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The Premier League, over the past two decades has been the most lavish spender in the transfer market. Every year, a number of new faces walk through the Premier League door. Some walk in for cheap, while others cost astronomical sums.
A new signing comes to fruition after fulfilling the numerous criteria set out by the club. The managers and club hierarchy work extremely hard behind the scenes to lay out these benchmarks and identify the perfect additions to their squad. It is only after hours and hours of scouting a particular player that the green light is given.
Despite all these safeguards, there have been several signings who have failed to take off and make their mark on the club. The problem is magnified by the enormous sums of money spent on such players.
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The Premier League has shown time and again that the money spent is not always equivalent to the output. This article tries to reinforce the notion and look at five big-money signings that failed to fire and left the clubs scratching their heads at the investment undertaken. The transfers considered are those that have taken place in the 21st century.
Here are the top five big money signings that didn’t scale the heights expected of them.
#5 Juan Sebastian Veron (Lazio to Manchester United)
The Argentine was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson in July, 2001. Veron had impressed with his spells in the Serie A and Manchester United decided to stump a British transfer record-fee to bring him to the Theatre of Dreams.
Unfortunately, he didn’t live up to the expectations and endured a nightmarish stint at Old Trafford. Veron possessed all the qualities to be a complete midfielder. He had the pace, the power and the creativity to become United’s answer to Patrick Viera. However, nothing materialised for him and he ended with just 7 goals in his two seasons in Manchester.
The midfielder was shipped to Chelsea in 2003 and he never really looked the player that wreaked havoc in the Serie A. Ferguson had gone out of his way to sign a world-class talent. Sadly, he failed to come up with the goods and currently finds himself as one of the worst Manchester United signings in the Premier League era.
Right at the start of the century, Veron was a perfect example of a player who cost a lot of money but failed to provide any meaningful return on it. Hence, he gets the No.5 spot on our list.
#4 Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid to Manchester United)
Angel Di Maria arrived in Manchester after the conclusion of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He had played a crucial role in Real Madrid’s Champions League triumph in May. Hence, his move away from the Bernabeu left the footballing fraternity stunned.
Di Maria initially hit the ground running, and those who saw his chip against Leicester would savour memories of a genius at work. However, his stint in Manchester went downhill and he was left questioning his decision to move.
Louis Van Gaal and his system didn’t allow Di Maria to play to his strengths. He was defending more often than troubling the defenders with his mazy running. Though he still contributed ten assists in his only season at United, he was a far cry from the player who had single-handedly won Real Madrid the Champions League final, a few months ago.
Manchester United invested a lot of money to get him on board, breaking the British transfer record in the process. Thus, their decision to not capitalise on his strengths, left the Old Trafford faithful scratching their heads.
Di Maria cost an absolute fortune, yet he left after a solitary season, without influencing the Premier League as he would’ve liked. It is for these reasons that he takes the No.4 slot.
#3 Andriy Shevchencko (AC Milan to Chelsea)
Andriy Shevchenko was signed by Chelsea in the summer of 2006 from AC Milan. With the club-record signing in their bag, Chelsea sent out a message suggesting that they intended to dominate the English football landscape for years to come.
Though Chelsea have been around the higher echelons of English and European football, Shevchenko barely played a part in it. The 2004 Ballon d’Or winner endured a torrid time at Stamford Bridge. In 48 appearances for the Blues, he scored a dismal nine goals, a tally not befitting of a top-drawer striker.
The Ukranian enjoyed a frosty relationship with his manager, Jose Mourinho, and it threatened to spill onto the pitch many a time. When Shevchenko arrived on English shores, he looked a player who had lost a yard of pace and didn’t seem hungry enough. Though he was still as adept as any in the technical department, he just didn’t have the pace to be a success in the Premier League.
After a couple of seasons, he was loaned to AC Milan in 2008. By that time, both parties were happy to put an end to their association.
Chelsea have made a number of shrewd acquisitions in the Abramovic era but the signing of the Ukranian was well off the mark. Shevchencko’s signing will surely go down as one of Chelsea’s biggest transfer failures ever.
He gets into our list at No.3 for the limited impact he had despite costing a huge amount of money.
#2 Andy Carroll (Newcastle United to Liverpool)
The big, strong English centre-forward was brought in by Liverpool to offset the loss of Fernando Torres. He was signed along with Luis Suarez to ensure Liverpool maintained their firepower in front of goal. While Suarez enjoyed a wonderful spell at Anfield, the same can hardly be said for Carroll.
Carroll is one of the best headers in the Premier League. His strengths are best utilised when the wingers whip in early crosses, thus enabling him to out-jump and outmuscle the opposition defenders. However, Liverpool were unable to play to his strengths and he endured a forgettable couple of years in Merseyside.
The Englishman was signed for a club record fee, totalling £35m. However, a combination of injuries and Liverpool’s non-inclination to play to his strengths led to him being sold three years after his arrival.
The money wasted on the signing and Carroll’s failure to leave his stamp on Anfield gets him the No.2 spot.
#1 Fernando Torres (Liverpool to Chelsea)
The greatest big-money flop of the century is none other than El Nino, Fernando Torres. After setting La Liga on fire with Atletico Madrid, he moved to Liverpool. At Liverpool, he was simply unplayable and enjoyed the best spell of his career, under the tutelage of Rafa Benitez.
However, he was to embark on a downward spiral, post his move to Chelsea in 2011. Torres cost the West London side £50m. By the end of his tenure, he was only able to score a meagre 20 goals in three and a half seasons in the English top-flight.
Though he was hampered by injuries, which led to him losing his turn of pace, a return of 20 goals in three and a half PL seasons is just not enough for a 50-million-pound striker.
Torres enjoyed a few good moments in a Chelsea shirt. His goal at the Nou Camp and the strike in the Europa League final quickly springs to mind. However, those moments were far and few in between.
Having cost 50 million, Chelsea would’ve hoped that he would take them to the next level. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be and he ended up being termed as one of the Premier League’s worst signings ever.
Thus, it comes as no surprise that El Nino gets into our list, right at the top.
