Paying out big money for an established star is no guarantee of success, and the history of the Premier League is littered with big money signings that didn’t work out for one reason or another – here are some of the most high profile examples. For all the latest footie news, transfer gossip, and Free Fantasy Football, go to skysports.com.
Juan Sebastian Veron
Sir Alex smashed Manchester United and the English Premier League’s transfer record in order to bring the Argentinian star to Old Trafford in 2001. At the time he was considered one of the best players in world football, but his inability to adjust to the pace of the Premier League saw him sold off to Chelsea two seasons later for just half of his original £28.1m transfer fee.
Andriy Shevchenko
The Ukranian striker arrived at Stamford Bridge with a world-beating reputation – and a £30.8m price tag to match. However, his playing style was not really very well suited to that of Mourinho’s Chelsea, or the Premier League in general, and he failed to cement a place in the first team, despite the backing of billionaire owner Roman Abramovich. Mourinho’s failure to pick him ahead of the in-form Didier Drogba, who was a lot more suited to Chelsea’s playing style, is believed to be one of the reasons why Abramovich chose to dispense with arguably the best manager they have ever had. He was loaned back to Milan the following year, but failed to recapture the form of his younger years, and his career gradually petered out from there.
Fernando Torres
A couple of years back, Torres was one of the most feared strikers in the Premiership, leading the line for Rafa Benitez’s Liverpool. In the middle of the 2010-11 season, Chelsea tested Liverpool’s resolve with a £50m bid for the player, which they accepted. However, like Shevchenko before him, Torres is another one of Abramovich’s pet signings that has failed to live up to a massive transfer fee, scoring few goals and generally displaying less confidence than he used to in a red shirt. There have been signs of a return to form in recent times, but given the money that Chelsea paid for him, they can only be disappointed with the return on their investment to date.
Dimitar Berbatov
Some excellent displays in a Tottenham shirt earned the Bulgarian forward a big money move to Manchester United, but despite patches of good form, he is another signing that has failed to live up to expectations at Old Trafford. He was originally signed as a foil for Wayne Rooney, but the emergence of other strikers such as Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck have seen him relegated to the bench for most of the important matches, and these days, he only tends to get a run out when Rooney is injured or being rested.
Sergei Rebrov
George Graham smashed Tottenham’s transfer record with the £11m signing of the highly rated Ukranian forward in 2000, but following the sacking of Graham the following year, Rebrov failed to establish himself under Glenn Hoddle, and ended up being sent out on loan to Fenerbahce.
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