10 worst football contracts in history
Contents:
• Millions of euros and pounds worth of failed deals, players who have become the worst disappointment of their clubs – that's what our list of the worst football contracts in history consists of.
10. Julien Fauber
There are people who are still asking what the Real Madrid club saw in this French player in 2009 to take him on loan for 1,5 million euros with an option to buy in the future for 6 million euros. At first, neither the player himself nor his agent Ivan Le Mi believed in such luck.
• Fauber ended up playing world-class football for just 60 minutes, appearing in two Real Madrid matches. One day, he didn't come to practice, mistakenly thinking that he had a day off today. And during the game with Villarreal, the player simply fell asleep on the bench, although he himself assures that he only closed his eyes for 30 seconds. After this, the Frenchman simply did not have a chance to stay at Real Madrid, and he returned to his native West Ham club.
9. Gaizka Mendieta
the most expensive football transfers in history. From the club "Valencia" Gaiska left in the rays of glory and having the rank of champion of Spain.
• However, he did not adapt very well to tough Italian football, and never in 20 matches did he shine on the field as he did in his native Spain. Then Mendieta's career included clubs such as Barcelona and Middlesbrough, but the player never returned to the success he had at Valencia.
8. Philippe Christanval
Philippe's career began at AS Monaco, for which he played 81 games. In 2000, Christenval received the title of "Best Young Footballer of the French Championship". And in 2001, he moved to the Barcelona club for 6,5 million euros.
• In two seasons with Barça, he made 31 appearances but always looked slow and awkward. After that, Cristanval's career began to decline, due to a series of injuries. The clubs in which he played terminated contracts with him, and in the end he decided to leave the football field forever.
7. Yoann Gourcuff
After a disappointing and brief spell at AC Milan, Yoann Gourcuff's career took on a new lease of life when he joined Bordeaux in 2008. His performances even earned comparisons with Zinedine Zidane as Yoann helped Bordeaux win the league and the League Cup.
• “If you can't beat him, buy him,” Lyon apparently thought, and signed Gourcuff to a €22m contract in 2010. However, in his five years at Lyon, Gourcuff missed over 90 games due to injury and now plays for Dijon.
6. Ricardo Quaresma
This Portuguese footballer arrived at the Italian International for almost 19 million euros back in 2008, but he never convinced Mourinho of his effectiveness. In December 2008, Quaresma was named the main disappointment of the season in Italy, and received the Golden Urn anti-award.
• Mourinho loaned Quaresma to Chelsea where many don't even remember such a player as he never started playing for the club. He returned to the Italian club and then was able to resume his career in Turkey, but his reputation was torn to shreds.
5. Ricardo "Kaka" Isekson dos Santos Latey
It seems implausible that this Brazilian footballer could be on the list of the worst football contracts of the century. In his youth, Ricardo (in his homeland he is called "Kaka", short for his name) was one of the best players of his generation, a stylish and strong midfielder. He was the last player to win the Ballon D'or before Messi and Ronaldo's decade of dominance.
• Kaka became the most expensive player in the world when he joined Real Madrid in 2009 for €68,5m. But it soon became apparent that his best years were behind him. The reason for this was a serious injury, and during the rehabilitation, the place of the Brazilian in the squad was taken by Mesut Ozil. In 2013, Kaka was traded back to Milan for a €45,5m loss – still officially the biggest of all time.
4. Francis Jeffers
After spending his youth at Everton, Jeffers thought he had landed a good deal when he moved to Arsenal in 2001 for £8m. If he played productively, he would have received another 2 million pounds.
• However, it became clear that the footballer made a huge mistake, quickly earning the title of Arsenal's worst signing. He was injured and did not participate in any of the final matches.
3. Afonso Alves
An impressive result of 45 goals in 39 matches for the Dutch "Heerenveen" provided Alves with the title of "next Pelé", and the professional English club "Middlesbrough" became interested in a promising football player. In 2008, he poached Alfonso for £12 million, setting a new price record for the British.
• But Alves only scored six goals in his debut season, half of which were against Manchester City, and the following season was even worse with just four goals in the English Premier League. Not surprisingly, the acquisition of Alves was one of the biggest financial blows for Middlesbrough in the history of the club.
2. Carlos Alberto De Jesus
Carlos Alberto's €7,8m contract could well be considered the worst football transfer in Bundesliga history. It's hard to talk about a player who only played 195 minutes for Werder Bremen and didn't show anything significant.
• Carlos Alberto explained his weak game and return in training with insomnia. For the Bremen, it was too expensive insomnia, so they hurried to "fuse" the Brazilian footballer, first in Sao Paulo, and later in Botafogo and Vasco da Gama.
1. Andrey Shevchenko
If ever there was a striker worth breaking a piggy bank to acquire, it's Andriy Shevchenko. He is considered the top scorer in the history of the Ukrainian national team and the second scorer in the history of the Milan club, for which he played for 7 years.
• However, due to the economic problems of the club, Shevchenko decided to change it to the English Chelsea. The transfer was estimated at 30 million pounds. But Shevchenko's waning limbs and the pace of English football didn't match up, making it the worst contract in football history. In addition, he suffered a severe back injury and two operations. After two difficult years at Chelsea, Shevchenko returned to AC Milan and then to Dynamo Kyiv as his brilliant career unfortunately came to an end.
