The Top 5 Worst Football Signings of All Time
Whether in the middle of a crisis, or for absolutely no reason whatsoever, we have seen football managers make some terrible decisions over the years, bringing in players that have gone on to be complete failures for them. Here we take a look at the top five worst football signings of all time.
#5 Carlos Tevez – Shanghai Shenhua
When throwing huge amounts of money at Tevez, Shanghai thought they had the final piece in their puzzle to win a first Chinese title since 1995. He cost close to $100 million, and had an annual salary of $41 million on top of that.
Tevez was supposed to score for fun, but instead what he did was have a holiday in China. He scored just four goals in 20 games, was accused of being overweight by the club and they eventually finished 11th after setting their sights on top spot.
This signing goes to prove that money doesn’t solve every problem.
#4 Jonathan Woodgate – Real Madrid
We don’t see many English players trying out Europe, and Woodgate is probably one of the reasons for that. Woodgate was very injury prone, and he had to wait a year for his Real Madrid debut because of this.
He went out for that game, scored an own goal in the first half and was sent off in the second half, the first of a very short and disastrous nine game career at Madrid for him.
#3 Fernando Torres – Chelsea
When this deal was made by Chelsea, although the price tag was high, few thought it would be as much of a flop as it was. Torres lit up the Premier League for Liverpool, but failed to follow that up with The Blues.
He never scored more than eight Premier League goals in a season for Chelsea, before returning home to Spain to finish his career off. Torres was brought in to be the man who took Chelsea to the top, but his signing was a failure.
#2 Andy Carroll – Liverpool
If you ever want to see an example of club panic buying and failing look no further than Liverpool here. They had just lost Fernando Torres in the deal above, and needed an immediate replacement. In came Andy Carroll, a big physical striker who was the new leader of the Liverpool attack.
Carroll didn’t fit in at Anfield, he wasn’t the type of player needed and ultimately he wasn’t good enough. He scored just six goals in 44 Premier League games before being sold for £20 million less than what Liverpool had paid for him.
Liverpool have got over their Carroll mistake in good style, and look set to finally land the Premier League title that has eluded them for many years. Bookmakers such as those listed on NewbettingOffers.co.uk have been inundated with bet for Liverpool to win the title, taking advantage of the new betting offers available there at the same time.
#1 Ali Dia – Southampton
The story behind this signing makes it even more incredible. Dia spoke with a number of football clubs in the UK hoping to get a break and claimed he was the cousin of George Weah. After trials at lower league clubs he wasn’t signed, as he couldn’t play football. Then, Graeme Souness from Southampton decided to take a punt on him.
In his only appearance for the club, Dia was sent on as a sub. He lasted 52 minutes before being taken back off the field, allegedly spending that time trying to avoid the ball at all costs.
