The WORST Transfers In Football History

Nothing gets football fans excited like a new signing. But sometimes, dream buys turn into nightmares. Success is never guaranteed, no matter what the size of transfer fee or player's talent. For every bargain buy, there's usually a flop to be found elsewhere. Here are some of the worst transfers in football history. Kaká to Real Madrid. Kaká became the most expensive player of all time but the former Ballon d'Or winner never replicated his AC Milan form at the Bernabeu. At his best, Kaká was a world-class attacking midfielder, but injuries robbed him of his speed and dynamism. Pele once described Kaká as the complete player. But sadly, he wasn't that at Madrid. Kaká lost his confidence in Spain. That contributed to his dip in performance. Even when he was fit, Jose Mourinho preferred to play Mesut Özil or Angel Di Maria in his position. In his last four years at Milan, Kaká scored 70 goals and provided 39 assists in Serie A and the Champions League. In his four years at Madrid, Kaká scored 28 goals and provided 26 assists in La Liga and the Champions League. That's a big drop-off. He eventually went back to Milan, but he was never the same player after leaving the Italian side the first time. Robinho to Manchester City It's easy to forget now that Robinho was once considered the most talented young player in the world. Many people thought he'd go on to dominate the game like Messi or Ronaldo have done. Robinho joined Manchester City from Real Madrid for £37.2 million. He didn't make a good first impression, though. Chelsea made a great proposal and I accept it, he said, forgetting which club he'd signed for. Robinho actually had a decent start at City. He scored 12 goals in his first half-season there. But the Brazilian soon became more of a hindrance than a help. He wasn't a popular figure in the dressing room either and manager Marc Hughes was annoyed with his late-night partying. The goals soon dried up and Robinho found himself out of the team. City admitted defeat and loaned him back to Santos before Robinho joined AC Milan in 2010. City had to write this one off as an expensive mistake. Eden Hazard to Real Madrid Eden Hazard had dreamed of a move to Real Madrid for years. In 2019, he got his wish, with Madrid paying €100 million to sign the Chelsea forward. He might actually have been even more expensive than that. Reports suggest the fee was more like €160 million. Either way, Madrid haven't had their money's worth. The club hoped Hazard could help fill the void created by Cristiano Ronaldo's departure. But in his first season and a half at the Bernabeu, Hazard has made just 35 appearances. The Belgian has suffered with various injury problems, which is surprising because he played almost every week throughout his Chelsea career. When he's been fit, Madrid haven't got the best out of him. Hazard has looked a shadow of his former self and scored only four goals so far. Madrid must wish they'd kept the receipt. Angel Di Maria to Manchester United When Angel Di Maria signed for Man United, the fans must have thought the good times were on their way back to Old Trafford. Louis van Gaal had replaced David Moyes as manager, and United had just signed a world-class star in Di Maria. They broke the British transfer record to buy him, spending £67.5 million in 2014. Di Maria scored a memorable goal when he scooped the ball into the net against Leicester, but that was about as good as it got for the attacking midfielder. It's still surprising that Di Maria flopped in the Premier League. He was brilliant for Real Madrid beforehand, and has been great for PSG since then. The transfer goes to show that footballers are human beings too. Van Gaal didn't get the best out of Di Maria on the pitch, but the player had problems away from the field too. His wife struggled to settle in England, and the whole family was shaken up when burglars tried to break into their house. In the end, United were happy to let Di Maria go, after just one year there. Kepa Arrizbalaga to Chelsea Chelsea broke the world transfer record for a goalkeeper when they signed Kepa for £72 million. The club saw him as a long-term successor to Thibaut Courtois, who'd joined Real Madrid. They soon changed their mind though. Kepa didn't do too badly at first, but as time went on, errors began to creep into his game. He also caused a major scene at Wembley when he refused to be substituted in the League Cup final. Maurizio Sarri wanted to bring him off before the penalty shootout, but Kepa stayed in goal. Man City won the shootout and lifted the trophy. Things went disastrously wrong for the Spaniard in his second season. He made several costly mistakes and finished the season with a save percentage of 54.5%, the worst in the Premier League. That means that almost half the shots went in. In the end, Chelsea had to hold their hands up and admit they'd made a massive blunder. The Blues signed Edouard Mendy as their new number one in 2020 and Kepa was relegated to the bench. When Kepa eventually leaves Stamford Bridge, Chelsea