Top 15 Biggest Wastes Signing In Football History

Securing the best players in the world usually requires spending some pretty eye-watering amounts of money. The likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid and Liverpool have built dynasties over the years, but they didn’t do it cheaply. Instead, they spent big, landing some very impressive talents....READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE ▶▶

Teams don’t always get it right, though, when they conduct big business on the transfer market. Sometimes, they actually get it very, very wrong. Whether it’s disappointing form, injuries or a breakdown in relationships, these 15 players have gone down as the biggest wastes of money in the history of football. Coming up with this list of the biggest wastes of money, several different factors were considered and they are as follows:

Nicolas Pepe – Arsenal

£72m

After impressing at Lille, Nicolas Pepe was snapped up by Arsenal for £72m in 2019 and the general expectation was that the Gunners had signed a long-term star to occupy the wing for them. Things didn’t start off too poorly either, with the Frenchman scoring 24 goals over the course of his first two seasons.

During the 2020-21 campaign, though, his form fell off of a cliff and his minutes in the side began to dwindle as a result. It wasn’t long before Pepe was shipped out of the Emirates on loan to Nice and then he was allowed to leave in 2023 for absolutely nothing, despite having a year still left on his deal. £72m down the drain.

Andriy Shevchenko – Chelsea

£30m

It might not seem like a lot of money now, but in 2006, £30m was a monumental transfer fee. After becoming a global star at AC Milan, that’s how much Chelsea paid to bring Andriy Shevchenko to Stamford Bridge, making him the most expensive signing by a British club in history. Adjusted for inflation, the forward’s move to Chelsea would be worth £215.6m today due to inflation and it would be the most expensive transfer in Premier League history.

Coming off of three straight years in Italy with at least 25 goals, the signing was supposed to add some serious firepower to the front lines at Chelsea, but the Ukrainian just wasn’t the same player once he arrived in England. He scored just four Premier League goals during his debut season. He added five more league goals a year later and it wasn’t long before he was shown the door. A massive disappointment.

Paul Pogba – Manchester United

£89m

Having already let Paul Pogba walk out of the club for free years earlier, Manchester United swallowed their pride in 2016 and spent £89m bringing him back to Old Trafford after he transformed into a star at Juventus. Chasing a first Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, the midfielder was supposed to be the missing piece to help lead them back to the promised land.

That’s not quite how things played out, though, and while his tenure at the Red Devils wasn’t half as disappointing as some of the other players on this list, the fact they spent such a large fee for him, never fully realised their potential together and then let him go back to Juventus for free again, makes this a massive waste of money.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Barcelona

£59m + Samuel Eto’o

It’s not just the money that makes this such a waste, but the fact that Barcelona also parted ways with Samuel Eto’o to bring Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Camp Nou in 2009. The Cameroon forward had been huge for the Catalan giants, but they decided to send him, alongside £59m to Inter Milan to bring the iconic Swede to Spain.

Now admittedly, Ibrahimovic actually had a solid year in La Liga. He scored 21 goals in all competitions for Barcelona during the 2009/10 campaign. What makes this move such a waste of money is the fact that he quickly had a falling out with Pep Guardiola and just one year after moving to Spain, Barcelona shipped Ibrahimovic back to Italy, but this time to AC Milan. He first went on loan, before joining the Serie A team for less than half of what he cost Barcelona.

Neymar – PSG

£200m

Neymar actually had a fine spell in France with Paris Saint-Germain, but considering they paid £200m for his services, his time at the club can’t be considered anything other than a massive waste. Whether it was injuries or taking a back seat to Kylian Mbappe, the Brazilian was never quite the same player he was at Barcelona and ultimately underdelivered considering how much was spent on him.

To be fair, PSG at least managed to recoup some of the massive fee, selling Neymar to Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League for around £100m. Having spent almost his entire time in Saudi Arabia so far injured, the 32-year-old might find himself earning another spot on this list of the biggest wastes of money in football history pretty soon.

Kepa Arrizabalaga – Chelsea

£72m

Aside from a few very brief spells where things looked alright, Kepa Arrizabalaga’s £72m move to Chelsea back in 2018 has been an undeniable disaster. He’s been at the centre of controversy, embarrassing blunders and even been loaned out and replaced by the likes of Robert Sanchez in the Blues goal.

These days, Kepa has been linked to a potential move to Bournemouth. It’s a stark contrast to where he’ll have thought his career was heading when he became the most expensive goalkeeper in the world six years ago. The Spaniard has just never offered much security in between the sticks for the Blues and has been a huge waste of money.

Tanguy Ndombele – Tottenham Hotspur

£55m

This one will hurt Tottenham Hotspur fans because there was a real sense of excitement and optimism when the club signed Tanguy Ndombele in 2019. He was coming off the back of two very impressive years with Lyon, so the Premier League club decided to splash £55m on him, making the midfielder their record signing.

Things looked promising initially too, but it quickly became apparent that he wasn’t going to cut it in England. He had a falling out with Jose Mourinho, struggled with injuries and returned out of shape. Within two and a half years, he was loaned back to Lyon and had his contract terminated earlier this year.

