Over the years, the demands set by football clubs and their owners have gone through a drastic transition. While the hunt for undisputed success remains the ultimate motive, some have turned to making very absurd decisions in order to achieve the same goal.
For whatever reason it may be, this has happened quite a lot of times and will probably happen again in the coming years due to the challenging demands of modern football and the hunger for success.
In this compilation, we take a look at some of the most under whelming signings made by top clubs over the years:
#5 Steve Sidwell – Chelsea
Chelsea’s response to Manchester United dethroning them as Premier League champions in 2007 was quite bizarre, to say the least. The Blues were champions of England for two consecutive years under Jose Mourinho but were overthrown by Sir Alex Ferguson’s United in the 2007/08 season and they responded by signing Steve Sidwell on a free transfer from Reading, a very surprising move given the players they had spent millions on.
Sidwell spent only a year at Chelsea, making just 15 league appearances. The midfielder followed Mourinho through the exit door, in a £5m move to Aston Villa.
Looking back at his time with Chelsea, the player said, “I’d rather have finished my career and say I tried to give it a go and it didn’t work out, and I can tell my boys and my grandsons that I played for Chelsea, rather than saying: ‘Well I could have played for them’”.
#4 Mikael Silvestre – Arsenal
When Sir Alex Ferguson lets one of his players join their direct rivals, it doesn’t take a genius to guess that the alarm bells are ringing. However, his nemesis in the early 2000s, Arsene Wenger, failed to realise that simple fact and made the decision of going ahead with the signing of the then 31-year-old Frenchman who had already declined by the time he made his move to London.
Despite offers from Manchester City and from France, Wenger personally convinced the player to make the move to Arsenal, making him the first player since Brian Kidd in 1974 to move from United to Arsenal.
Silvestre made just 26 appearances in his two years with Gunners and eventually moved to Werder Bremen before plying his trade in the MLS and also in the Indian Super League with Chennaiyin FC.
#3 Nicklas Bendtner – Juventus
When you look back at this one, you would wonder why Juventus made an approach for someone who played for a struggling Sunderland side in the first place. The only possible justification for a rather bizarre transfer can be the Dane’s international goal-scoring record – he is the second highest goal-getter for Denmark, having scored 29 goals on the International stage.
His loan spell at Turin was disastrous; in nine appearances for the Bianconeri, he failed to find the back of the net even once.
Despite of a forward line with the likes of Bendtner and a rather unappealing Nicolas Anelka, who was shipped in on loan from China, Juventus went on to win the league by a healthy margin under Antonio Conte. An absurd transfer no matter in what way you look at it!
#2 David Bellion – Manchester United
Back in 2003, Manchester United inexplicably swooped in for Sunderland striker David Bellion on a free transfer. The Frenchman was a part of the Blackcaps side who were relegated in 2003 after they registered the third lowest Premier League points tally ever.
Bellion’s transfer to United came through amidst tapping up allegations that were later resolved by Sunderland receiving a compensation of £2m, which could go upto £3m depending on the amount of appearances he would make at Old Trafford, in an out-of-court agreement.
It came to the footballing world as a surprise when United signed someone who mustered a single league goal during his time with Sunderland and he justified the doubters by struggling to make an impact at the club and moved on after spending three wasteful years at Old Trafford.
Luckily for the Red Devils, Sir Alex Ferguson signed a certain Cristiano Ronaldo in the same summer, a player who went on to change the fortunes of the club by becoming a world-beater.
#1 Julien Faubert – Real Madrid
One of the most comical transfers in the history of modern football, Julien Faubert joined Real Madrid on loan from West Ham United in 2009 with an option to purchase him at the end of his spell. A clause that Los Blancos obviously didn’t want to be invoked at any cost considering his under whelming performances in training after he reportedly missed a session when he mistakenly thought that he had a day off!
Years after this absurd move, Faubert’s agent Yvan Le Mee revealed the details of how the Frenchman ended up at a club of Real Madrid’s stature in the 2008/09 season. Juande Ramos, the then Real manager, was keen on signing a winger after negotiations for Wigan Athletic’s Antonio Valencia broke down over a huge asking price and his former sporting director, Damien Comolli convinced him that the player is highly spoken of in London.
In the end, Faubert managed a mere 54 minutes of action for Madrid and is still fondly remembered for falling asleep on the bench against Villarreal on one occasion.
