20 terrible free transfers that didn't live up to their billing

When you take wages, agent fees and signing-on bonuses into account, a transfer is very rarely 'free' even if the player in question is out of contract. Nevertheless, such signings usually represent excellent value for money, with clubs able to add to their squad without paying a transfer fee.

In football, though, things don't always work out as planned. In this slideshow we recount 25 of the worst free transfers in Premier League history...

It’s fair to say Steven Gerrard was thrilled by Cole’s arrival at Anfield in 2010.

“Messi can do some amazing things, but anything he can do Joe can do as well, if not better,” the Liverpool captain remarked after the ex-Chelsea schemer signed in 2010. “I really fancy Joe for the [Player of the Year] award this season.”

In fairness to Gerrard, he wasn’t alone in predicting great things for Cole on Merseyside. Instead, the England international never recovered from being sent off on his league debut – he only started only nine Premier League games in 2010/11 – and was loaned to Lille just 13 months after arriving.

Before Sheikh Mansour pumped his billions into Manchester City, the club weren’t used to signing players of Weah’s global pedigree. The problem for manager Joe Royle was that the former Ballon d’Or winner was significantly past his best by the time he joined City in 2000. 

Football’s most famous Liberian had recently enjoyed a fruitful loan stint at Chelsea, but success proved more elusive in the north. Weah scored only once in the Premier League and, frustrated by a lack of starts, exited Maine Road in October after criticising Royle.

Eboue had been a free agent for almost a year before joining Sunderland in 2016, which really ought to have set alarm bells ringing at the Stadium of Light. Presumably hoping the defender’s vast experience could boost his side’s survival hopes, Sam Allardyce sanctioned a short-term deal for the Ivory Coast international, who agreed to join the club until the end of the season.

Twenty-two days later, Eboue was suspended from all football-related activity for a year after being found guilty of failing to pay an agent.  He was released two weeks after that, having never pulled on a Sunderland shirt.

Former Arsenal wideman Pires returned to English football four years after leaving north London, as Aston Villa handed the free agent a six-month deal in November 2010.

The 37-year-old World Cup winner was considerably past his best by then, and sure enough failed to make much of an impression in any of his nine Premier League games for Gerard Houllier’s outfit – although he did score once, in an FA Cup tie with Blackburn.

“My experience at Villa has been a failure,” Pires admitted in May, while also accusing the club of a “lack of respect”.

Owen joined Stoke after leaving Manchester United in 2012, with regular first-team football presumably high up on his list of priorities. A hamstring injury sustained early on in his stint at the Britannia Stadium proved a frustrating setback, however, and Owen struggled to displace Peter Crouch in Tony Pulis’s line-up thereafter.

The former Liverpool goal-getter didn’t start a single Premier League match for the Potters, with eight of his nine appearances in all competitions coming as a substitute. Owen scored just once in that time and duly thought it best to hang up his boots in the summer of 2013.

Petric struck five goals in 23 Premier League appearances for Fulham in 2012/13, but the west Londoners opted against retaining his services for another season. West Ham had clearly seen enough in the 6ft 1in striker to think he could be a success on the other side of London, and signed him up to a one-year deal in September.

Sam Allardyce handed the ex-Hamburg man his debut against Everton soon after, but that was already the beginning of the end. Petric made just two more league appearances for the Hammers before hot-footing it to Panathinaikos.

When Sunderland were relegated in 2016/17 in spite of Defoe's efforts - the former England international 15 times in the Premier League but that wasn't enough to save the northeast outfit - the striker decided to seek pastures new. Bournemouth ultimately won the race for his signature, re-signing a player who they had previously employed on loan back in 2000/01.

The Cherries' decision to hand the 34-year-old a three-year deal raised eyebrows, and Defoe was never able to recapture his best scoring form back on the south coast. After just four top-flight goals, he joined Rangers on loan in January 2019.

No one expected Leicester to retain their Premier Leauge title in 2016/17, but a flirtation with relegation didn't seem to be on the cards either. A poor summer of recruitment meant the Foxes did indeed spend much of the campaign in the lower reaches of the divisions, with Hernandez one of the recruits who made little impact.

