The 5 costliest flops in world football

#3 Andy Carroll (£35m) - Newcastle to Liverpool

Carroll could not fulfill his potential at Liverpool

Andy Carroll started his senior football career at the Magpies and was pretty decent in the five seasons he played since coming up from their youth ranks. He featured in 91 games in total, scoring 33 goals. In the summer of 2010, Carroll joined Liverpool from Newcastle United for £35m. He spent two seasons at Anfield, playing 58 games and scoring just 11 goals, a meagre return for his huge transfer cost.

He was sent out on loan to West Ham in the 2012/13 season and West Ham decided to make his loan move permanent ahead of the 2013/14 season. Carroll still plays for the Hammers, featuring in 128 games so far, scoring 33 goals, but he never fulfilled his potential or lived up to the expectations that his huge transfer fee had generated.