The arrival of Yan Diomande at Real Madrid in a deal that could reach 140 million euros places him among the most expensive signings in LaLiga history. Curiously, they all share one common denominator: none managed to reach the expected level of performance for the huge investment made by their clubs.
The big LaLiga signings that didn’t live up to expectations
- Ousmane Dembélé (148 million)
- Philippe Coutinho (135 million)
- João Félix (127.2 million)
- Eden Hazard (120.8 million)
- Antoine Griezmann (120 million)
The case of Ousmane Dembélé is the most representative. He arrived at Barcelona to fill the void left by Neymar, but continual injuries prevented him from achieving the expected consistency. Although he won several titles (3 league titles, 2 Copa del Rey trophies, and 2 Spanish Super Cups) and produced moments of great quality, he never reached the level and consistency he has achieved with PSG under Luis Enrique.
Philippe Coutinho arrived at Camp Nou just five months later. He came after being one of the Premier League’s biggest stars with Liverpool, but he never found his place. Lack of confidence and performances far belowexpectations led to him eventually being loaned out to Bayern Munich, where he even won the Champions League. After returning to Barça, he went out again until leaving the club for good, becoming one of the most disastrous deals in its history.
Atletico Madrid broke all its records in 2019 to sign João Félix for 127.2 million euros. The Portuguese was tipped to be one of Europe’s great talents, but he never managed to fulfil his potential under Cholo Simeone.
His enormous talent only appeared in dribs and drabs and the relationship with the coach deteriorated as the seasons went by. Then came the loan spells at Chelsea and FC Barcelona, before definitively bringing his time as a rojiblanco to a close without having met theexpectations that accompanied a signing of such magnitude.
At Real Madrid, Eden Hazard was at the center of one of the biggest flops in the club’s transfer history. Injuries marked his spell as a Madrid player from the very beginning, and he was barely able to show flashes of the footballer who had shone at Chelsea, a far cry from the expected performance after an investment of more than 120 million. In four seasons he scored only seven goals and ended up retiring from football prematurely, far from the expectations he had generated.
The list is completed by Antoine Griezmann, for whom FC Barcelona paid the 120 million euro release clause in 2019. The Frenchman arrived after being a world champion and finishing second in the Ballon d’Or, but he never found the ideal fit at the blaugrana club.
Although he posted acceptable numbers, his performance was far from expected for an investment of that magnitude. Two years later he returned to Atlético de Madrid, where he once again rediscovered his best form.
With these precedents, Diomande arrives at the Santiago Bernabéu with an added challenge. In addition to living up to the excitement generated by his signing, he will have to break a striking curse: that of the big-money outlays that, so far, have not found the expected success in LaLiga.