won't get anything like the £72 million they paid for him. Alexis Sanchez to Manchester United Manchester United announced the signing of Sanchez with a video of him supposedly playing the piano, but whenever the Chilean was on the pitch for United, he hit all the wrong notes. Sanchez arrived at Old Trafford as part of a rare swap deal that sent Henrikh Mkhitaryan to Arsenal. Because there was no transfer fee, United handed Sanchez a whopping contract. According to reports, the forward earned an eye-watering – wait for it – £390,000 a week. That made him one of the best-paid footballers on the planet, but his performances definitely didn't match his salary. Sanchez had already been showing signs of decline at Arsenal. He'd lost some of his pace and intensity because of injuries and a packed schedule for club and country. Still, United fans expected a bit more than five goals in 45 games. Things got so bad that the former Arsenal star admitted he wanted to rip up his contract. United eventually loaned him to Inter. They were so desperate to get rid of him that they even agreed to pay more than half his salary. Andre Shevchenko to Chelsea Andre Shevchenko was supposed to be the cherry on the cake for Chelsea. Jose Mourinho had just led the club to back-to-back Premier League titles, and Sheva was seen as the man who could bring them the Champions League. Well, that's how Roman Abramovich saw it, anyway. Shevchenko had scored 127 goals in 208 games for AC Milan. He was a Ballon d'Or winner and a proven goalscorer. Mourinho wasn't so sure, though. He didn't actually want Shevchenko, but Abramovich overruled him and spent £30.8m on the Ukrainian. Now, that might seem like small change these days, but that was a huge amount back in 2006. Shevchenko played 30 Premier League games in his debut season, but he couldn't adapt to English football and scored just four goals. He was a bit better the following season, but injuries forced him to miss a lot of games. When Luis Felipe Scolari decided he didn't want him, Shevchenko's time at Chelsea was over. No one at Stamford Bridge was sad to see him go. Konos Tevez to Shanghai Shenhua Football in China is growing, and the Chinese Super League has attracted some big-name stars in recent years. Some of those players have been successful in the Far East. Others, like Tevez, have not. Tevez's best years were behind him when he joined Shanghai Shenhua in 2016, but he was still more than good enough to do well in China, which is a bit of a step down from Europe. Sadly, it seemed like Tevez couldn't be bothered. The striker was known for his aggression and fighting spirit at Man City, Man United, and Juventus, but he didn't have the same hunger with Shenhua. Tevez scored just four goals in 16 games in the Chinese Super League. He was criticized by his manager for being overweight. He even described his time in Shanghai Shenhua reportedly forked out $40 million on Tevez's wages, which means each goal cost them $10 million. Andy Carroll to Liverpool Everyone remembers Chelsea signing Fernando Torres for £50 million in 2011. That deal has overshadowed Liverpool paying £35 million for Andy Carroll the very same day. Torres was a big letdown at Chelsea, but at least he scored some important goals. That strike against Barcelona will live long in the memory of every Chelsea fan. The same can't be said for Carroll. He was an effective striker for Newcastle, but he really didn't fit in with Liverpool's style. Carroll was an old-fashioned target man, and he looked like a fish out of water at Anfield. Carroll only scored six Premier League goals for Liverpool. The Reds let him go after just 18 months, making a £20 million loss on the man they hoped would replace Torres. It wasn't all bad news, though. Liverpool also signed Luis Suarez in that same January 2011 transfer window. Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona When Barcelona signed Philippe Coutinho, they hoped he'd make an impact in the Champions League knockout stage. That's what he did in 2020. But Barcelona weren't celebrating. Coutinho scored against them during a loan spell at Bayern Munich, as Barcelona were thrashed 8-2. Some Liverpool fans wondered how they'd cope without Coutinho when he joined Barcelona in 2018. Their worries were eased, though, by the huge €160 million transfer fee. Barcelona thought Coutinho would be a long-term replacement for Andre Iniesta. That always seemed like a mistake, though. Coutinho's not a central midfielder, and he'd been successful at Liverpool in a more attacking role. The problem was, Coutinho wasn't a good fit for Barcelona in that position, either. With Messi and Suarez guaranteed to start, Barca needed their third forward to have some speed. Coutinho was a square peg in a round hole. Coutinho's been more involved since Ronald Koeman took over at the Camp Nou, but he still goes down as the worst-ever transfer. So who else would you put on the worst transfer list? Let us know in the comments section below. And don't forget to subscribe for more football videos like this one.