Highlights

  • Some of the worst transfers in football history involve players signed for fees in excess of £100 million.
  • Barcelona are guilty of making two of the worst signings in recent memory in the form of Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann.
  • Cheslea have had very little luck with centre-forwards as the Blues have made more than one disastrous signing at the top end of the pitch.

The world of football is a place where transfers are becoming even more of a common occurrence, and the sums of money clubs are willing to spend in order to sign the best talent across from across the globe have reached an unfathomable level. With this increased desire and financial firepower to make deals happen, comes a lot of risk.

This is because not all transfers work out the way the club, fans, or the players themselves imagine. Expensive flops are becoming a bigger part of the game, and as such, it is becoming even more difficult to answer the following question. What is the worst football transfer in recent memory?

Well, that's the question we've set out to answer as we rank football's worst transfers ever, below. The factors taken into consideration when ranking each signing included the following:

  • Expectations upon signing
  • Transfer fee
  • Sell-on fee
  • Longevity at the club they signed for
  • Statistical performance

So, without further ado, let's take a look at some of the worst transfers we have ever seen...

1 Phillipe Coutinho to Barcelona

Transfer fee: £121.50 million (Approx)

Philippe Coutinho

We must admit, it was a close decision between Coutinho and the man in second place. However, ultimately, Barcelona sold the Brazilian for a loss of approximately £100 million after one of the most anti-climatic transfers in history. Coutinho had been magical in the Premier League for Liverpool, and he was desperate to join the Spanish club, even handing in a transfer request to seal the move.

With all the expectations surrounding the blockbuster move, it would be generous to say the Brazil international flattered to deceive in the famous shirt of Barcelona. And let's not forget those two goals he scored against them when on loan at Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final - what a mockery.

Philippe Coutinho's Barcelona Statistics

Appearances

106

Goals

25

Assists

14

Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.

2 Antoine Griezmann to Barcelona

Transfer fee: £108 million

Antoine Griezmann

Ah, and now for another Barcelona flop. The first issue with this transfer was that the players didn't want the club to sign Griezmann. Nor the manager. In truth, the deal summed up the state of the Barcelona board at the time.

The Frenchman was signed on an enormous contract that put such financial strain on the club that it was a key factor in the eventual departure of their most prized asset, Lionel Messi. Griezmann endured a torrid time overall at Camp Nou and the board eventually decided to loan him back to Atlético Madrid.

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The catch, though, was that the loan came in with an optional future fee of £54 million, which Atletico duly activated. You can bet Simeone slept well that week, knowing that he had just conned the mighty Barcelona out of over £50 million quid. Have some of that.

Antoine Griezmann's Barcelona Statistics

Appearances

102

Goals

35

Assists

17

Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.

3 Eden Hazard to Real Madrid

Transfer fee: £103 million rising to £135 million

Eden Hazard

The Belgian managed just one goal in his first season in the Spanish capital, which did nothing to cool the anger that was already boiling amongst the Madridstas after he turned up to pre-season seven kilograms overweight.

Hazard was then spotted laughing with former Chelsea teammates after the club knocked Los Blancos out of the Champions League and spent the majority of his time in Spain sidelined with persistent injuries. After failing to deliver on the lofty expectations he arrived with in 2019, the winger retired from football in 2023 at the age of just 32. It was a shame to see one of the Premier League greats bow out in such an underwhelming fashion.

Eden Hazard's Real Madrid Statistics

Appearances

76

Goals

7

Assists

12

Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.

4 Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea

Transfer fee: £97.5 million

Romelu Lukaku

Chelsea will appear on this list more than once as the west London club have been one of the most active teams in the transfer market in world football over the past two decades. Lukaku was meant to be the returning hero as Chelsea swooped to sign their former Belgian forward in the wake of his Serie A triumph at Inter Milan. It was meant to be a fairytale story of the striker returning to the club he didn't initially make it at, and elevate them to the Premier League title.

Instead, it quickly turned into a nightmare as Lukaku lost his starting berth in the team under Thomas Tuchel and took it upon himself to give an unsanctioned interview with Sky Italy to express his desire to one day return to Inter. This obviously didn't go down well with the club or the fans and the former Man United attacker was shipped out on loan after an extremely disappointing campaign at Stamford Bridge. It may go down as the worst singing in Premier League history when considering the finances involved.

Romelu Lukaku's Chelsea Statistics

Appearances

59

Goals

15

Assists

3

Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.

5 Alexis Sanchez to Manchester United

Transfer fee: Free

Alexis Sanchez

When ditching Arsenal for United, Sanchez was pretty much seen to be the best player in the league. He was a phenomenon at the Emirates and the prospect of him running the show at the Theatre of Dreams was a frightening one for rivals.

The way it turned out, though, they needn't have worried. Sanchez scored just three league goals in one and a half seasons in the north-west. His ridiculous wage of £560,000 per week was a heavy burden on United given he spent the majority of his career in red sitting on the bench. Eventually, he was loaned to Inter Milan, but even then United were sending a hefty £200,000 per week in his direction. There is an argument to be made that Sanchez is one of United's worst signings of all time.

