World Football: Power Ranking the 5 Worst Money-Wasting Clubs

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World football has become dominated by money.

Even teams with exceptional youth academies, such as Barcelona, sign marquee international stars to complete the squad. Football has entered a period of investment, debt and reinvestment.

With clubs fighting to acquire the top talent available, transfer fees and contracts have been significantly inflated over the past few years.

The elite European clubs have shown a willingness to break record transfer fees in order to land the best player available.

Although clubs with great tradition dominated the transfer market in the past, recent investment by wealthy billionaires has changed the dynamics of player movements.

An unprecedented amount of money has been infused into the football. However, some clubs have shown signs of wastefulness and poor decision-making in terms of fees, weekly salaries and composition of the squad.

Here are the five worst money-wasting clubs in world football.

5. Manchester United

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Players:

Dimitar Berbatov - transfer fee: £30.75 million; salary: £80,000/week

Bébé - transfer fee: £7.4 million; salary: £12,200/week

Michael Owen: transfer fee: free; salary: £50,000/week

Former Players:

Owen Hargreaves: transfer fee (in): £17 million; salary: £80,000/week; transfer fee (out): free

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Although manager Sir Alex Ferguson usually makes smart moves in the transfer market, he has made some costly mistakes in the past few years.

Owen Hargreaves would have been an excellent replacement for Roy Keane as a true defensive midfielder for the Red Devils. However, the injury-prone Englishman was unable to stay fit and cement his place in the first team. Hargreaves' stint with United proved to be a significant financial loss.

Bébé is Ferguson's most recent mistake, as the Portuguese winger has failed to live up to expectations at Old Trafford. He will most likely be on his way out of the club, as Besiktas have the option to sign the youngster for £2 million after a year-long loan at the Turkish club.

Dimitar Berbatov, United's club-record signing, has failed to replicate his Tottenham form for the 19-time English champions. The Bulgarian striker could be sold to another club this summer for roughly half the £30.75 million fee Ferguson paid in 2008.

4. Barcelona

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Players:

Javier Mascherano - transfer fee: £17.25 million; salary: £85,000/week

Aliaksandr Hleb - transfer fee: €15 (conditional €2 million extra); salary: £80,000/week

Adriano - transfer fee: €9.5 million (conditional €4 extra); salary: N/A

Maxwell - transfer fee: €4.5 million (conditional €0.5 extra); salary: N/A

Former Players:

Zlatan Ibrahmivoc - transfer fee (in): £46 million + Samuel Eto'o; salary: £170,000/week; transfer fee (out): £22 million

Thierry Henry - transfer fee (in): £22 million; salary: £90,000/week; transfer fee (out): free

Dmytro Chygrynskiy - transfer fee (in): €25 million; salary: N/A; transfer fee (out): €15 million

Martin Caceres - transfer fee (in): €16.5 million; salary: N/A; transfer fee (out): €3 million (conditional €1.5 million extra)

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Barcelona undoubtedly have the best youth academy in world football. However, the club still makes poor decisions in the transfer window.

The European champions made one of the biggest cash-plus-player deals in recent history, paying £46 million and Samuel Eto'o to Internazionale for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Although the imposing Swede looked to be the perfect frontman for the Spanish giants, manager Pep Guardiola took the club in a different direction. Barcelona then loaned Ibrahimovic to AC Milan, giving the Italians the option to make the move permanent for a significant discount. The Swede was a star performer in Serie A, and the Scudetto winners chose to purchase the player outright.

Thierry Henry was another striker who did not live up to his transfer fee. The former Arsenal captain made his dream move to Barcelona, but failed to make the impact he had in England. The club paid the Frenchman a hefty salary before releasing him out of his contract one year early.

Although Barcelona has been a revolving door upfront in recent years, the club has made numerous moves to fill the left-back position as well. Maxwell and Adriano were both purchased as options down the left, but neither has emerged as the top-quality fullback to overtake Eric Abidal. Barcelona have not spent a large fee on finding the club's next left-back, but the multitude of options at the position is wasteful nonetheless.

3. Chelsea

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Players:

Fernando Torres - transfer fee: £50 million; salary: £175,000/week

Jose Bosingwa - transfer fee: £16.3 million; salary: £48,000/week

Didier Drogba - transfer fee: £24 million; salary: £92,000/week

Yuri Zhirkov - transfer fee: £18 million; salary: £80,000/week

Nicolas Anelka - transfer fee: £15 million; salary: £80,000/week

Former Players:

Andriy Shevchenko - transfer fee (in): £30.8 million; salary: £121,000/week; transfer fee (out): free

Shaun Wright-Phillips - transfer fee (in): £21 million; salary: £60,000/week; transfer fee (out): £8.5 million

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Since Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich has taken ownership of Chelsea, the club have consistently been one of the active teams in the transfer market.

