In recent years clubs pay huge sums for the most promising and talented players. Unfortunately, when a player moves to a new team or a new championship for himself, the situation is often not the best. There are many examples when a superstar, when transferred to a new place for himself, does not show even 10% of his real abilities. Such transfers are considered failed. This affects the game of the club, the prospects in the championship and Eurocups, which also affects the odds of bookmakers.
The bookmaker Galsport Zambia offers high odds for football competitions and other sports, therefore it is in demand among players from Zambia. However, for accurate bets, you need to know about the state of affairs of the teams from the inside, especially if new players will play in the roster. In this article, we will look at the TOP 7 most failed transfers in the history of modern football.
Ousmane Dembele: from Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona
At some stage, Dembele was called one of the most promising French players, but after moving to Barcelona, Ousmane’s career went downhill. The Catalans paid a fantastic amount of 105 million euros for the talented Frenchman, and this despite the fact that Dembele spent only one good season in the Bundesliga. No one doubts the player’s talent, but in order to justify the cost paid for him, he needs to play many times better. In addition, the Frenchman has discipline problems and is often prone to injury.
Nicolas Pepe: from Lille to Arsenal (London)
When the Frenchman played in Ligue 1, it seemed that he was one of the most talented players in the championship. After moving to the Premier League, Pepe showed his high class in some games and looked like a real star. However, in his last season for Arsenal, Nicolas managed to score only one goal, which is clearly not what the club bosses, who paid £79 million for the player in 2019, expected. Subsequently, this Arsenal transfer can claim to be one of the most disastrous in the history of the club.
Kepa Arrizabalaga: from Athletic to Chelsea
The transfer of the Spanish goalkeeper was a record and so far, in world football, there have been no larger transfers of goalkeepers. However, in many ways, £72m was wasted by Chelsea as the goalkeeper has so far lost the competition to Edouard Mendy. Now Kepa cannot be called a reliable goalkeeper. He has a poor save-to-goal record and it is likely that the goalkeeper’s days are numbered at the London club.
Romelu Lukaku: From Everton to Manchester United
The Belgian ramming forward signed for the Red Devils in 2017 for £75m. At the time of the transfer, the player had proven himself in the Premier League and it seemed that he would become a great goalscorer in the team of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, however, after a great start, Lukaku began to score less and less and gradually fell into the starting XI. However, Manchester United fans still believe that Lukaku should have waited out the bad period and he would again please them with goals scored.
Joao Felix: From Benfica to Atlético Madrid
In the 2019 summer transfer window, the Mattress Sets paid €126m for the Portuguese prodigy. Already in 2022, the player stopped getting into Diego Simeone’s starting lineup and was loaned to Chelsea, where he also could not win the fight in the starting lineup. In 96 matches for Atlético, Felix scored only 25 goals. The player is currently only 23 years old and may still be able to restart his career. However, Atletico bosses will not be able to return even half of the money for the transfer of the Portuguese.
Felipe Coutinho: from Liverpool to Barcelona
This transfer was one of the largest in the history of Liverpool, but one of the most disastrous in the history of Barcelona. The Catalans paid 120 million euros for the Brazilian midfielder, but in 4 years with Barcelona, his best match was the fight for Bayern against Barca in the Champions League, when he scored a double. At that time, the football player was in a German club on loan. Subsequently, the Brazilian moved to Aston Villa in 2022 for just 20 million euros.
Eden Hazard: from Chelsea to Real Madrid (Madrid)
Hazard’s transfer cost Madrid 160 million euros. However, diehard Real Madrid fans will rightly point out that he hasn’t recovered even 10% of that value. The Belgian midfielder had been unlucky with injuries, putting on weight and looking like a cheap copy of himself at Chelsea. Hazard won many trophies with Real Madrid, but his contribution to these victories was minimal.
