5 worst signings in football history

Football, like any other aspect of human life, is always about improving and raising your level in order to be the best. The use of player transfers is one of the methods teams aiming to be the best can use. Teams identify weak or vulnerable spots in their setup and go into the transfer market to purchase players that can improve them for a fee.

Unfortunately, not every player signed by a team is usually able to help them achieve their goals. Some players turn out to be bad pieces of business for the clubs involved. Without further ado, we look at the five worst signings in football history.

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#5 Jackson Martinez (Atletico Madrid to Guangzhou Evergrande)

Urawa Red Diamonds v Guangzhou Evergrande - AFC Champions League Group H

Colombian striker Jackson Martinez is fondly known as Cha Cha Cha by his fans. He made his name in Europe during his time as an FC Porto player, where he scored 92 goals in 136 appearances. Martinez's form earned him a move to Atletico Madrid.

While at Atletico Madrid, Martinez struggled to fit into Diego Simeone's system and could only score three goals in 22 appearances for the club.

Despite his poor performance at the Estadio Vicente Calderón, Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande saw him as the striker to lead their project. The club signed Martinez for €42 million, €7 million more than Atletico paid for him.

Martinez was paid €12 million per season in his time at the club but saw his playing time marred by a lingering ankle injury.

The Colombian striker featured only 16 times in three seasons at the club, scoring four goals before his contract was terminated. Martinez has retired from professional football now, after his release from Portimonense in 2020.

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#4 Dmytro Chygrynskiy (Shakhtar Donetsk to FC Barcelona)

Barcelona v Real Zaragoza - La Liga

Ukrainian defender Dmytro Chygrynskiy joined FC Barcelona on the back of a superb display against them in the UEFA Super Cup for Shakhtar Donetsk. Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola thought he would be a good fit to rotate with Gérard Pique and Carles Puyol, and the club signed him for €25 million.

Chygrynkiy made only 14 appearances in a Barcelona shirt, with 12 of them coming in La Liga. The defender was famously sold back to Shakhtar Donetsk after just one season for almost half of Barcelona's initial outlay. He remained a peripheral figure at the Nou Camp and found no way to break into the team.

Now 35 years old, Chygrynskiy has enjoyed a successful career in Ukraine since leaving Spain in 2010. The defender has one La Liga title and the FIFA Club World Cup to his name from his time at the Nou Camp.

#3 Ricardo Quaresma (FC Porto to Internazionale)

AS Roma v FC Internazionale Milano - Serie A

Cut from the same fabric as Cristiano Ronaldo, Ricardo Quaresma is undoubtedly a supremely talented footballer. The Portuguese winger started out with Ronaldo at Sporting Lisbon before moving to FC Barcelona and then FC Porto.

Quaresma was very impressive in his time at FC Porto and earned a move to Inter Milan, where Jose Mourinho was manager, in 2008.

The winger was signed for around €25 million but failed to impress Mourinho sufficiently, and was sent on loan to Chelsea after just six months. His loan spell in England was unsuccessful and he returned to Inter, where he would spend another season before moving to Besiktas for €7 million.

Quaresma managed to contribute just one goal and two assists in 32 appearances for Inter Milan. While his talent was apparent, the winger seemed to lack the temperament required to cut it at the highest level.

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#2 Jo (CSKA Moscow to Manchester City)

Manchester City v FC Timisoara - UEFA Europa League

The lanky forward joined Manchester City from Russian giants CSKA Moscow for a princely sum of €25 million in the summer of 2008. He was the last signing before the takeover of the club took place and was joined by Robinho in the same window.

Jo spent half of the 2008-09 seaon with City before moving on loan to Everton in the January transfer window. The striker spent a year with Everton before moving on loan to Galatasaray. He returned to his native Brazil with Internacional on a free transfer in 2011.

Jo managed six goals and five assists in 42 appearances for Manchester City before leaving the club. His was a signing that was eventually deemed unnecessary after the club was taken over.

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#1 Jese Rodriguez (Real Madrid to Paris Saint-Germain)

International Champions Cup 2017 - AS Roma v Paris Saint-Germain

Spanish winger Jese Rodriguez was one of the biggest talents in Spain when he came through the Real Madrid youth setup. The winger impressed for the youth sides and showed a good level when he was promoted to the senior squad.

Jese joined Paris Saint-Germain for €25 million in 2016 in a deal that would eventually turn out to be nightmarish for the Spaniard. He initially featured for the first half of the season before moving back to Spain on loan with Las Palmas.

This marked the beginning of a series of loan moves for the Spaniard, who also played for Stoke, Real Betis and Sporting Lisbon before his contract at PSG was terminated. He left the club in 2020 before returning to Las Palmas as a free agent.

Jese managed two goals in 18 appearances in a Paris Saint-Germain shirt during the four years he spent at the club. The Spaniard failed to make an impact in France and has seen his career development stall .