Premier League Transfers: 15 Talented Imports Who Completely Flopped

8. Juan Sebastián Verón

Juan Sebastian Verón is a legend of South American football, and rightfully so, but the favourable reputation that he holds in his home continent does not extend to England, where he is considered a prime example of an expensive flop. Verón left his native Argentina for Italy, where he built his reputation as one of the best midfielders in European football, establishing himself as a key player for Lazio as the capital club won Serie A in 2000. His time with Lazio, along with previous spells at Sampdoria and Parma, led to Verón€™s transfer to Manchester United for a mammoth fee, which unfortunately piled a lot of pressure on the Argentinian who was expected to drive United to further success, both at home and in Europe. Verón had dominated games in Italy but failed to have the same effect in the Premier League. Most tend to agree that this was down to the faster pace of English football; he was used to having time and space with the ball, something that he would rarely get in his new surroundings. This issue effectively made him useless, as his greatest strength had been taken away. Despite his failure at United, for some baffling reason the newly minted Chelsea decided to spend another large sum (though not as obscene as the initial outlay by United) for his services. Not surprisingly Verón€™s time at the bridge was also a failure - likely for the exact same reasons as before, and when Jose Mourinho joined Chelsea in 2004, Verón was sent on loan to the place where is talents were best suited- Italy. He had a good time at Inter, winning the Coppa Italia twice and being awarded a Seire A win by virtue of the Calciopoli scandal. Though he did fairly well in Milan, there was no getting away from the fact that his reputation was badly damaged in Europe - but he had no such problem in South America. He returned to Argentina in 2006 by joining Estudiantes of the Argentine league and led the club to great success.