Signed to provide competition for Wes Morgan and Robert Huth at centre-back, the Spaniard played just four Premier League matches before returning to La Liga with Malaga the following summer.

It’s not often that Sunderland sign players directly from Barcelona, so it was entirely understandable that Black Cats fans celebrated the addition of Riera – Lionel Messi’s captain in the Catalans’ B side, no less.

“We really like the look of him,” manager Niall Quinn said at the time. “He's a creative player but he also likes a tackle. He has fantastic lungs, and he's the type of player you need to be to come to Sunderland. He ticks all the boxes."

Despite all those qualities, Riera featured only twice for Sunderland and was eventually released in 2009 after underwhelming loan spells at Southend and Falkirk. Xavi he was not.

Jovanovic was Rafael Benitez’s last signing as Liverpool manager, although he never got the chance to play under the Spaniard. The free agent penned a pre-contract agreement at Anfield in June 2010, a few weeks before the Reds boss handed in his resignation.

There was some concern at the time that Benitez could steal in and persuade Jovanovic to join Inter instead, but the Serbian attacker stuck to his promise and headed to England in July. Which was just as well – for Inter. Jovanovic played only 18 times for Liverpool and was ushered out by Kenny Dalglish the following summer.

A truly disastrous free transfer, Bosingwa pitched up at Loftus Road to great fanfare in August 2012 having won the Champions League with Chelsea just three months earlier.

A goal on his second appearance for Rangers hinted at positive things to come, but it soon became clear that the Portuguese wasn’t the ideal man to have around in a relegation dogfight. The right-back refused to sit on the bench during December’s derby with Fulham (fined two weeks’ wages: a cool £130k), while he later infuriated supporters by being pictured laughing after a goalless draw with Reading confirmed QPR’s relegation in April.

On paper, this seemed like a fantastic signing. Arsenal had long been lacking a leader in Lichtsteiner's mould, and they stood to benefit from the defender's experience both on and off the pitch. It was also hoped that his significant trophy haul - seven league titles and five domestic cups in Italy - might help the Gunners develop more of a winning mentality.

However, it soon became clear that Lichsteiner was past his best; had he not been, Juventus probably would have kept him around for a while longer. A series of poor performances saw him dropped from the team by Unai Emery, and he's now looking for a new club after leaving the Emirates Stadium in June.

Beware the ‘wonderkid’. Aston Villa fans could barely contain their excitement when supposed teenage sensation Ferraresi, who’d spent time at Milan as a kid, rocked up in the West Midlands in 1998. Touted as a future Italy international, Villa thought they’d got themselves the bargain of the century.

It soon became clear that Ferraresi’s reputation had been significantly embellished – perhaps by himself. John Gregory didn’t feel confident enough to include him in a single starting line-up in a competitive fixture, while his attitude didn’t impress behind the scenes. Ferraresi was back in Italy a few months later.

Newcastle were Johnsen’s third Premier League employers, but a repeat of his Manchester United or Aston Villa exploits wasn’t forthcoming. The centre-back was 35 by the time he joined the Magpies and his age soon showed, as the Norway international struggled to keep up with the pace of the English game.

Johnsen’s employment at St James’ Park didn’t last long, with the Champions League winner departing after just five games in all competitions. Fitness issues were at the root of his failure to make a mark, so it was no surprise that he announced his retirement soon after (although he later changed his mind and returned to Norway with Valerenga).

West Ham appeared to have pulled off a coup when they captured Feghouli on a free in summer 2016. The Algeria international had impressed at the World Cup two years previously, as well as performing to a high standard at times during his six-year stay at Valencia.

Feghouli's time at Mestalla wasn't all plain-sailing, though, and his time in east London didn't really go to plan either. Expected to become a key part of West Ham's team for years to come, the forward lasted just a single season before joining Galatasaray.

Mandanda started well at Selhurst Park, leaving Crystal Palace fans praising their club's bargain-hunting abilities. The France international had been one of Ligue 1's standout goalkeepers during his time at Marseille, so the Eagles had done extremely well to snap him up on a free transfer.

Relations soon soured, though, with Mandanda initially sidelined through injury and then mysteriously never returning to the first-team picture under Alan Pardew or Sam Allardyce. After just nine Premier League outings, he jumped at the chance to return to Marseille in summer 2017.