5. Adrian Mutu
Parma – Chelsea
Chelsea bought Adrian Mutu for £16 mil in August 2003. He played really well in first half of his first season but the goals dwindled towards the end. That season Mutu publicly spoke about the fact that he and Mourinho did not get on very well. They also had the incident when they accused the other of lying about an injury. In September 2004 Mutu tested positive for Cocaine and was released by the club a month later. Chelsea eventually got compensated for their loss. He made it into my list because of the drugs, simples.
4. Juan Sebastian Veron
Lazio – Manchester United
In July 2001 Veron signed for Man United for a fee of £28.1mil. His first season was terrible, he couldn’t play in the fast pace of English football and really struggled. In his 2nd season he came back improved but never became the player Fergie paid for. Fergie had an f-word rant at a journalist regarding Veron’s bad performances and then sold him at a loss to Chelsea for £15mil. I can remember some of his worst games, they were just complete disaster. He made it into my list because of the amount of money spent for nothing.
3. Andriy Shevchenko
AC Milan – Chelsea
Shevchenko signed in 2006 for £30.8 breaking the record for most expensive player to be bought in England. He had a cracking start to the season but it was cut short after a hernia operation and another injury. When he returned he never regained form and was eventually loaned in 2008 back to AC Milan. Chelsea eventually sold him in 2010. This was one of the bad signings that was most prominent in my memory. I didn’t think he would ever be good for Chelsea. I don’t think he was suited to their style of play at that time. Shevchenko is on my list because we were all expecting this amazing player and it just never came.
2. Ali Dia
Southampton
This made my list because it simply is one of the funniest transfer stories ever. I laughed so much when I read about this as a teenager. Ali Dia had failed numerous football trials but in 1996 he asked a uni friend to call Graeme Souness at Southampton under the guise of George Weah and convince him to give him a chance. Souness signed him up for a month and he played one game where he came on as a sub and played so badly he was subbed off again. He was released by Souness two weeks into his contract.
1. Andy Carroll
Newcastle – Liverpool
The long-haired Geordie signed for Liverpool on the last day of the transfer window in January 2011. His £35m, fee was Liverpool’s most expensive signing to date. There were so many people saying ‘what the fudge’ when this transfer occurred. It was a very shocking one. Andy Carroll had a terrible first season, scoring only 9 goals in 47 appearances and in the summer he was subjected to low bids from Newcastle United and West Ham before finally going on loan to West Ham. He definitely didn’t end up being the £35mil player Liverpool were expecting.
I had a great time doing this article and I had a list of about 20 players to choose from. If you agree or disagree with any on my list or have other player you think were worse please feel free to comment.
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Great article! Look foward to your Top ten best transfers! Got to see RVP, Hazard, Mata, Ronaldo, Rooney, Henry, Vidic, Aguero, Alonso, Torres (to liverpool).