5 disappointing signings in football history

In the world of soccer, talent scouts often manage to find promise. However, on other occasions, they believe they have done it when in fact they have fallen into a trap that condemns the club to break a contract with a player who not only does not meet expectations , but ends up being an unnecessary expense to maintain. These are five disappointing signings that seemed like a great thing, but couldn't show it on the court.

The Hadji Diouf

During the 2002 World Cup, Senegal's national team surprised everyone by reaching the quarter-final stage. He left behind powers such as France and Uruguay and took one of the places in the final phase of the competition, in which he defeated Sweden by 2 goals to 1. In his starting eleven, was El Hadji Diouf , a forward who in that At that time he was part of RC Lens, from France. After the unexpected event during the Korea-Japan World Cup , English Liverpool decided to sign him to strengthen their squad . But this bet on the part of the English club did not have great rewards. The multifunctional player did not measure up, and ended up playing 68 games in three seasons , about 23 games per year, in which he scored only 3 goals . At the end of the 2005 season, it was sold to Bolton Wanderers.

Douglas Pereira dos Santos

With the rumor of the possible departure of Dani Alves from Barcelona, Douglas arrived at the Catalan club in 2014 with the idea of replacing the right-back. After a good campaign in Sao Paulo in Brazil, his transfer was announced until 2019 for a sum of 4 million euros in addition to another 1.5 million in variables . This contract was not fulfilled, since the player left two years later on loan to Sporting de Gijón, and was later loaned to the Portuguese Benfica. The balance of his two seasons of stay at the Blaugrana club was only 8 games played .

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Jonathan Woodgate

Injuries can also play a trick on a promising signing, and the case of Jonathan Woodgate at Real Madrid was a clear example of this. After his brief stint at English Newcastle, the merengue club signed the defender in 2004 for 22 million euros . But apparently, Woodgate's physique was not at its best. His first season was conditioned by muscle ailments, and he did not play a single game at his new club . Once this obstacle was overcome, he made his debut in September 2005 with the Real Madrid shirt. The match, against Athletic Club, was not satisfactory at all. An unfortunate own goal and an expulsion after seeing his second yellow card were the highlights of the premiere. He was loaned to the English Middlesbrough in 2006 and a year later the final transfer was agreed.

Antonio Cassano

Antonio Cassano's situation is not linked to injuries, nor to his performance on the court. Signed by Real Madrid with a six-and-a-half-year contract , the Italian forward transcended during his time at the Spanish club due to his parties in Rome, his poor diet, and his fights with whoever was a Merengue coach at the time, Fabio Capello. It has become known that it took the police to knock on his door to bring a noisy late-night gathering in his native country to an end. In addition , his overweight and strong crosses with Capello labeled him undisciplined , terminating the agreement with the giant Spanish club 18 months after his arrival. In a note from El Español , Cassano's statements after announcing his retirement from soccer include phrases such as "he ate like a dog and didn't sleep . " In this report, the player notes his regret. "I would have deserved to be killed, because it was unbearable," he added.

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