30 of the Biggest Transfer Busts in World Football History

World Football has seen some pretty big transfer busts throughout the years.

The players on this list generally came to their teams with some big expectations, and totally underwhelmed their employers.

In some cases they get shipped back out as soon as possible—others stick around for a bit to the dismay of fans.

Here are some of the biggest transfer busts in world football history.

Tomas Brolin: Parma to Leeds

Tomas Brolin joined Leeds in 1995 for a club record fee of £4.5 million after some great displays for Sweden in the 1994 World Cup and a solid career with Parma in Italy.

Two years, two loans and only four goals later, Brolin's contract was terminated. He retired just a few years after at the age of 29.

Zoran Tosic: Partizan Belgrade to Manchester United

Zoran Tosic was tipped as a winger with great potential, and made a good start to his career both on the international stage and with his club, Partizan Belgrade.

In stepped Manchester United to swoop for the youngster and Adem Ljajic, another Serbian prospect, at the beginning of 2009.

After spending a full year at the club, Tosic was sent out on loan to Koln in Germany and attracted enough attention to gain a full-time move to CSKA Moscow the following summer.

Ricardo Quaresma: Porto to Inter

Ricardo Quaresma was a player with immense talent and seemed to have finally made his mark when he made a big money move to Inter after some good years with Porto.

Things didn't work out well, and he was loaned out to Chelsea after just six months.

When he went back to Inter in the summer of 2009 he was given a second chance. After one more year of underperforming, Quaresma was signed by Besiktas in 2010 for less than half of his initial €18.6 million fee.

Eric Djemba-Djemba: Nantes to Manchester United

Eric Djemba-Djemba, "the man so bad they named him twice," transferred to Manchester United from Nantes for a fee of £3.5 million in 2003.

It was a dream move for the African youngster, but it soon became a nightmare. He failed to establish himself in United's midfield, and was sold to Aston Villa for £1.5 million only two years and 39 appearances later.

Kleberson: Atletico Paranaense to Manchester United

If Eric Djemba-Djemba was bad for Manchester United, Kleberson was awful. The Brazilian midfielder was coming off a World Cup win in 2002, and was highly regarded when he transferred.

He failed to live up to the expectations and was soon shipped out to Besiktas, with Manchester United incurring a loss of £4 million.

Francis Jeffers: Everton to Arsenal

Francis Jeffers was supposed to be the "fox-in-box" solution to all of Arsene Wenger's goal-scoring problems.

That didn't happen.

After arriving in London for a fee of £10 million, much was expected of Jeffers. Injuries and lack of form relegated him to a bit-part player, and he was loaned back to his old club before eventually being sold to Chartlon Athletic for a whopping loss at £2.6 million.

Alexander Hleb: Arsenal to Barcelona

There had to be one bad egg in the bunch. After all the good, productive players Barcelona gained from Arsenal over the years, Alexander Hleb was certainly a rarity.

He joined Barcelona for a fee of €15 million with a buyout clause of €90 million. Nobody really had to worry about that second bit though. He barely featured in his first season with the club in 2008-09 and was then loaned out on three different occasions.

When he returned from loan in January 2012, his contract was terminated with mutual consent and he then joined Russian club, Krylya Sovietov Samara.

Diego: Werder Bremen to Juventus

Diego was carving out a great a career in Europe—first with Porto, then with Werder Bremen—and he attracted the attention of Italian giants Juventus.

The Italians paid a hefty fee for the Brazilian, and could not have imagined they would send him out of the club in a year's time.

That is exactly what happened as Diego was unable to make any great impact on the team and was sold to Wolfsburg.

Tiago: Lyon to Juventus

Tiago joined Juventus after stints at Chelsea and Lyon. After two seasons at the club—seasons in which he faced much competition for spots and struggled with injuries—Tiago was loaned out to Atletico Madrid for two straight seasons.

Funnily enough, Tiago's playing time was cut down by some other players on this list, most notably Felipe Melo.

After he rejected a loan switch to Everton, he finally signed for Atletico Madrid on a full-time basis after his contract was terminated.

