The 5 costliest flops in world football

Modified May 28, 2019 13:43 GMT

Chelsea v Club Atletico de Madrid - UEFA Champions League Semi Final — During his time, Fernando Torres strengthened the strange case of the Chelsea No. 9

#2 Fernando Torres (£50m) - Liverpool to Chelsea

Crystal Palace v Chelsea - Premier League — Torres forced his way to Chelsea but left his form behind at Anfield

Torres was the darling of Anfield once upon a time. He had played 142 games and scored 81 goals for Liverpool since joining from Athletico Madrid. He was one of the most feared strikers of the Premier League, yet in January 2011, after a failed Chelsea bid, Torres handed in a transfer request that rocked Anfield, which was rejected. Torres eventually joined Chelsea from Liverpool for a then British record £50m transfer fee, perhaps taking the most fatal decision of his career.

Even since joining Chelsea, it has been a downward slide for him. He played 172 games for the Blues, scoring 45 goals, but looked a shadow of the once clinical striker that the world revered. He then had unsuccessful loan spell at AC Milan and Atletico Madrid, and has now joined the J1 League side Sagan Tosu.

This is a clear case of one wrong decision that changed your life, only here, it made Torres, the second most costly flop in the football world.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written over 8500 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5Million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

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Edited by Ben Winfield