10 Strangest Ever Liverpool Signings

Though raw talent certainly goes a long way when considering potential transfers for a football team, considering a player's disciplinary record both on and off the pitch is of equal importance when deciding whether they would be a good fit for a club.

Which is why more than a few eyebrows were raised when it was announced that controversial forward Mario Balotelli would be returning to English football after signing with the Reds for a fee reported to be in the region of £15 million in 2014, just months after then-boss Brendan Rodgers had stated that the move categorically wouldn't take place.

Unfortunately, the Balotelli who had scored 18 goals in Italy the previous season was nowhere to be seen, and the Italian striker managed just one solitary league goal for Liverpool before being loaned back to AC Milan.

While the signing of Balotelli wasn't as strange on the surface as some of the other players on this list, Rodgers' hope that the enigmatic forward would prove to be a suitable replacement for the recently departed Luis Suarez demonstrates the poor transfer business that often held the club back during this period.