The following list comprises the Premier League’s most remarkable, and harrowing, big money transfer flops. There are, of course, no end of dodgy signings made every year in the Premier League, and due to the vast quantity of utter rubbish that has been invested in over the years, this has been a challenging list to make. Travesties such as Massimo Taibi, Francis Jeffers, Per Kroldrup, El Hadji Diouf, Freddie Ljungberg, Thomas Brolin, Milan Baros, and Fernando Morientes, have all somehow missed out as this list considers a selection of the transfers that have proven to demonstrate a shocking waste of money.
These are the transfers that have truly frustrated and hurt expectant fans; the fans who, only a matter of weeks or months earlier, were in a state of jubilation as their club had finally delved into the coffers, brushed away the moths and cobwebs from their tight wallets, and bought that ‘big name player’ who was so desperately required to take the club to the next level. For any fans who have suffered the presence of any of the following players amongst your ranks, you may cringe, shudder, and perhaps even hysterically laugh and cry, but at least you will be able to console yourself in the knowledge that you are not the only ones left with a bitter taste in the mouth.
1. Juan Sebastian Veron
The exceptionally gifted Argentine playmaker could easily have featured twice on this list, firstly for his £28.1 million transfer to Manchester United from Lazio in 2001 and secondly for his £15 million move to Chelsea two years later. There is no doubting that Veron, who was instrumental during both Lazio and Inter Milan’s Serie A triumphs, is one of modern football greats, yet his failure to succeed in England, amid incredible expectation, has tainted his career. After a poor two years with the Red Devils, being replaced by the equally disappointing Kleberson, and only seven appearances for Chelsea, he was shipped out on loan to Inter Milan where he was better suited. With transfer fees totally over £40 million, he was a monumental waste of money.
2. Andriy Shevchenko
A fantastic and prolific striker who starred with Italian giants AC Milan for much of his career, Shevchenko came to west London with a glowing reputation, and, despite his advanced age, the £30.8 million fee seemed like money well spent. He was meant to provide Chelsea with an experienced and proven goal scorer, yet alas, Chelsea again fell victim as Shevchenko failed to perform in the Premier League and was subsequently loaned back to Milan, where he strangely continued to struggle. A sad and terrible disappointment.
3. Albert Luque
From the beginning the Spanish striker Luque appeared a peculiar signing. His goal scoring record, with 26 in 101 matches for Deportivo La Coruna, was hardly outstanding and certainly did not warrant the £9.5 million Newcastle United shelled out for him. Luque was intended to be an exciting replacement for the recently retired Geordie hero Alan Shearer, but unfortunately he was never worthy of such a comparison. He scored only a solitary goal for the Magpies during a two year stint with the club, and now plays for Spanish side Malaga.
4. Sergei Rebrov
Like his Ukrainian and former Dynamo Kiev strike partner Andriy Shevchenko, Rebrov had maintained a prolific strike rate prior to moving England. He joined Tottenham Hotspur for £11.5 million in 2000 and fans rejoiced thinking the signing signalled a step forward for the North Londoners. The rest of London looked on with wry smiles as Rebrov proved a failure at White Hart Lane, scoring only ten goals in sixty games for Spurs before being bundled out of the country on loan to Fenerbahce. The smiles were soon wiped off of Spurs’ east London rival fans’ faces as the striker was trundled out in a claret and blue shirt in 2004, scoring a solitary goal during his season long spell with West Ham.
5. Bosko Balaban
Although not one of the more substantial fees featured on this list, Balaban still proved to be a disastrous waste of money for Birmingham based side Aston Villa, who had paid £6.5 millions for his signature. The Croatia international, making only a handful of league substitute appearances, failed to net a single goal for the Villans and was promptly loaned back to his former side, Dinamo Zagreb, where he amazingly netted fifteen times in twenty-four games.
6. Steve Marlet
In similarity to Newcastle United flop Luque, French forward Steve Marlet came to the Premier League with a somewhat average strike rate, scoring 25 times in 107 games for Auxerre and 13 times in 36 appearances for Lyon. During a four year association with Fulham, following a record club transfer of £11.5 million, Marlet scored just 11 goals for the cottagers. Amid suggestions of a backroom bust up, largely due to the Frenchman being played out of position, Marlet spent the last two years of his contract on loan with Marseille. In the last four years Marlet has accumulated a pitiful 45 appearances with three different clubs, Wolfsburg, FC Lorient, and CM Aubervilliers, scoring just three goals. Amazingly, Fulham chairman Mohammed Al Fayed took former Fulham manager Jean Tigana to court citing overpayment of the French striker, but the case was quickly dropped.
7. Chris Sutton
Sutton, like Hernan Crespo and Andriy Shevshenko, is another forward signed by Chelsea for a large sum of money who failed miserably in the Blues shirt, scoring just one goal in 28 appearances during the 99-00 season. Chelsea managed to recoup six of the ten million they had splashed out on the former Premier League champion when they sold him to Celtic during the summer of 2000, and he went on to have great success in Scotland. Yet Sutton will always be remembered by Chelsea fans as yet another on the list of expensive failures in west London.
8. Adrian Mutu
Romanian striker Mutu, who has recently rediscovered his goal scoring form whilst playing for Italian side Fiorentina, had a disastrous spell with, yes, yet again, Chelsea. The Pensioners paid in the region of £15.5 million for the talented forward, but disappointingly he spent only one season in the Premier League, scoring only 6 goals in 27 games. Sadly, it was not his lack of goals that led to his abrupt departure, his unfortunate use of recreational drugs resulted in the cancelling of his contract, a seven month ban, and a substantial fine leaving the player in financial turmoil. His punishment has been severe, but he has thankfully proven most resilient and has perhaps turned a corner.
9. Jean-Alain Boumsong
Having expressed little interest in the French defender when he was available on a free transfer six months earlier, Newcastle paid a hefty £8 million to Glasgow Rangers for centre half Jean-Alain Boumsong. In contrast to the skill and composure he had demonstrated whilst in Scotland, Boumsong appeared remarkably shaky in the heart of the Magpies’ defence and following a poor first season, which featured a series of calamitous mistakes, he was off-loaded at a cut price to the recently relegated Italian side Juventus. Boumsong subsequently helped the Old Lady clinch promotion back to Serie A, before returning to France to play for Lyon in order to increase his chances of international football.
10. Hugo Viana
Another Newcastle United flop, Hugo Viana was snapped up at 19 years of age from Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon in 2002 for £8.5 million. Whilst with Sporting the attacking midfielder had gained recognition by winning the young European player of the year, but he failed to live up to expectations in England, spending most of his time warming the bench, making just 39 appearances during two seasons with the Magpies. He ended up being loaned back to Sporting before becoming a ‘hot potato’, moving to Valencia, who subsequently loaned him to both Spanish side Osasuna and his current club Braga.