Over the years, transfers in the history of football have evolved from simple player swaps across the teams to multi-million-dollar deals involving some of the biggest names in the world of football, including Zinedine Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, Neymar and many others.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!While transfers ideally allow football clubs to capture more influential players and enhance their on-field dominance, a few transfers in the past few decades have turned out to be nothing short of a misery for these football clubs.
In this article we will take a look at the top four biggest transfers in the history of football that went wrong.
Top 4 Biggest Transfer Flops in Football History
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Ousmane Dembele
At the first spot in our list of the top four biggest transfer flops in the history of football, we have French professional football player, Ousmane Dembélé, who currently plays as a winger for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the France national team.
Ousmane Dembélé was transferred from Borussia Dortmund to Barcelona in 2017 for a whopping deal worth €105m + €40m in add-ons. Although Ousmane Dembélé was supposed to be one of the most prominent trailblazers for Barcelona, the insanely expensive transfer turned into one of the biggest blunders for the Barcelona club. Ousmane Dembélé suffered multiple hamstring injuries early in his Barcelona career which made him miss over a hundred games.
Although the Barcelona club even assigned him a personal trainer, Dembélé’s inconsistency plagued his time at the club. In 2023, Ousmane Dembélé was eventually transferred to Paris Saint-Germain in 2023 for just €50m.
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Eden Hazard
Former professional football player Eden Hazard, who played as a winger or attacking midfielder for Lille, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and the Belgium national team, is at the second spot in our list of the top four biggest transfer flops in the history of football. Often regarded as one of the greatest football players of his generation, Eden Hazard was transferred to Real Madrid from Chelsea in 2019 for a whopping €100m plus bonuses.
Although this transfer was anticipated to be a game-changing move for Real Madrid, it turned out to be one of the most disappointing moves for the club. Eden Hazard suffered major injuries, including ankle fractures and hamstring pulls, due to which he missed out on over 60 crucial games in four seasons.
Additionally, although hailed as one of the finest dribblers and match-winners, Eden Hazard majorly failed to regain his explosive pace after being transferred to Real Madrid and managed to score only 7 goals in 76 appearances, which left his fans in utter shock. As a consequence, Eden Hazard’s contract with the Real Madrid club mutually ended in 2023.
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Philippe Coutinho
At the third spot in our list of the top four biggest transfer flops in the history of football, we have Brazilian professional football player, Philippe Coutinho, who plays as an attacking midfielder or left-winger for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Vasco da Gama. Often commemorated by millions of football aficionados for his ability to conjure curling long-range shots, Philippe Coutinho was transferred from Liverpool to Barcelona in 2018 for a whopping €145 million.
Shockingly, it turned out to be one of the worst transfers in the history of football. Philippe Coutinho failed to fit into Barcelona’s system and always thrived as a free-roaming playmaker. Although Barcelona spent a hefty €145 million on Philippe Coutinho, he brutally failed to justify his price tag and contributed only 25 goals and 14 assists in a total of 106 games.
Additionally, Philippe was also held accountable for Bayern’s 8-2 demolition of Barcelona in the Champions League, even scoring twice against his parent club.
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Neymar
Finally, at the fourth spot in our list of the top four biggest transfer flops in the history of football, we have Brazilian professional football player, Neymar, who plays as a left-winger, attacking midfielder or forward for Campeonato Brasileiro Série Ateam Santos. Often hailed as one of the greatest football players of all-time, Neymar was transferred from Paris Saint-Germain to Al Hilal in 2023 for a staggering transfer fee of €90 million.
Just a few months after joining Al Hilal, Neymar suffered a major torn ACL and meniscus injury while playing for Brazil in October 2023, which immediately ruled him out of the entire remaining season.
Although the Al Hilal club continued paying him a whopping €150 million per year as an annual wage, he failed to appear in the majority of matches. Additionally, despite Neymar’s absence, Al Hilal dominated the Saudi Pro League, which raised numerous speculations and controversies around his insanely expensive transfer to the club.
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