Alexis Sanchez – Manchester United

£35m + Henrikh mkhitaryan

After several exciting years with Arsenal, Alexis Sanchez decided to jump ship and join one of their biggest Premier League rivals in Manchester United. He wasn’t the first to do so, with Robin van Persie following a similar path several years earlier. While the Dutchman was a hit at Old Trafford and was instrumental in his side winning a Premier League title, the Chilean was anything but.

He may have only cost £35m, but United also sent Henrikh mkhitaryan in the opposite direction and it’s the lack of doing anything even remotely significant during his time at the Red Devils that earns Sanchez a spot on this list. Pocketing massive wages, the winger was a huge disappointment and the money went straight down the drain.

Angel Di Maria – Manchester United

£60m

From one disappointing United signing to another, Angel Di Maria’s time at Old Trafford actually got off to a promising start. He quickly adapted to life in England impressively and had several very impressive outings for the Red Devils in the first few months of the 2014/15 season after his move. It didn’t last long, though, and after picking up an injury, he never looked the same.

The rest of the season was filled with lacklustre performances and just one year after United spent £60m on the Argentine, he refused to board the club’s plane to the United States during preseason and instead quickly joined PSG for a fraction of the sum spent on him. To this day, he isn’t a fan of the Red Devils.

Antoine Griezmann – Barcelona

£108m

The second, but far from the last, Barcelona signing on this list, Antoine Griezmann’s move to Camp Nou was supposed to usher in a brand new era of dominance for the club. He’d been destroying defences in La Liga for Atletico Madrid for five years and it was enough to convince the Catalan side to spend £108m on his services in 2019.

He had a proven track record in Spain and looked like a solid investment. He wasn’t necessarily bad during his time at Barcelona, but he was far from the player they thought they were signing. In total, Griezmann spent just two years at Camp Nou before he was loaned back to Atletico Madrid. He then rejoined the side permanently and Barcelona didn’t even come close to recouping the money they lost.

Romelu Lukaku – Chelsea

£97.5m

After previously letting him leave the club for Everton, Chelsea decided to re-sign Romelu Lukaku after a very impressive spell at Inter Milan in Serie A. The Blues were searching tirelessly for a prolific number nine and decided the man they’d already let go once was the man for the job. As a result, they spent £97.5m on the Belgian’s return to Stamford Bridge.

It was a disaster almost immediately and after publicly hitting out at Chelsea, Lukaku’s homecoming lasted just one year and he was sent back on loan to Inter a year later. He then went on loan to AS Roma and these days, he’s still techincally a Chelsea player, but is nowhere near the first team and should be joining Napoli before the transfer window wraps up.

Joao Felix – Atletico Madrid

£113m

When Joao Felix first burst onto the scene at Benfica, he looked like one of the most promising young footballers in the world and seemingly every major club had an interest in him. It was Atletico Madrid who landed his signature, though, spending £113m on his services in 2019. Unfortunately, the style of play that Diego Simeone employed at the club just didn’t mesh well with the youngster and he struggled to find his feet.

As a result, he never scored more than 10 times in a season for the club and now after loans at Chelsea and Barcelona, he’s rejoined the former on a permanent deal. He cost around £42m, so Atletico got a portion of the fee they spent back, but it still has to be considered a big waste.

Ousmane Dembele – Barcelona

£135m

Another Barcelona misfire here and it’s one that many might have seen coming. The risks that come with spending huge amounts of money on players mean teams should make sure they are certain this is the type of player they want. What Barcelona did with Ousmane Dembele is watch him play one season of football with Borussia Dortmund before spending £135m on his services.

It was a recipe for disaster and despite some bright spells, his time in Spain will go down as a failure ultimately. He spent six years at Barcelona and scored just 40 times in 185 appearances before he left for PSG.

Philippe Coutinho – Barcelona

£105m

During his time at Liverpool, Philippe Coutinho transformed into one of the best players in the world. He thrived at Anfield and was the focal point in a lot of what the club wanted to do on the pitch. At the time, the Reds were far from the impressive team that they’ve become in the years since, though, so when Barcelona came calling, there was little they could do but accept the £105m bid and allow the Brazilian his dream move.

In hindsight, Liverpool will be thrilled with what went down as they used that money to bring in players like Alisson and Mohamed Salah, the men responsible for delivering their first ever Premier League title. Coutinho, on the other hand, had a nightmare spell in Spain and never really looked like the same player. His time at Camp Nou spanned four years, but he was also loaned out on a couple of occasions and played just 106 times for Barcelona. That’s just over £1m for every game played. Yikes.

Eden Hazard – Real Madrid

£130m

Another player who thrived in England, but completely fell off once he moved to Spain, Eden Hazard’s transfer to Real Madrid should have been the start of an exciting new era in his career. It felt like the culmination of a very impressive tenure at Chelsea and the next natural step was for him to take his game to a whole new level.

Los Blancos had been interested in his services for quite some time and ultimately spent £130m on the Belgian in 2019. They didn’t get the superstar they’d seen at Chelsea, though. Instead, they got an out of shape, injury prone, shell of the star that had dominated English football. After four years, Hazard played just 76 times for Madrid and scored seven times in all competitions. He was released for free in 2023 and subsequently retired from football at the age of 32.