that move was a complete disaster.
The Greece international played just three league games, and Fulham was eventually relegated. Until the summer of 2016, though he was a regular at the club, most of the time, he was a guest at Benfica Lisbon, where he performed admirably. He scored 20 goals in 32 games in Portugal’s top division, leading the club to buy him for £6.3 million two years before his four-year contract at Fulham expired.
Sergei Rebrov, Dynamo Kyiv to Tottenham Hotspur (£11 million, June 2000)
At £11 million, Dynamo Kyiv’s former star didn’t show much in North London. Whereas Serhiy Rebrov averaged a goal every other game in Ukraine, at Tottenham, he scored only ten times in sixty league games. More than his performances on the pitch, he made a name for himself among fans for his silly sayings.
Juan Sebastián Verón, Lazio Roma to Manchester United (£28.1 million, July 2001); Manchester United to Chelsea (£15 million, August 2003)
The bald Argentine midfielder Juan Sebastián Verón has disappointed two clubs in the Premier League. The fact that he burned Alex Ferguson at Manchester United is understandable. Still, the fact that Chelsea subsequently bought him for £15 million is hard to understand.
He played only 58 games in England (51 in Manchester and seven at Chelsea) and scored eight goals (7+1). Coach Ferguson made history, responding sharply at one point to a criticism that buying Verón was a waste of money for Manchester: “He’s a bloody good player. And you are all fucking idiots.”
Steve Marlet, Lyon to Fulham (£11.5m, August 2001)
Steve Marlet remains one of the most expensive purchases ever made at Craven Cottage. The club’s fans probably still grind their teeth when they think about the French striker. In 54 league games, he only scored 11 goals before disappearing on loan to Marseille.
Danny Drinkwater, Leicester City to Chelsea (£34.1 million, September 2017)
As Leicester City won the English Premier League in the 2015/16 season and shocked the world, England midfielder Danny Drinkwater played no small part in it. He went on to play another season in the Foxes’ jersey, making the switch to Stamford Bridge in 2017 for almost £35 million. London club sealed the transfer at the last minute before the transfer window closed; the fact that Chelsea had not acquired Ross Barkley from Everton at that time probably had an impact.
Drinkwater only appeared in 12 league games in his debut season and was cut entirely from the squad after the resignation of coach Antonio Conte. He then only played in one cup game under coach Maurizio, which ended his record of appearances in a Blues shirt.
His Stamford Bridge contract does not expire until after the 2021/22 season. Still, the current Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel has shown no interest in his services. He has been sent on loan to Reading this season, and unless he moves in the summer, he faces the same fate next season. As Drinkwater reportedly earns £100,000 a week, his contract is a nightmare for the club.
Boško Balaban, Dinamo Zagreb to Aston Villa (£7m, June 2001)
The Croatian striker Boško Balaban featured in Aston Villa’s starting lineup in two games and was substituted six times. He did not score a goal and soon returned to Dinamo Zagreb, from which he left for England in 2001. The Times says he is one of the fifty worst players ever to play in the Premier League.
Chris Sutton, Blackburn Rovers to Chelsea (£10 million, July 1999)
It’s as if Chris Sutton anticipated the fate of Fernando Torres. He came to Chelsea from Blackburn Rovers, where he was known as a gunner, but only scored a single goal for the London club. After only one season, he transferred to Celtic in Scotland, miraculously transforming back into a feared marksman and becoming a club legend.
Albert Luque, Deportivo La Coruña to Newcastle United (£9.5 million, August 2005)
Newcastle is arguably the worst buying club in the English league. When it spends money on a promising player, he bites the dust. Perhaps they simply suck the soul out of talented players at St. James Park.
That is precisely the case with Alberto Luque. The Spain international was arguably the biggest talent to come to Newcastle since 2000. Yet he only played 21 games for the Magpies, scoring one goal and disappearing for good. And nearly £10 million seems to have gone down the chimney…
Jean-Alain Boumsong, Glasgow Rangers to Newcastle United (£8 million, January 2005)
Some Newcastle fans can’t believe that the Senegalese-born player actually played 27 games in a French national team shirt and even scored a goal. But what Jean-Alain Boumsong did after his move from Rangers to the English league was a disaster. He went on to become a club legend. Unluckily for him, he is one of the greatest hoofers ever to kick a ball in a black and white Newcastle jersey.
Ricky Álvarez, Inter Milan to Sunderland (£9.5m, July 2015)
Nine-times Argentina international Ricky Álvarez was loaned to Sunderland during the 2014/15 season. The English club had signed an agreement with Inter Milan, under which the attacking midfielder would move from Italy to the island if he saved the Premier League. In the end, sending Sunderland to stay in the top flight meant they had to pay almost ten million pounds for the South American international.
But the English began to tremble because Álvarez had injured his knee during the season. As a result, the club asked Inter for permission to act, but the response from Milan was negative. And Sunderland refused to buy the Argentine, deeming the contract null and void.
Later in 2017, a tribunal ruled that Sunderland was obliged to pay Inter a transfer fee. Following a lengthy legal battle, a FIFA court ruled in August 2019 that Sunderland must pay an additional €362,500 to Velez Sarsfield. This club trained the player as part of FIFA’s solidarity mechanism. Making matters worse, Álvarez has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the amount he was awarded for lost winnings in the first half of the 2015/16 season.
Fernando Torres, Liverpool to Chelsea (£50 million, January 2011)
The Spanish striker Fernando Torres became the most expensive player in the history of the Premier League at the beginning of 2011. As a goal-scoring gunner, he arrived from Liverpool, yet his first year at Chelsea was like a curse for the World and European champion. Torres could not even take the best chances and always spent more time on the bench than on the pitch.
Later, things got better, but he was still not the player that Russian multi-billionaire Roman Abramovich acquired from Liverpool. Torres can’t shine at Stamford Bridge. He at least set up chances for his teammates rather than scoring goals regularly. Yet, there was an ambivalent feeling at Chelsea about his performances. For 50 million pounds, things simply should have looked different. That is why the Blues finally got rid of him in 2015…
Ali Dia, a free agent to Southampton (1996)
In the opinion of many, Ali Dia is the worst player to ever score in a Premier League game. Despite coming to Southampton for nothing, he was expensive.
He got to the club by cheating. Arranged a phone call with the manager in which the caller introduced himself as the legendary George Weah – 1995 Footballer of the Year and Ballon d’Or winner – and recommended his cousin for the team. He was none other than Ali Dia, who at the time was playing in the lower leagues in France and England.
Nobody found out, and after one training session, Dia was on the bench for the game against Leeds. However, that deception was only broken when Dia ran onto the pitch. He put in a tragic performance in 52 minutes, racing around the pitch like a chicken with its head cut off. It was only then that the coach “wised up” and took him out of the game.