This is the list of the Premier League's worst transfers in recent history :
Fernando Torres, Liverpool to Chel$ea, £50 million
" You thought I was going to score, didn't you? "
Let's begin with the blue elephant in the room. The fifth highest transfer in football history, £50,000,000 enough to pry him away from Anfield. He was fast. He could finish. He could head the ball as well. This move to Roman Abrahmovich FC should spark the revival of El Nino. Right?
1 season and a half, 67 games and 12 goals later, Fernando Torres is now labelled as the biggest flop in world history. They might just be right.
How can a team turn the world's best striker into a global embarrassment? That's Chel$ea for you.
Jordan Henderson, Sunderland to Liverpool, £20 million
Nope. This isn't a Photoshop. Henderson actually plays for England.
I didn't know who Jordan Henderson was before he moved to Merseyside. Apparently, his 3 goals and 4 assists as an attacking midfielder was enough to convince King Kenny to splash out £20 million on him. He was the Premier League's 3rd leading chance creator in 2010/2011 season, with 78 chances created for his team mates, so I can see the promise that Daglish saw in him.
His debut season for Liverpool was grim as his team finished in ( Can't say this with a straight face ) 8th place. 2 goals and 1 assist is a terrible return for a player valued at that price. If Jordan Henderson is Liverpool's future, well, Everton won't have to worry about them anymore.
Joey Barton, Manchester City to Newcastle, £5.8 million
Barton feigns injury in search of a friend
The Premier League's most hated player. Why Newcastle decided to take a chance on him, I'll never know. The only return they got was red cards and court hearings from him. Sentenced to six months in jail for assaulting a man and a teenager in Liverpool City Centre. Four month suspended sentence after an altercation with his former Manchester City team mate, Ousmane Dabo. And suspension after suspension from the FA.
Andriy Shevchenko, AC Milan to Chel$ea, £30 million
" Come on, the keeper was in the way "
To think Torres was the second world class striker Chel$ea ruined. Shevchenko was a goal scoring machine. He could tuck away a chance from just about anywhere. Mourinho snapped him up for £30 million, with the valuations these days, he was a bargain.
77 games and 22 goals later, Shevchenko had had enough. He completed his move to his homeland, Ukraine, as he joined Dynamo Kyiv.
In mean, one was enough Roman. But two? And apparently Chelsea rule London.
Bebe, Estrela to Manchester United, £7.4 million
Bebe speeds past the Wolves' pacey LB, George Elokobi
Why Sir Alex Ferguson decided to take a punt on someone he had never seen play before, I'll never know. When a Manchester United winger struggles against the mighty Crawley Town of the Blue Square Premier League, you just know he's going nowhere. Loaned out to Besiktas for the 2011-12 season, where he was subsequently dropped from the team due to breaking the team curfew and staying out into the early hours of the morning. Sir Alex must be holding his head in his hands right now....
Roque Santa Cruz, Blackburn to Manchester City, £17.5 million
Santa Cruz's most familiar postion for Manchester City
It wasn't his fault. When you have to overcome Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor to get into the starting XI, it's never going to be easy. The Paraguayan hitman had become a cult hero for his former club, Blackburn Rovers, after an excellent debut season where he scored 23 goals and set up 8 for his team mates. Interest from Mansour City distracted Roque in his second season at the club and he scored a meagre 8 goals, a far cry from his earlier heroics. In his two seasons with the big spenders, he scored 4 goals. 4 goals. In 22 games. From Premier League big hitter to bench warming frontman. A lot can happen in 4 years.
Mikael Silvestre, Manchester United to Arsenal, £750k
This was the closest Mikael got to stopping Drogba in a 4-1 loss to Chel$ea
The versatile Frenchman proved to be one of the three bad signings under Arsene Wenger, alongside Francis Jeffers and Pascal Cygan. He was never going to replicate the performances he had made for Manchester United for the past 9 years. He, arguably, gifted Messi's equaliser in Arsenal's 4-1 humiliation at the Nou Camp. Though he scored the first equaliser against Tottenham, he conceded 4 goals. This signing won't be on Wenger's CV I'll tell you now.
Alberto Aquilani, Roma to Liverpool, £20 million
Frank Lampard stares in disbelief at how Aquilani can play for Liverpool
Bought alongside Glen Johnson in the 2009-10 summer transfer window, the Roma playmaker was meant to be the second coming of Andrea Pirlo. Well. It didn't really work out for him. He scored 2 goals in his two seasons with the Reds. After being loaned out to Juventus and AC Milan, his future at Anfield remains in doubt under the new gaffer, Brendan Rodgers. Like many Serie A players, good in Italy, bad in England. Very lucky to be in the Italy squad for the Euros.
Robinho, Real Madrid to Manchester City, £32.5 million
Robinho suddenly realises that he signed for Manchester City
This signing began the spending spree from Manchester City. Less than 24 hours after the Arab takeover, Manchester City issued a statement of intent with the purchase of the Brazilian show stopper. He started really well, scoring 14 goals as he finished in 4th place in the scoring charts. But the second season...3 months out due to injury. Playing only 12 games. Constantly complaining about the weather. And only scored 1 goal, against the rock solid back four of Scunthorpe United ( FA Cup ).
Value For Money? Not really.
Mario Balotelli, Inter Milan to Manchester City, £24 million
Now imagine what he's like when he's angry
Do I really need to explain why he was such a failure?
- Within days of joining Manchester City, he was involved in a car crash
- Drove into a women's prison in a Maserati
- Threw darts at a youth team player as a training ground prank
- Turned his garden in his home in Manchester into a racetrack for quadbikes.
- His infamous " Why Always Me? " celebration against Manchester United
- That was following a firework set off in his own home by Balotelli himself, the previous day.
- Broke a 48 hour curfew to nip off for a curry
- Visited a local church and donated £200. The story hasn't finished yet.
- He then visited a pub and bought a £1000 round for everyone
- 4 red cards in two years
*sigh* I just don't know what to do with him.
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