David Bentley: Blackburn to Tottenham

Oh where, oh where is David Bentley? After being one of the many youth products unable to make the jump from prospect to first-teamer at Arsenal, David Bentley went off to Blackburn and jump-started what could have been a great career.

Indeed, after a few years of solid play for the Lancashire club, he signed for Tottenham in 2008 and the future looked bright. Form, injuries and so on made his first two years with the club difficult, and Bentley was loaned out to Birmingham City in 2011.

He was again loaned out to Championship side West Ham at the start of the season, but injury cut his loan stay short. It seems very unlikely that Bentley has a future at the club, and when he does move, that will finalize his status as a bust for Tottenham.

Massimo Taibi: Venezia to Manchester United

Massimo Taibi usually ends up on lists like these and it's no wonder why. He signed for Manchester United in 1999 to provide some extra experience and depth in the goalkeeping ranks.

He started off well, with a Man of the Match award in the team's 3-2 win over Liverpool, but the competition among goalkeepers and his error against Southampton basically ended his time at the club.

Taibi returned to Italy after just one year and a literal handful of appearances.

Denilson: Sao Paulo to Real Betis

When he signed for Real Betis for a then world-record fee, big things were expected from Denilson. He failed miserably during his seven years at the club, and was even loaned out to Flamengo at one point.

Real Betis was even relegated soon after Denilson joined the club, which showed how little of an impact he had.

Considering the fee and the extreme lack of productivity, Denilson is certainly one of the biggest transfer busts of all times.

Oleg Salenko: Logrones to Valencia

After he scored six goals in the 1994 World Cup, including five in one game, and won the Golden Boot award, Valencia decided to sign Oleg Salenko.

Salenko did not perform, and was shipped out after only a year to Rangers. Things continued to go downhill, as Salenko only spent half a season at Rangers before being shipped out again.

Apparently, he tried to sell his Golden Boot a few years ago.

Jonathan Woodgate: Newcastle to Real Madrid

There really weren't many moments for Jonathan Woodgate to give a thumbs up, like he's doing here, at Real Madrid.

Real Madrid paid no heed to Woodgate's injury history and signed the English defender to strengthen the defense. There were some good moments, but the majority of Woodgate's time at the club was unsuccessful.

He was voted as the team's worst signing of the century and after three years at the club, one of which was spent on loan, made his way back to England with Middlesbrough.

Dragan Stojkovic: Red Star Belgrade to Marseille

Dragan Stojkovic was one of the most talented players in Eastern Europe and played well for both club and country.

His skills earned him a move to a Marseille team in the early 1990's that featured the likes of Abedi Pele. Stojkovic never got off the ground in his four years at the club, and even spent some time on loan.

He eventually moved on to Japan and ended his career there.

Oguchi Onyewu: Standard Liege to AC Milan

This move definitely raised eyebrows when it occurred. As AC Milan continued to search for the next great central defender, they settled on American, Oguchi Onyewu.

Onyewu made one appearance in a competitive match for AC Milan during his time there, and was then loaned out to FC Twente midway through the 2010-11 season.

Just last summer, Sporting Lisbon signed the player and ended his ordeal at the Italian club.

Elvir Baljic: Fenerbache to Real Madrid

Elvir Baljic was another player in a surprise move, and this one certainly didn't work out any better.

After he displayed some good goal-scoring form at Bursaspor and then Fernerbache, Real Madrid signed the player.

Baljic barely made any appearances at the club and was soon loaned out to Fernerbache, then to Rayo Vallecano, before eventually being sold to Galatasaray.

Afonso Alves: Heerenveen to Middlesbrough

Afonso Alves joined Middlesbrough as a record signing on the back of some impressive seasons with Malmo FF and Heerenveen.

He came to score goals, but failed to do much of that and Middlesbrough was relegated in his first, and only, full season at the club.

After the 2009-10 season ended, he joined Qatari club Al-Sadd, and Middlesbrough only recouped about half of what they paid for him.

Felipe Melo: Fiorentina to Juventus

Felipe Melo joined Juventus in 2009 after having attracted a lot of attention with his play at Fiorentina in the previous few seasons.

