The most expensive flops in Premier League history

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Despite being widely regarded as the best league around, the Premier League and its cohort of clubs don’t always get things right. Teams throughout the world of football are regularly exposed for their mismanagement, from poor training facilities and nutritional advice to players to failed managerial appointments and player signings that don’t quite live up to the hype. The latter scenario, where clubs don’t always recruit well, has occurred a frankly disturbing amount of times in England’s top flight.

Given the vast sums of money that English clubs have at their disposal in recent times, getting a signing wrong tends to receive more attention than it used to. Of course, it’s all relative, and English clubs have made shoddy acquisitions for decades, but it tends to become more of a talking point in the modern environment due to some of the extortionate fees that clubs in the Premier League are paying.

Some new additions are clearly panic buys, while others are a genuine attempt to close the gap on a club’s nearest rivals. There have been some standout signings that have looked worse as the season has progressed, though, with some professionals turning out for the biggest sides in the division. We aren’t just talking about Eric Djemba-Djemba and Ricky van Wolfswinkel here either, but a selection of other flops that failed to deliver despite promising so much.

So, without further ado, let’s take a look at some other notable signings that didn’t quite do it in the Premier League despite the clubs in question investing a great deal of money into acquiring their services.

Andriy Shevchenko’s time at Chelsea was a disaster

When looking back at some of the best strikers to have graced the beautiful game in the last 20 years or so, Andriy Shevchenko’s right up there for many people. A player who recorded notable success at AC Milan and scored screamers for fun, the Ukrainian is a legend at the Italian giants. As such, it made a lot of sense when Chelsea decided to splash the cash and bring him to the club in 2006. Spending £39.5 million in the process, Roman Abramovich got his man, and excitement around the 29-year-old’s move to the Blues was understandable. Soon, though, it became clear that Shevchenko was a player on the way down, with injuries getting in the way and inconsistent performances leaving him largely out of favor in the end. Signed as a world-class talent who would lead the line for Chelsea for a good few years, Jose Mourinho ended up sticking with Didier Drogba in the end, leaving the former Dynamo Kyiv star playing out of position before he eventually went back on loan to his beloved Milan, putting an end to his nightmare spell in London.

Paul Pogba’s failed move back to Manchester United can’t be ignored

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Judging by his decision to refuse to pull out all the stops to halt Paul Pogba’s move to Juventus in 2012, Sir Alex Ferguson clearly saw something he didn’t like about the Frenchman at the time, a player he branded disrespectful towards the Red Devils. Evidently, Ferguson was clearly right about the midfielder and his supposedly toxic behaviour. Recruitment since the Scotsman’s time as manager has been appalling overall, leaving fans dismayed at the lack of progress the club has made in the last few years. The scrutiny levelled at the Glazer family won’t go away; fans are boycotting matches and organizing regular protests, and you’ll struggle to find a supporter who is backing Manchester United for the Premier League title when it comes to football betting, and YouTube channels regularly focus on the mess that is always unfolding at the club. It’s perhaps best summed up by Paul Pogba’s return in 2016 for an astonishing then world-record transfer fee of £93.2m following his free transfer to Juventus just a few years previously. A flash in the pan, Pogba fell out with managers, his injury issues were never-ending, and he was viewed as a trouble-maker who lacked the hunger and desire to succeed at Manchester United. Given the huge amount of money the club invested in re-signing the World Cup winner, a lot more was expected of him. One of the biggest flops in Premier League history? Definitely.

A selection of honorable mentions

While Andriy Shevchenko and Paul Pogba have been the main focus here, they certainly aren’t alone. In fact, a number of horrifically expensive bad signings also deserve a mention. For starters, Danny Drinkwater’s move to Chelsea for a staggering £34.1 million in 2017 certainly didn’t go to plan, with the Premier League winner making just 12 Premier League appearances for the club in his debut season before being completely ignored afterward. Southampton’s £13.6 million investment in Dani Osvaldo in 2013 is another one that didn’t quite work out either, with the Roma man scoring just three goals in 855 Premier League minutes while also head-butting club favorite Jose Fonte in training.

Some other notable failed investments by Premier League clubs include the likes of Ricky Alvarez (Sunderland), Bosko Balaban (Aston Villa), Serhiy Rebrov (Tottenham), Fernando Torres (Chelsea), Tomas Brolin (Leeds United), Adrian Mutu (Chelsea), Alexis Sanchez (Manchester United), David Bentley (Tottenham), Roger Johnson (Wolves), Bebe (Manchester United), Steve Marlet (Fulham), Alberto Aquilani (Liverpool), Giannelli Imbula (Stoke City), and Kostas Mitroglou (Fulham).