Flops & Bargains
The biggest transfer flops: when nine-figure deals fail
The largest transfers are not the safest, and several record signings have failed to deliver. Here is what the biggest flops have in common.
Read the reference →Flops & Bargains
How to read a transfer outcome, and what separates a bargain from a flop.
Flops & Bargains
The biggest transfer bargains in the modern market
Some of the most valuable signings in modern football cost almost nothing. Here is what the greatest bargains have in common and why they happen.
Read the reference →
Flops & Bargains
Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona: the fee that stalled
Coutinho's move from Liverpool to Barcelona was among the largest in history when it happened. Here is how a record transfer came to be judged a flop.
Read the reference →
Flops & Bargains
Eden Hazard to Real Madrid: the transfer that never fit
Hazard's move from Chelsea to Real Madrid was one of the largest of its year. Injuries and fitness left that large fee largely unrealised on the pitch.
Read the reference →
Flops & Bargains
Jude Bellingham: the transfer that looked a bargain
Bellingham's move from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid was expensive but quickly came to look like excellent value. Here is why the ratio mattered.
Read the reference →
Flops & Bargains
N'Golo Kante to Leicester: the £5.6m title-winning buy
Kante joined Leicester City for a modest fee and helped win the league. Here is why one of the cheapest signings became one of the best deals of the era.
Read the reference →
Flops & Bargains
Mohamed Salah to Liverpool: value from a failed move
Salah's move to Liverpool turned a previously unsuccessful spell in England into one of the best signings of the decade. Here is why the fee was misread.
Read the reference →
Flops & Bargains
How to judge whether a transfer was a hit or a miss
Judging a transfer means comparing the fee and wages with the outcome over the whole contract. Here is a clear method for reading any deal honestly.
Read the reference →
Flops & Bargains
Paul Pogba to Manchester United: the record return
Pogba's move to Manchester United broke the world record in 2016 and ended with a free exit. Here is how to read a deal that sat between hit and miss.
Read the reference →
Flops & Bargains
Why big transfers fail: injuries, systems and pressure
Large transfers fail for a small number of recurring reasons. Here is why the most expensive deals carry the most risk and how clubs try to manage it.
Read the reference →