While there have been plenty of transfer bargains in football, there has also been an eye-watering amount of money wasted on players that were simply not good enough for their clubs.
Here, FootballWhispers picks out the biggest transfer flops of all time by position.
Biggest Transfer FlopsContents
1. The Flops XI2. GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga3. RB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka4. RCB: Axel Disasi5. LCB: Max Kilman6. LB: Milos Kerkez7. RCM: Arthur Melo8. LCM: Paul Pogba9. CAM: Phillipe Coutinho10. RW: Antony11. ST: Joao Felix12. LW: Jadon SanchoThe Flops XI
Combined fees: £774m 4-2-3-1 ST Felix Atletico Madrid £109m LW Sancho Man United £73m CAM Coutinho Barcelona £116m RW Antony Man United £81m CM Pogba Man United £90m CM Melo Juventus £69m LB Kerkez Liverpool £40m CB Kilman West Ham £41m CB Disasi Chelsea £39m RB Wan-Bissaka Man United £47m GK Kepa Chelsea £69m Transfer fees at time of signing Football Whispers StrikerJoao Felix, Atletico Madrid, £109m Left wingerJadon Sancho, Manchester United, £73m Attacking midfielderPhilippe Coutinho, Barcelona, £116m Right wingerAntony, Manchester United, £81m Central midfielderPaul Pogba, Manchester United, £90m Central midfielderArthur Melo, Juventus, £69m Left-backMilos Kerkez, Liverpool, £40m Centre-backNathan Kilman, West Ham, £41m Centre-backAxel Disasi, Chelsea, £39m Right-backAaron Wan-Bissaka, Manchester United, £47m GoalkeeperKepa Arrizabalaga, Chelsea, £69m*all fees from Transfermarkt
GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga
Featured in our article of Chelsea’s worst Premier League signings of all time, Kepa Arrizabalaga remains the world's most expensive goalkeeper despite Chelsea signing him in 2018.
He made numerous mistakes in his first couple of seasons with the Blues, and was quickly dropped as their number one before being loaned out to Real Madrid and Bournemouth, and eventually sold for as little as £5m to Arsenal.
RB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was not actually awful at Manchester United, but he did cost a lot of money.
He failed to win the Premier League or Champions League at Old Trafford, and was sold to West Ham United for over a £30m loss.
RCB: Axel Disasi
After his first season with Chelsea, it quickly became apparent that they did not fancy Axel Disasi.
Spending a hefty £39m for him, he has recently been sent out on his third loan spell away from the club to Crystal Palace.
LCB: Max Kilman
Max Kilman is still playing for West Ham, despite being relegated from the Premier League last season.
He has never been rated by a large portion of Hammers fans, and never looked close to the £41m they paid Wolverhampton Wanderers to sign him.
LB: Milos Kerkez
Milos Kerkez of Liverpool – Photo by Alfie Cosgrove / News Images / Sipa USA / Icon SportPerhaps a harsh pick as he has only had one full season at Liverpool, but Milos Kerkez has not performed to the level he was doing at Bournemouth.
The left-back struggles to defend, evident by being unable to track Anthony Elanga back after he scored the opener in Liverpool's 2-2 draw at Newcastle United in their first game of the new season, and has not offered enough going forward either.
RCM: Arthur Melo
Another player who flopped at Liverpool was Arthur Melo, although he is perhaps most remembered for Juventus splashing £69m on him in 2020.
The fee was especially significant as it was in the year that Covid spread, and he was incidentally released by Juve this summer after four loan spells away from the club.
LCM: Paul Pogba
Paul Pogba had two spells at Man United, but after being released as a youngster, the Red Devils brought him back for £90m.
Unfortunately, Pogba never lived up to the hype he had at Juventus after winning World Cup 2018 with France, and he was released again by the club, resulting in a £90m loss!
CAM: Phillipe Coutinho
Phillipe Coutinho is the most expensive flop in this XI at £116m, the fee Barcelona paid to sign him from Liverpool.
It was just not meant to be at the Camp Nou, where the Brazilian managed an underwhelming 39 goal contributions in 106 appearances before being loaned out twice to Bayern Munich and Aston Villa and sold to the latter.
RW: Antony
Antony is one of Man United's worst-ever players – Photo by PA Images / Icon SportHeadlining our article of Man United’s worst Premier League XI of all time, Antony was signed for a hugely inflated fee.
He struggled for any consistent output at Old Trafford, recording just 17 goal contributions in 96 appearances.
ST: Joao Felix
Joao Felix is the second-most expensive player in this XI, signed by Atletico Madrid for £109m.
For that sum of money, they would have expected so much more than what the Portuguese delivered, who never hit double figures for goals in LaLiga.
LW: Jadon Sancho
The fourth Red Devils player in this XI and judged by us as Man United's worst Premier League signing of all time, Jadon Sancho completes our team of flops.
Like many of Man United's other signings, there was a lot of hype when Sancho arrived at Old Trafford, but he managed just 18 goal contributions in 83 appearances and was released by the club this summer.
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