5 transfers from Spain to England that didn't work out

There has always been lots of transfer activity between La Liga and Premier League clubs, with lots of the players typically moving from Spain to England. 21 players in total have left Spain to move to England in the last two seasons, and the majority have been successful in England.

However, with the change in tactics and style of play in the two leagues, some players just never adapt and never acclimatise to life in England. Therefore, among the successful moves, there have also been many players who have had short, unsuccessful spells.

Here are five transfers from Spain to England that never worked out:

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#5 Lucas Perez

Although Lucas Perez may never have been Arsene Wenger’s first choice when it came to buying a striker in the summer of 2016, he had still scored 17 La Liga goals the previous season and was expected to be a very good utility player for the Gunners.

However, just one season on from that signing, Perez has re-joined Deportivo. Albeit on loan, but he doesn’t look likely to ever step foot in London again unless it is to be for a new club.

Although it seems like Perez had a horrendous season and was given opportunities that he didn’t take with him leaving the club again so quickly, that wasn’t the case at all. In his only Champions League start, the Spaniard scored a hat-trick, and in his sub appearances for the Gunners, he impressed Arsenal fans, with many of them calling for him to be given more opportunities.

But Wenger refused. He did regularly state his sympathy for the 28-year-old, saying in a press conference at the end of last season: “He’s a top-quality striker and I couldn’t give him the games that he wants and that he deserves. I feel sorry for him on that front.”

Perhaps Wenger was being honest and did wish he could have given Perez more games, but one thing’s for certain, his transfer to the Premier League never worked out.

#4 Roberto Soldado

Soldado had a very frustrating stint with Tottenham

Roberto Soldado was considered one of the best strikers in Spain when he made his move to England.

The Spaniard had scored 24 goals in the 2012/13 La Liga season and a total of 59 goals in 101 league games for Valencia, meaning his ratio was better than a goal every two games. This was no mean feat in La Liga, especially when taking into account he was playing for Valencia and not Real Madrid or Barcelona.

Signing for Tottenham seemed to be the perfect move for him, having already made one step up from Getafe to Valencia after leaving Real Madrid in 2008 where he never got first-team action regularly.

But he never reached the heights in England that he did in Spain, and he became a part of the group of players that Spurs fans are most probably happy to see the back of now.

Spurs sold Gareth Bale and replaced him with numerous players, those being Nacer Chadli, Erik Lamela, Paulinho, Etienne Capoue, Christian Eriksen, and of course Soldado. Lamela remains at Tottenham and everyone knows how excellent Eriksen has been the past two seasons. However, the majority were flops, most definitely including Soldado considering he was bought for £27 million.

After two seasons, where his goals mainly came from the penalty spot, and there were only 16 in 76 in all competitions anyway, he moved back to Spain and joined Villarreal.

#3 Nolito

After just one season Guardiola decided Nolito was not in his plans

Pep Guardiola has been hailed for his transfers and time in England, especially this season given how spectacular his team have been.

But, Nolito was a transfer that he got wrong.

Moving from Celta Vigo, Nolito was a high profile transfer as he was a La Masia graduate. A £13.8 million move followed and he was a Manchester City player, and the fans had high hopes with him scoring 39 league goals in 100 appearances for Celta.

He couldn't replicate that form in England though, and Pep soon realised he was not a player who was going to fit his system. He made 30 appearances in total (all competitions) last season for City, but for a lot of those games, he was a substitute.

By mid-October, he had played nine times and scored five. Things were looking good. But then it took a turn for the worse. In the new year, he played just nine times and didn't start a single game from February until the end of the season.

It was no secret he did not particularly enjoy life in England and disliked mainly the weather, but it was the lack of game time that eventually forced him to move back to Spain after just one season.

Nolito is clearly a very talented footballer, Guardiola buying him is enough to tell anyone that. However, his move to the Premier League just never worked out like it was supposed to.

#2 Robinho

Robinho did not have an enjoyable 18 months in England

Like Nolito, Robinho was another player who moved to Manchester City, but in a different period.

Robinho had just won two successive La Liga titles with Real Madrid in 2007 and 2008, playing 32 games in both seasons before joining Manchester City. Additionally, he was a crucial part of the Brazilian national team, and went on to make 100 appearances in his international career, indicating that he was clearly a world-class player.

He had all the attributes to be an incredible Premier League player. He was direct, skilful and had no problem with finishing in front of goal.

He joined City at a time when they were not successful, something that seemed to hinder Robinho, who had been accustomed to winning or at least challenging, for top honours.

In 41 appearances, he scored 14 goals for City. While he was their top scorer in his first season, he lasted just half a season more as his attitude became glaringly worse. And although he should have been more professional and gave 100% in every game he played, it is understandable how he struggled to adapt to playing with significantly worse players than those he had played with previously.

Signing for £32.5 million and breaking the English transfer record at the time, everybody expected Robinho to light up the Premier League with his skills, but the transfer never worked out.

#1 Angel Di Maria

Di Maria left the Premier League after just one season at United

Signing for £59.7 million in 2014, Angel Di Maria was the most expensive player a British club had ever bought. However, just a year later, the Argentinian was already out the door at Old Trafford and moved to PSG.

There were extremely high expectations of Di Maria, who played a crucial role in Real Madrid’s ‘La Decima’ just a few months before he made the move to Manchester. His scoring record for a winger wasn’t spectacular during his time with Madrid, but the Argentinian’s impact on a team was clear.

He was expected to bring a great amount of creativity to United, who were struggling after the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson. Initially, it looked like he was going to do exactly that and pull the strings for the Red Devils, but it all turned sour after a while.

The Argentinian scored two goals, got two assists and won the September player of the month award for the club in his first month with United, suggesting he wasn’t struggling to adapt to the Premier League.

But, from October onwards he barely contributed. Injuries and bad form eventually led to him being in and out of the team and being judged by the majority of fans and pundits as the ‘worst signing of the season’, illustrating how another big-money signing from Spain to England didn’t work out.