5 clubs that splurged money and failed
It would be hard to convince a significant number of football fans that spending big doesn’t always guarantee success. Examples of Chelsea, Manchester City and PSG since the turn of the millennium are there for everyone to see.
Chelsea won the title soon enough but back then, there was no big 6, it was only the big 4. They also had to wait till 2012 to finally lift the UEFA Champions League. As for Manchester City, they had to wait till 2012 to lift the Premier League for the first time and are still waiting for their first Champions League trophy.
My point is, splurging doesn’t always guarantee success. It took years of continuous spending for Manchester City to finally get the right balance and quality on their side to become the top side they are today.
Despite this, many owners believe spending heavily in one summer can help build a top side which can go on to better the team’s performance in the preceding seasons. What eventually happens is that the manager loses his job and many of the players who were signed end up leaving the club one after the other.
These five clubs which splurged in one summer transfer window are perfect examples.
#5 Valencia 2015/16
After Real Madrid and Barcelona, Valencia have always been a well-known club from the La Liga and have had their fair share of highs in football history.
However, after few seasons of obscurity in the 2010s, the club wanted to rise to the top of European football under new owner Peter Lim. Hence, the club went on a spending spree ahead of the 2015/16 season
Several players made their previous loan moves permanent in the summer and this list featured players like Andre Gomes, Joao Cancelo and Rodrigo all from Benfica and Alvaro Negredo from Manchester City.
In addition, current Brighton and Hove Albion goalkeeper, Mathew Ryan joined Valencia from Club Brugge, Santi Mina from Celta Vigo, promising teenager, Zakaria Bakkali, from PSV, Danilo and Aderlan Santos from Braga and finally Aymen Abdennour from AS Monaco.
This took their total spending to €131m!
The season was however, one of the worst in the club’s history as they finished an embarrassing 12th in the league, exited the Champions League in the group stage and crashed out of the Copa del Rey after losing 8-1 to Barcelona on aggregate.
Four different people managed the club during this turmoil including the infamous managerial career of Gary Neville. Neville was sacked after winning only 3 of the 16 league games he managed while also failing to keep a single clean sheet!