10 Most Expensive Man Utd Transfer Flops In History

2. Anderson (£26 Million)

Man Utd Lukaku
Martin Rickett/PA Archive/Press Association Images

When Manchester United swooped in to sign Brazilian flair player Anderson from Porto for a fee in the region of £26 million back in 2009, the football world stood up and took notice. After all, this was a youngster who was viewed as one of the hottest can't-miss prospects in the game.

Fast forward to 2015, and this once-promising midfielder was given a free transfer by the Red Devils.

Initially viewed as a skillful attacking player who could unlock a defence, Anderson's time at United soon saw him utilised in a deeper-lying midfield role. In fact, some of his best performances in a Red Devils' shirt came when tasked with more deep-sitting defensive work.

Ability-wise, Anderson was often great. The issue with the Brazil international, though, was in his attitude and in his general fitness. Injuries are one thing, but Anderson was often overweight and way off the pace by the time his time at Old Trafford started to come to an end.

Since leaving Manchester in 2015, Anderson bounced from Internacional to Coritiba, before spending six months without a club until the now-31-year-old signed for Turkish second division side Adana Demirspor in 2018.

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