25 Worst Premier League Signings Ever
3. Winston Bogarde
If you were to look up the term mercenary footballer in a dictionary, Winston Bogarde's photo would be presented right next to it. A respectable figure at Ajax, Milan and Barcelona, Chelsea appeared to have secured a steal, gaining him on a free transfer before the start of the 2000/01 season. However, managerial changes a matter of weeks after he'd joined the club meant that new manager Claudio Ranieri rendered him surplus to requirements.
Try as they might, Chelsea just couldn't sell the player, and instead of agreeing to mutually terminate his deal with the club, Bogarde chose to sit on his contract and earn his £40,000 a week doing absolutely nothing. Even demoting the player to the reserves and youth teams did nothing to knock his resolve, and the Dutchman saw out his contract, making a measly nine appearances, when there was literally nobody else available, until it ran out in 2004. Bogarde ended up costing Chelsea millions in the process, and his reputation was left in tatters.