The worst signings in Serie A history

Italian teams are much more cautious about spending big money on players than other top European leagues, usually because of the pressure from their highly passionate fanbases.

Even though it may take longer and a lot more investigative work to bring in the perfect player, some transfers have gone on to have terrible careers in the Serie A. Here are some of the worst!

Before joining Lazio in 2001, Gaizka Mendieta was the beating heart of a Valencia team that was one of the most dominant in Europe. UEFA named him the best midfielder in Europe for two consecutive years.

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Lazio signed Mendieta for nearly 50 million Euros, their sixth-highest transfer fee. However, things went south quickly for Mendieta, who failed to score one goal in 31 appearances for the Italian team. He was sold to Barcelona after one season.

Ricardo Quaresma came through the Sporting CP ranks with Cristiano Ronaldo, but their careers took very different journeys. After a failed spell with Barcelona, Quaresma found form with Porto before joining Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan in 2008.

According to Transfermarkt, Quaresma played one season with Inter, making 32 appearances, scoring one goal, and providing two assists. Mourinho questioned his work ethic and desire while playing for Inter, and at the end of his debut season, he was awarded the Golden Bin award for worst Serie A player.

During his time at Monaco, Geoffry Kondogbia was labelled the next Paul Pogba due to his sheer size, power, and technical ability on the ball. However, during his two years at Inter Milan, this show-stopping ability was nowhere to be seen.

Maybe it wasn't all Kondogbia's fault that he produced two goals and two assists in 50 Serie A games because Inter had four managers in his two seasons. According to Sports Illustrated, his situation in Italy's fashion capital was so bad that he even offered to pay his buyout clause to leave.

These two belong together because, as a duo, they were the worst Juventus midfield partnership in the 21st century. Poulsen joined in 2008, while Melo joined in 2009, but in the one season they crossed paths, Juventus recorded its worst points tally since 2000.

After their big-money moves to Turin, the pair lacked quality or steel. Juventus lost 15 league games in Serie A during the 2009/10 campaign, equalling the club record for most losses in a season. Not long after, the pair were quickly shipped off.

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American defender Oguchi Onyewu was a giant center-back in his playing career and earned a move to AC Milan after an impressive spell with Standard Liege in Belgium. However, due to injuries, the American played 20 minutes in two seasons.

His injury issues were so persistent at Milan that he even offered to play for free in his second season. The most notable thing about his career at the San Siro was his famed behind-the-scenes fight with Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Former Juventus director Giuseppe Marotta made his fair share of blunders during his time with Juventus, but none stick out more than winger Eljero Elia, who he thought was the missing link in Juventus' 4-3-3 formation.

The 'Old Lady' signed Elia for just under ten million euros, thinking he would play on one wing and Milos Krasic on the other. After four games played during the 2011/12 season, Elia was sold for half the price.

According to Soccer News, Gianluigi Lentini became the most expensive football player in the world when he joined AC Milan from Torino for £13 million ($16m, €12m) in 1992. With such lofty expectations, Lentini had nothing to show for becoming the most expensive player in the world.

Lentini did win the Serie A title three times and the Champions League; however, a serious car crash derailed his career, meaning he played 33 more times between 1993 and 1996. Lentini played until he was 40 with various amateur Italian teams.

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