Although the Blues have made some excellent signings, the owner has made a number of controversial acquisitions over the past few years.

While Shevchenko was an elite striker in Italy, the Ukrainian struggled to make an impact in England. Abramovich paid a significant fee and weekly wages for the former Milan star. Chelsea suffered a huge loss when Shevchenko was let out of his contract early, moving back to Dynamo Kyiv.

Abramovich has also made mistakes in terms of team composition. Chelsea signed Yuri Zhirkov, who starred in the 2008 European Championships as a left-back, even though the club has arguably the best player at the position in Ashley Cole. The club spent £18 million on the Russian, who has barely featured for the first team.

Chelsea's most recent controversy was the acquisition of Fernando Torres. Abramovich signed the out-of-form Spaniard for £50 million, with an unbelievable salary of £175,000/week. Although Torres could easily return to his goal-scoring best next year, the club still has Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba on the books. The duo have been a key part of Chelsea's recent success, and command high wages as well.

2. Real Madrid

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Players:

Ricardo Kaka - transfer fee: £56 million; salary: £170,000/week

Karim Benzema - transfer fee: €35 million (conditional £6 million extra); salary: £100,000/week

Lassana Diarra - transfer fee: £20 million; salary: £82,000/week

Fernando Gago - transfer fee: €20.4 million; salary: £50,000/week

Raul Albiol - transfer fee: £13 million; salary: £30,000/week

Ezequiel Garay - transfer fee: €10 million; salary: N/A

Pedro Leon - transfer fee: €10 million; salary: N/A

Former Players:

Wesley Sneijder - transfer fee (in): €27 million; salary: £80,000/week; transfer fee (out): €15 million

Rafael van der Vaart - transfer fee (in): €13 million; salary: £60,000/week; transfer free (out): £8 million

Description:

Real Madrid have been one of the most wasteful clubs in Europe since the start of "Los Galacticos." The club has spent an unimaginable amount of money on international superstars.

From Figo to Cristiano Ronaldo, Madrid has shown a willingness to pay record-breaking transfer fees for the world's best players.

Kaka was once the most expensive player in history, before the club announced the signing of Ronaldo. Unlike the Portuguese winger, the former AC Milan star has not lived up to his £56 million fee and £170,000/week salary. If the Brazilian leaves for another club this summer, Madrid will be forced to take a significant loss.

Although other current players, such as Karim Benzema and Fernando Gago, have fallen short of expectations, Madrid's biggest mistakes have been with the club's former Dutch contingent.

Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart were both players who showed a desire to stay in Madrid. The two Dutchmen were exceptionally talented playmakers with bags of potential. Although they had the quality to be Madrid players, the club sold them to fund the signings of bigger international names.

Madrid took a loss on both players, as Internazionale swooped on the discounted fee for Sneijder and Tottenham captured van der Vaart for a bargain price. Sneijder has been linked with Chelsea and Manchester United in recent weeks, with his transfer value around £35 million.

1. Manchester City

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Players:

Edin Dzeko - transfer fee: £27 million; salary: £120,000/week

Emmanuel Adebayor - transfer fee: £25 million; salary: £140,000/week

Joleon Lescott - transfer fee: £24 million; salary: £90,000/week

James Milner - transfer fee: £16 million + Stephen Ireland; salary: £66,000

Roque Santa Cruz - transfer fee: £18 million; salary: £90,000/week

Jo - transfer fee: £6 million (conditional £12 million extra); salary: £55,000/week

Wayne Bridge - transfer fee: £10 million; salary: £90,000/week

Craig Bellamy - transfer fee: £14 million; salary: £90,000/week

Shaun Wright-Phillips - transfer fee: £8.5 million; salary: £60,000/week

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Manchester City is the worst money-wasting club in football history.

Owner Sheikh Mansour has invested an unprecedented amount of money into the squad, signing numerous world-class stars.

Although City have captured a few exceptionally talented players, such as Carlos Tevez and David Silva, the club has suffered huge losses.

Unwanted players, such as Wayne Bridge, Craig Bellamy, Roque Santa Cruz and Emmanuel Adebayor, have significant weekly wages that cannot be met by the majority of European clubs. Therefore, City have struggled to sell a large number of their squad players.

The aforementioned players barely command half the transfer fee that City initially paid, which means the club will have to accept significant losses when they find clubs willing to purchase.

City's endless money has changed the face of football. Never could a club field a substitute's bench with each player making over £60,000/week.

Although City's spending has been a large part of the market's inflation in recent years, the club has proved that money can buy success. The Citizens have won their first trophy in over 30 years, and qualified for next season's UEFA Champions League. While they have made numerous mistakes in the transfer market and wasted an unbelievable amount of money on fees and wages, the club has built a competitive team and realistic contender for domestic and European glory.