The newspaper Mirror He has compiled a list of the twenty most disastrous transfers in Premier League history. Among them, there are many soccer players who have gone through the Spanish league, as well as a player from Spain. Stars of the stature of Andriy Shevchenko or Michael Owen, both Ballon d'Or winners, appear in it.
1 Baby (Manchester United)
They paid 8.8 million euros to Vitoria Guimaraes. In his first campaign at Old Trafford they expected it to be one of the sensations, but he only played 74 minutes divided between two Premier League games.
2 Ali Dia (Southampton)
Without a doubt, it was the worst signing in history. They signed him after receiving a recommendation through a false call from George Weah, and made him debut without having seen him before. They took him out in the middle of the game and took him away before he finished when he saw that his tactical, technical and physical level was really bad.
3 Andy Carroll (Liverpool)
He came to fill the gap of Fernando Torres, who shone in the Premier League to the point of achieving a Bronze Ball, but only managed to score four goals in 35 games.
4 Michael Owen (Newcastle)
The 2001 Ballon d'Or returned to England after failing to show at Real Madrid what it was at Liverpool. Few goals and many injuries made it difficult for him to stay there, but the worst came when Alan Shearer, his coach, accused him of erasing himself from a game in which relegation was at stake.
5 Adrian Mutu (Chelsea)
The Romanian striker was not considered a good or bad signing because of what was shown at José Mourinho's orders on the pitch. His positive for cocaine caused Chelsea to cancel his contract.
6 Eliaquim Mangala (Manchester City)
Manchester City could only spend £ 49m due to Financial Fair Play and decided to invest £ 42m in defense, which was not at the level of such an ambitious club. Loans and injuries further tarnished his time at Etihad.
7 Andriy Shevchenko (Chelsea)
At that time it was the most expensive signing in the history of a British club, but the performance of the former Ballon d'Or in 2004 was not at all similar to that offered with Milan or Ukraine.
8 Kleberson (Manchester United)
The Brazilian was signed at the same time as Cristiano Ronaldo, but the comparisons were not what made him stand out for the worse. The British newspaper, without going any further, explains that those who closed the operation seemed “to have no brains” when signing this “featherweight”.
9 Jack Rodwell (Sunderland)
His transfer from Everton to Manchester City was unsuccessful, but his move to Southampton in exchange for £ 10m later was even worse. He left the team in League Two, but by the time he left he had pocketed roughly £ 300,000 per game.
10 Tomas Brolin (Leeds)
They signed the Swede because he had thrown England out of the 1992 European Championship, but the injuries he chained made him gain many kilos, something he himself recognized. Its performance, therefore, was not similar to that of the Swedish team.
11 Jo (Manchester City)
The Brazilian striker signed for £ 18m, a record transfer for the club. He did it just before Mansour took over the team. He only scored one goal in three seasons.
12 Roberto Soldado (Tottenham)
The Spanish attacker came from playing a great role with Valencia, even becoming international. However, he did not score as many goals as the Spurs expected, as he had cost £ 26m and had never been spent as much on a player.
13 Massimo Taibi (Manchester United)
The Italian goalkeeper was the man of the match in his debut at Anfield, but then only played four more games. They nicknamed him 'the blind Venetian' after a weak shot from Matt le Tissier passed him below the legs.
14 Alfonso Alves (Middelsbrough)
It was the most expensive signing of the English club, since it cost 18 million pounds. However, his scoring contribution was very low and his team ended up falling.
15 Andy van der Meyde (Everton)
He had alcohol problems when he arrived from Inter Milan. Later, his confrontations with David Moyes, who stole his dog in a robbery, the health problems of his daughter who was a baby at the time and the private detective who followed him on behalf of his wife, were added.
16 André Santos (Arsenal)
They signed him for seven million pounds and starred in several errors in the humiliating 8-2 that Manchester United marked. The fans did not forgive him for exchanging the shirt with Robin van Persie.
17 Kostas Mitroglou (Fulham)
He struggled with injuries and physically, not to mention “not good enough,” according to the British newspaper. He did not score in four months and the team went down despite paying £ 11m for it.
18 Corrado Grabbi (Blackburn Rovers)
The English team defeated the almighty Milan in the bid for the player, in 2001. The 6.5 million euros ended up sinking them, since they only managed to score two goals in thirty games.
19 Ricky van Wolfswinkel (Norwich City)
The Dutch striker only shone in his debut. then he chained a series of transfers without scoring a single goal and his team ended up falling from the division.
20 Marco Boogers (West Ham)
Harry Redknapp signed him after watching a video of him and in his second game he was sent off after a terrible tackle on Gary Neville. Soon after, she asked permission to go home on the occasion of the birth of her son, but she did not return.