The transfer market could be puzzling with an array of players holding the promise of delivering results when taking up a new challenge with new clubs.
However, some players have always turned out to be flop signings, falling absolutely below expectations.
Here, we will take a look at the top 10 flop signings in modern football:
Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire is among our list of top 10 flop signings in modern football. Maguire have become a household name for impropriety and costly gaffes in football.
The England defender joined Manchester United for a record £80m in 2019 from Leciester City.
Maguire did not make less than 30 Premier League appearances for Manchester United in his first three seasons at Manchester United.
Now, under Erik Ten Hag, he has seen his rating dropped drastically. Maguire made just 16 appearances for Manchester United last season. His Manchester United misfortunes shows no sign of abating as he faces stiff competition from Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez at Manchester United defense.
Paul Pogba
Paul Pogba cannot be left out of our top 10 flop signings in modern football. After a scintillating youth career at Manchester United, Pogba took his professional career to the next level at Juventus but a return to Manchester United saw the French star suffer a drastic career decline.
Pogba joined Manchester United for £89.3m in 2016. After a great start in his first three seasons at Old Trafford, Pogba suffered series of injuries which relegated him to the sidelines.
Towards the end of his contract, Pogba’s struggles at Manchester United to return to elite level performance led to a clash with the club’s hierarchy. The World Cup winner left Manchester United at the lowest depth of his career, refusing to renew his contract, and granting the infamous Pogmentary Documentary, blasting Manchester United.
Andy Carroll
Andy Carroll made his first professional club debut for Newcastle United and was tipped as one of the most promising English strikers in the Premier League but after joining Liverpool in 2011, Carroll’s career suffered a sharp decline. His spell with Liverpool was marred with injuries. He struggled to find the back of the net, scoring only 6 times in 44 games unlike his 31-goal tally for Newcastle United.
He was subsequently loaned out to West Ham where he was able to revive his career, securing a permanent deal with the Hammers after an impressive debut season.
Ali Dia
Former Senegal international, Ali Dia, is also one of the biggest flop signings in modern football.
Ali Dia joined Southampton as a free agent in 1997 front Vfb Lubeck in Germany and ended up making just one appearance for the Saints.
After a disappointing spell with Southampton, Ali Dia retired from football.
Romelu Lukaku
Also on our top 10 flop signings in modern football is Romelu Lukaku. Lukaku was on top of his game when he played for Manchester United in 2017/18 and 2018/19 season.
He joined Inter Milan and was still playing at the top level for the club before his career took a drastic decline following a £97.3m move to Chelsea.
At Chelsea, Lukaku played for only one season, making 26 appearances with 8 goals before he was loaned back to Inter Milan where he breath life back to his career.
Inter Milan are ready to extend his loan deal but Chelsea are asking for direct buyout.
Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard’s inglorious spell with Real Madrid has made him the biggest flop signings in modern football. The former Chelsea player joined Real Madrid on a club record transfer deal worth £150m.
Since arriving at Real Madrid, Hazard struggled for a place in the squad. He made 16 La Liga appearances in his first season, 14 in his second season, 18 in his second season, and 6 in his last season. Real Madrid had to terminate his contract with a year remaining to let him leave the club.
Adrian Mutu
Adrian Mutu, 44, who is now a football manager with Steua Bucuresti in Romania, his homeland, had a great career in Italian football, playing for top clubs in Serie A.
Mutu had stints with Inter Milan, Hellas Verona, and Parma before joining Chelsea in 2003 – a move that saw him hit the lows of his career.
Mutu made 26 appearances for Chelsea, scoring 6 goals. He spent just a season at the club and returned to Italy where he was able to revive his career.
Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres had a great career with his boyhood club, Atletico Madrid before moving to the Premier League where he played for Liverpool in 2007.
He had a largely successful career with the Reds scoring 65 goals in 102 appearances but his £50m move to Chelsea marked the gradual decline of his career.
He managed 20 goals for the Blues in his four years stint and had to be loaned to AC Milan, where he subsequently completed a move back to Atletico Madrid.
Angel Di Maria
Angel Di Maria is also on our list of top 10 flop signings in modern football. Di Maria did have a great career with Real Madrid but after joining Manchester United for £59.7m, his career took a drastic downturn.
The Argentine international ended up playing for just one season for Manchester United after he managed only 26 appearances with 3 goals for the club.
Di Maria was however able to return to elite level performance when he joined PSG in 2015 and has continued at top level both for his clubs and Argentina national team.
Joey Barton
Joey Barton was an elite English footballer. Barton made his first professional appearance for Manchester City, making 130 Premier League appearances for the club, scoring 15 goals as a midfielder.
He also played for Newcastle United, scoring 7 goals in his 81 appearances. In 2011, he joined Queens Park Rangers, made 93 appearances for the club and scored 7 goals. In 2015, Barton joined Burnley from QPR. He had a great outing with the club, making 38 appearances and scoring 3 goals.
Barton’s career began to decline when he joined Rangers in Scotland in 2017. He made only 5 appearances for the club and his contract was terminated following a training ground bust-up with Andy Halliday, his teammate.
He returned to Burnley in 2017 on free transfer and could only manage 14 appearances for the club before calling time on his career.