Alexis Sanchez's Manchester United Statistics

Appearances

45

Goals

5

Assists

9

Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.

6 Andriy Shevchenko to Chelsea

Transfer fee: £39.5 million

Andriy Shevchenko

Roman Abramovich had been desperate to bring the Ukrainian to Chelsea for several years before eventually getting his wish in 2006. The problem was, it was his wish, not José Mourinho's. The Portuguese manager didn't actually want Shevchenko at the club for whatever reason, and that was reflected on the pitch.

The 2004 Ballon d'Or winner spent most of his Chelsea career playing out of position and consequently scored just nine Premier League goals in 48 matches. He lasted two seasons at the Bridge before he was sent back to Milan on loan. It's safe to say the Blues didn't get the version of the striker that they had hoped for, although the club do also have a poor track record with number nines over the years.

Andriy Shevchenko's Chelsea Statistics

Appearances

77

Goals

22

Assists

12

Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.

7 Jonathan Woodgate to Real Madrid

Transfer fee: £16 million

Jonathan Woodgate

Woodgate's Real Madrid career hit rock bottom instantaneously. After spending a year on the side-lines injured, the Englishman came back to score an own goal and get sent off on his debut for the club - it really does not get any worse. He surely must have felt things could only get better, but the former Leeds United defender never recovered his career in La Liga.

Injuries continued to plague the centre-back, who ended up making just nine La Liga appearances for the club before returning to the UK. To add insult to injury, a poll conducted by Spanish media outlet Marca labelled him 'the worst signing of the 21st century.' Ouch.

Jonathan Woodgate's Real Madrid Statistics

Appearances

14

Goals

1

Assists

0

Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.

8 Ángel Di María to Manchester United

Transfer fee: £60 million

Angel di Maria

One of many high-profile United transfers that have flopped in recent times. Di Maria was widely regarded to be up there with the most creative players in the world at Real Madrid. However, his spell at United swiftly put a stop to that suggestion. The Argentine impressed in the opening stages of his switch, even scooping the club's Player of the Month award.

After that, though, a hamstring injury and a break-in at his house was enough to unsettle the star, whose performances fell off a cliff and didn't stop until they hit rock bottom. Throughout his time in England, it was evident that Di Maria didn't want to be there, and he jumped ship at the first opportunity available to join Paris Saint-Germain the following summer.

Ángel Di María's Manchester United Statistics

Appearances

32

Goals

4

Assists

12

Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.

9 Andy Carroll to Liverpool

Transfer fee: £35 million

Andy Carroll

Carroll was signed to replace a man we will discuss in just a moment, and it's fair to say the move didn't go entirely to plan. The big striker had impressed in his short time in the Newcastle first team, scoring 11 goals in 19 appearances. However, his style clearly wasn't suited to the way Liverpool played, and it was like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

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Being left out of the starting XI on many occasions due to the brilliant form of Luis Suárez didn't help his case, but Carroll also appeared to be out of his depth on Merseyside. He scored six goals in 44 games before being shipped off to West Ham on the cheap.

Andy Carroll's Liverpool Statistics

Appearances

58

Goals

11

Assists

6

Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.

10 Fernando Torres to Chelsea

Transfer fee: £50 million

Fernando Torres

Torres' transfer to Chelsea was one of the most controversial pieces of business in modern football. The Blues nabbed the Spaniard from Liverpool in a deal worth £50 million after he had been Liverpool's golden boy for the previous three seasons.

Still aged just 26, Torres was supposed to be entering the prime of his career, but he couldn't seem to recreate the form that had been blowing defences away on the regular at Anfield. Incredibly, he went from averaging a goal every 120 minutes at Liverpool, to a goal every 360 minutes at Chelsea.

Granted, he did score a vital away goal in the semi-final of the Champions League against Barcelona; however, that proved the only real highlight in an otherwise disappointing career in London.

Fernando Torres' Chelsea Statistics

Appearances

172

Goals

45

Assists

35

Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.

11 Mario Balotelli to Liverpool

Transfer fee: £16 million

Mario Balotelli

Ah, Super Mario. What can be said about this maverick? An exceptional talent, we saw glimpses of greatness in his spell with Manchester City. But for every brilliant thing the Italian did, there were three or four moments of madness that ruined it.

After falling out with his teammates at City, he was sold to Milan, where he somewhat got his career back on track - scoring 14 goals in the Serie A. As a result, Brendan Rodgers decided to take a punt on the 24-year-old as he bid to find a suitable replacement for Luis Suárez.

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Liverpool fans were dubious at the time, but Rodgers had a knack for getting the best out of players so there remained some hope the move could work out. That hope, though, was short-lived. Balotelli's refusal to run, combined with his persistence in shooting from 40 yards was a cause of constant frustration for fans. In the end, he scored just one Premier League goal for the Reds in 939 minutes of action before he was sent packing back to Milan on loan.

Mario Balotelli's Liverpool Statistics

Appearances

28

Goals

4

Assists

0

Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.