5 Premier League stars who failed at new clubs after free transfers
Premier League clubs employ varied strategies for player recruitment, and signing free agents is also part of an efficient strategy. It may seem ironic that clubs from the richest league will have to resort to acquiring players without the requirement of a transfer fee.
However, several good footballers, time and again, decide to see out their contracts. Hence, clubs in the Premier League are always on the lookout to bring these footballers to their clubs.
Some proven Premier League stars failed as free agents at their new clubs
There are many factors why a player becomes a free agent in the first place. While a common reason is that the player is pushing for a far more lucrative contract, other reasons should be red flags for the dealing club.
Footballers have two major depreciation factors attached to them - age and injuries. While both occurrences are not within the hands of the footballers, they reduce their footballing abilities nevertheless.
In the list below, one of these two factors played a major role in the failure of these superstars flopping for their new sides.
#5 Owen Hargreaves
Owen Hargreaves was a serial winner in the world of club football. He won four Bundesliga titles and one Champions League with Bayern Munich. The Englishman joined Manchester United in 2007, where he again won another Champions League title and added a Premier League winners' medal as well.
However, his spell at Old Trafford was riddled with injuries and he missed large chunks of the season. This was the primary reason why Manchester United didn't renew Hargreaves' contract.
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To prove his fitness, Hargreaves posted videos of his practice and fitness on YouTube. Manchester City were persuaded by those and decided to hand him a one-year contract. In some ways, the switch made sense since it was the season when Manchester City won the coveted Premier League title.
Sadly for Hargreaves, it was a repetition of his Manchester United spell as he was constantly riddled with niggling injuries. While Manchester City picked up the Premier League title that season, Hargreaves could only manage one appearance and wasn't eligible for the winners' medal.
#4 Joe Cole
Joe Cole was a pivotal player for Premier League club Chelsea, with whom he had picked up multiple Premier League titles. When Liverpool signed him as a free agent in the summer of 2010, club captain Steven Gerrard called it a major coup. He even went on to claim that Cole was on par with Lionel Messi in terms of technical ability.
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Cole started his Liverpool career in the Europa League, but his Premier League debut was an absolute nightmare. It was against Arsenal, and he was sent off after just 45 minutes.
He played the next few matches before picking up injuries that greatly dented his performances and outings. A loan to Lille helped for the time being, but Cole failed to establish himself and West Ham ultimately snapped him up on another free transfer.