Samuel Eto To Anzhi
1. Anzhi | 2011 | €115m | The Dagestan side secured the services of Roberto Carlos, Samuel Eto’o, M’bark Boussoufa, Jucilei and Mehdi Carcela amid others as they aimed to shake up the Russian top flight following the arrival of billionaire owner Suleyman Kerimov. They eventually failed to join the Russian elite, though, and were forced to sell all their stars when Kerimov cut their budget, leading to relegation in 2014.
Loic Remy to QPR
2. QPR | 2012 | €50m | After only narrowly avoiding relegation in 2011-12, the R's spent big on players like Ji-Sung Park, Jose Bosingwa, Julio Cesar, Esteban Granero, Stephane M'Bia, and Loic Remy. They consequently ended up with the biggest wage budget outside the top seven, but it was to no avail as they finished 20th and relegated after all.
Eric Lamela To Tottenham
3. Tottenham | 2013 | €150m | The Londoners decided to spend big after cashing in on Gareth Bale and brought in players such as Roberto Soldado, Erik Lamela, Paulinho and Christian Eriksen. Whereas the Dane has been a success at White Hart Lane, the same cannot be said for the club’s other high-profile signings, who have all failed to live up to the high expectations.
Ramadel Falcao To Monaco
4. Monaco | 2013 | €190m | The French outfit signed Radamel Falcao, Joao Moutinho,
James Rodriguez and Geoffrey Kondogbia amid others in an attempt to return to the European elite.
A knee injury ruined the Colombian striker’s first season, however, before he left for Manchester United,
while his compatriot was sold for a hefty profit to Real Madrid after just one season.
The Portuguese midfielder, meanwhile, has yet to replicate the form that saw him become a star
in his home country.
Jaap Stam to Lazio
5. Lazio | 2001 | €120m | The Stadio Olimpico club did not hold back on the transfer market as they dreamed of becoming part of the European elite. Gaizka Mendieta, Darko Kovacevic, Stefano Fiore, Giuliano Giannichedda and Jaap Stam were all brought in and Lazio seemed like genuine contenders. The Spanish midfielder flopped in Serie A, though, while Kovacevic was equally unimpressive. Only the Dutch defender lived up to the high expectations and the Romans failed to win any silverware.
Diego Ribas To Juventus
6. Juventus | 2009 | €55m | Ever since their return to Serie A in 2007, the Turin giants had been unable to really challenge for the Scudetto. Bringing in Brazilian duo Diego and Felipe Melo plus experienced defender Fabio Grosso was meant to turn them into genuine title contenders again. Thing turned out different, though, as all three flopped at Juve and things only got better when Antonio Conte arrived at the club in 2011.
Balotelli To Liverpool
7. Liverpool | 2014 | €160m | The Premier League outfit brought in several
players following the departure of Luis Suarez to Barcelona - including Mario Balotelli, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Lazar Markovic and Alberto Moreno - but none of the new arrivals
have been able to make much of an impact so far. Liverpool have been in poor form in the Premier
League, while their Champions League adventure has already come to an end after the group stages.
Kaka To Real Madrid
8. Real Madrid | 2009 | €260m | The Santiago Bernabeu side lured Cristiano Ronaldo,
Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso, Kaka, Raul Albiol and Alvaro
Negredo to the Spanish capital as they aimed to end Barcelona’s dominance.
Ronaldo, Benzema and Alonso all proved to be excellent signings,
yet Kaka's hugely unsuccessful spell left the Madrid hierarchy behind feeling they had wasted €65m.
Miralem Sulejmani To Ajax
9. Ajax | 2008 | €35m | The reigning Eredivisie champions broke their transfer record to sign Miralem Sulejmani from Heerenveen, while Dario Cvitanich, Oleguer, Evander Sno and Ismail Aissati weren’t cheap either as they wanted to give new coach Marco van Basten the players he needed to lead them to silverware again. Both Sulejmani and Cvitanich flopped, however, and Ajax had to settle for second place in the end.
Alessio Cerci to Athletico Madrid
10. Atletico Madrid | 2014 | €110m | After losing Thibaut Courtois, Filipe Luis and Diego Costa, the reigning Spanish champions spent big to make sure they were competitive again in 2014-15, yet some of their high-profile signings have been struggling to find their feet at the Vicente Calderon. Mario Mandzukic has been in fine form so far, but Jan Oblak, Alessio Cerci and Raul Jimenez have all been unimpressive, while Antoine Griezmann has only convinced in patches.
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