He did not turn out to be the signing that the club expected, though, as he failed to make a significant impression on the team. He was loaned out to Galatasaray at the beginning of the season, and it is more than likely that his time in Turin has ended.

Keirrison: Palmeiras to Barcelona

Keirrison has yet to play a single competitive game since signing for Barcelona in 2009. The Brazilian youngster has been on loan in every single season since his arrival, and has spent time at four different clubs.

If there ever was a bust, he is one.

Andriy Shevchenko: AC Milan to Chelsea

After lighting up Europe and Italy for years with AC Milan, Andriy Shevchenko joined Chelsea for a considerably hefty fee.

It seems all that green took the scoring out of Shevchenko's boots, though, as the Ukranian failed to live up to his high expectations and transfer price. He was sent back to AC Milan on loan in the hopes of rediscovering his form, but he could not reproduce his old magic.

His dismal time over those few years prompted a return to another former club, Dynamo Kyiv.

Robbie Keane: Tottenham to Liverpool

Robbie Keane's time at Liverpool had to get him on this list. The Irishman joined Liverpool from Tottenham on a four-year deal and an initial fee of £19 million.

Halfway through the season, he was back in London and signed up to play for his old club Tottenham. Whatever the reason for his turnaround, Keane was a bust at Liverpool because he achieved nothing at a club that paid a good amount of money for him.

Albert Luque: Deportivo La Coruna to Newcastle

Newcastle signed, or thought they signed, a talented Spanish player when Albert Luque came to the club.

In what was a miserable two-season stretch, Luque did not appear in many games, nor did he have a great impact on the team when he did play.

He left the club for Ajax in 2007.

Dominic Adiyiah: Fredrikstad to AC Milan

Dominic Adiyiah was the leading star in Ghana's U-20 World Cup victory and that helped him attract the attention of AC Milan, who signed him early in 2010.

Since then, it has been nothing but loan move after loan move for the youngster, who said making the move was a mistake. Glad you saw that, Adiyiah.

You're still a bust, though.

Bosko Balaban: Dinamo Zagreb to Aston Villa

Bosko Balaban has a great name. There was nothing great about his move from Dinamo Zagreb to Aston Villa, though.

Balaban was loaned back to Dinamo Zagreb after his first season, and though his output was decent, Villa still ushered him out the door and he signed for Club Brugge on a free transfer.

Hugo Viana: Sporting CP to Newcastle

Hugo Viana joined Newcastle at the end of a great season with his club Sporting CP.

Viana found playing time hard to come by in England, and after two seasons he returned to Sporting on loan. His status as a bust is epitomized by the fact that he played almost the same amount of games in his loan spell as he did during his first two years at Newcastle.

Sergio Asenjo: Valladolid to Atletico Madrid

Sergio Asenjo was Spain's next big goalkeeping sensation. He had some impressive seasons with Real Valladolid and was signed by Atletico Madrid.

His time at the club started brightly, but soon enough he was knocked off his perch by Atletico Madrid youth product David De Gea. He went on loan to Malaga, but an injury there cut short any possibility of him regaining his former glory.

Since returning to the club this season, he has found himself behind Chelsea's on-loan keeper Thibaut Courtois. It does not seem that Asenjo will have a long future at the club, so right now, he's in the bust category.

Chris Sutton: Blackburn to Chelsea

Chris Sutton didn't have a good time at Chelsea at all. He signed for the club with the expectation that the goals would continue to come.

He scored only three goals in for the club and signed for Celtic after just one season.

Winston Bogarde: Ajax to AC Milan

While many will remember Winston Bogarde's time at Chelsea, that is not what gets him on this list.

Bogarde moved from Ajax to AC Milan and managed only three appearances, before then moving on to Barcelona.

Juan Sebastian Veron: Manchester United to Chelsea

While Juan Sebastian Veron's move from Lazio to Manchester United wasn't the greatest, things got a lot worse when he moved from Manchester United to Chelsea.

He made less than 20 appearances for the club in one season, and was then loaned out to Inter and Estudiantes, before making a final move to Estudiantes.