'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAFAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAwb/2gAIAQEAAAAAgT//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAC/9oACAECEAAAAH//xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD/9oACAEDEAAAAH//xAAfEAACAQQCAwAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMABAUREiEiMaH/2gAIAQEAAT8Aw1gkWYyllC7iG3cAB/IOetFhXC0HTQzEj2RNr5qv/8QAGhEAAQUBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQACAxKBsf/aAAgBAgEBPwCRovg4v//EABoRAQABBQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEDAAIUUcH/2gAIAQMBAT8Aikcax2vK/9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Over the last decade, the transfer market has gone through a paradigm shift. Rich clubs have become richer, state-backed clubs have become more common, and no one seems to mind adding a couple of extra zeroes at the end.
As a result, we have witnessed multiple €100million-plus transfers over the last few years, many of which have turned out to be bad investments.
In this section, we will take a look at some huge-money deals that have not worked out the way all parties had hoped.
Here are the five worst €100million-plus transfers in football history:
#5 Antoine Griezmann - Atletico Madrid to Barcelona for €120 million in 2019
Antoine Griezmann was one of the world’s best players when Barcelona splurged €120 million to sign him from Atletico Madrid in 2019.
The 2018 World Cup winner was set to be Luis Suarez’s successor at the Camp Nou, but he never got close to thriving in the Catalonian capital.
Griezmann scored 15 goals and provided four assists in 48 appearances across competitions for the Blaugrana in his debut season. He often looked clueless about his role in the team and was seemingly struggling to play with confidence in front of goal.
The France international’s goal involvements improved markedly the following season (2020-21). He scored 20 goals and provided 13 assists in 51 matches in all competitions.
Despite his improvement, Barcelona did not deem him an invaluable member of the club and loaned him out to Atletico Madrid a few days into the 2021-22 season.
Griezmann, who has recorded 35 goals for Barcelona in 102 games, is set to return to the Camp Nou at the end of his two-year loan deal in 2023.
#4 Romelu Lukaku - Inter Milan to Chelsea for €113 million in 2021
Romelu Lukaku did not have much luck at Chelsea during his first spell with the club. He played 15 games for the Blues’ senior team between 2011 and 2014. In between, the Belgian spent two seasons on loan at West Bromwich Albion and Everton, respectively.
Lukaku was eventually sold to Everton for €35.36 million fee in 2014 and found his way back to Stamford Bridge via Inter Milan last summer.
Signed for a club-record €113 million, Lukaku was expected to put an end to Chelsea’s goalscoring woes. Instead, he added to their misery, rarely producing notable performances. The striker also created off-field controversies by professing his love for his former club Inter Milan.
In the 2021-22 season, Lukaku took part in 44 games across competitions for the Blues, recording 15 goals and two assists.
Disappointed with his performances and aware of his intention to return to Inter, Chelsea recently struck a season-long loan deal with the Italian outfit.
He is set to return to Stamford Bridge after the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
#3 Paul Pogba - Juventus to Manchester United for €105 million in 2016
Rising through Manchester United’s academy, Paul Pogba made his Premier League debut in the 2011-12 campaign. He showed promise, but United did not deem him good enough to be given a contract extension. Juventus capitalized on the opportunity and signed the young Frenchman as a free agent in the summer of 2012.
Pogba played 178 games for Juve across competitions between 2012 and 2016, scoring 34 goals and providing 40 assists, helping them to four Serie A titles. Impressed with their former academy star, United brought him back to Old Trafford for a club-record €105 million fee in August 2016.
Over the next six seasons, he made more headlines for controversies than he did for his on-field performances. He had his moments, but they were usually few and far between, nearly not enough to justify his sky-high billing.
After scoring 39 goals and providing 51 assists in 226 games in his second Manchester United spell, Pogba left the club as a free agent on July 1.
He is expected to join Juventus once again in the coming days.
#2 Philippe Coutinho - Liverpool to Barcelona for €135 million in 2018
Having sold Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain for a world-record €222 million fee in the summer of 2017, Barcelona had all the resources in the world to sign the biggest players.
Philippe Coutinho, who had made a name for himself in the Premier League, became their second-most valuable acquisition after Ousmane Dembele (€140 million). The Catalan giants signed the Brazilian from Liverpool for €135 million in January 2018.
Coutinho was expected to make a big impact at the Camp Nou, but the attacking midfielder never quite managed to live up to the billing.
In his debut season, he played 22 games across competitions, recording nine goals and seven assists. Coutinho's performances then took a nosedive the following season.
In the 2018-19 campaign, Coutinho scored only 11 times and provided five assists in 54 games in all competitions. Following a disappointing campaign, he was loaned out to Bayern Munich. The Brazilian returned to haunt Barca, scoring twice against them in a massive 8-2 win for Bayern in a Champions League quarter-final clash.
Having won the treble with the German giants, Coutinho returned to Barcelona ahead of the 2020-21 season. But he was heavily underused, playing only 14 times and scoring three goals.
He remained at Barcelona until January 2022, after which he was loaned out to Aston Villa. Coutinho impressed the Premier League outfit in his short loan spell, prompting them to sign him for a €20 million fee this summer.
Between 2018 and 2022, Coutinho made only 106 appearances for the Blaugrana, recording 25 goals and 14 assists.
#1 Eden Hazard - Chelsea to Real Madrid for €115 million in 2019
Putting an end to years of speculation, Real Madrid finally got their hands on Chelsea’s dazzling forward Eden Hazard in the summer of 2019.
Signed for a whopping €115 million fee, Hazard was given Cristiano Ronaldo’s No. 7 jersey. Unfortunately, the Belgian superstar is yet to do the iconic number any justice.
Hazard joined Real Madrid visibly overweight. He worked hard to shed off those extra pounds in his debut season but struggled to keep himself fit to become useful to his team.
He managed to take part in only 16 La Liga games in his debut campaign, recording a goal and six assists. Hazard appeared six times in the Champions League as well, but failed to score for his new employers.
Over the next two seasons, he continued to struggle with injuries and fitness issues, managing to play only 44 games in that stretch and recording five goals and four assists.
So far, Hazard has won two La Liga titles and a Champions League trophy with the Whites, but his contribution to their feats has been negligible.
Also Read: Ronaldo and Georgina, David and Victoria Beckham - 6 most glamorous couples in football
