Probably the most illustrious of names on this list, Andy Van de Meyde is the best example of how some footballers go on to waste their prodigious talent. A former star for Ajax and Inter Milan, many Evertonians thought the signing of the Dutchman was a good one considering the club had only paid £2m for his services. At the time, most even considered that it could be one of the smartest signings that Moyes had managed, especially as he had managed to beat the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Monaco to the wingers signature. Ultimately though, Moyes will have wished he hadnt, as off-field antics proved the undoing of the Dutchman, who preferred partying to playing football, all of which meant he ending up spending more off the pitch than on it. As it was, Van de Meyde only managed 20 appearances for the club with drug and drink issues causing his fitness to be missing for large parts of his time on Merseyside. Considering he could have went to Monaco, a place where in his own words he could have made a lot of money because of tax laws, its arguable that not going to Everton may have meant he would play well past his retirement age of 31.
