Worst free transfers XI: Bogarde, Campbell and Karius lead a nightmare XI of free-transfer flops

Not every “free” signing turns out to be a bargain. For every Sol Campbell or David Alaba who arrived with zero transfer fee and delivered silverware, there's a cautionary tale of a big name who took the wages and gave almost nothing back on the pitch.

Here, FootballWhispers has put together an XI of the worst free transfers of all time:

GK: Loris Karius (Besiktas)

Still haunted by his Champions League final nightmare for Liverpool, Karius left Anfield in 2018 to join Besiktas on a permanent free transfer.

Rather than resetting his career, the errors continued in Turkey, and the move is now regularly cited as one of the most ill-fated free transfers in modern football.

RB: Jose Bosingwa (QPR)

Released by Chelsea after winning the Champions League in 2012, Bosingwa signed for QPR on a free transfer that same summer.

His Loftus Road spell is best remembered for refusing to warm up as a substitute during a heavy defeat to Manchester City, a moment that summed up a deeply unhappy year before his contract was cancelled.

CB: Wes Brown (Sunderland)

A treble-winner with Manchester United, Brown moved to Sunderland on a free transfer in 2011 hoping for regular football.

Instead, persistent injuries wrecked his spell on Wearside, and he's frequently named as one of the Premier League's worst free-transfer signings purely on a cost-per-appearance basis.

CB: Sol Campbell (Notts County)

Despite being in the best free transfers XI, Campbell makes this list too, on the opposite end of the spectrum from his Arsenal heroics.

In January 2009, he sensationally joined League Two Notts County on a lucrative free transfer, only to leave by mutual consent after a single appearance, reportedly unhappy with the club's facilities and ambition.

LB: Winston Bogarde (Chelsea)

The gold standard of free-transfer flops. Bogarde joined Chelsea from Barcelona in 2000 and made just 11 appearances across four years, famously refusing to leave and collecting his full wages throughout, later saying he owed it to his children to see out the contract.

CM: Michael Essien (Panathinaikos)

Once one of the best midfielders in the world at Chelsea, Essien's powers had faded significantly by the time he signed for Panathinaikos as a free agent in 2015.

Injuries and a lack of match sharpness meant he barely resembled the player who terrorised Premier League midfields a decade earlier.

CM: Ravel Morrison (Sheffield United)

Long tipped as one of England's most gifted footballers, Morrison signed for Sheffield United on a free transfer in 2017 after his release from Lazio.

He was let go within months following disciplinary issues, another entry in a career full of unfulfilled potential and failed free moves.

CAM: Joe Cole (Liverpool)

Cole's free transfer from Chelsea to Liverpool in 2010 was billed as a coup at the time. It quickly unravelled, with injuries and poor form restricting him to bit-part appearances on a reported £90,000-a-week salary, before he was shipped out on loan within 18 months.

RW: Andriy Voronin (Liverpool)

Arriving on a free transfer from Bayer Leverkusen in 2007, Voronin struggled to adapt to the pace of the Premier League.

He managed just a handful of goals in two seasons at Anfield before being sold on, with his time at the club widely regarded as a missed opportunity.

ST: Yaya Sanogo (Arsenal)

Signed as a promising free agent from Auxerre in 2013, Sanogo became something of a punchline among Arsenal fans.

He scored just once for the club across four years, spending much of his contract out on unsuccessful loan spells before departing.

LW: Marouane Chamakh (Arsenal)

Chamakh's free transfer from Bordeaux in 2010 arrived with real promise after a string of goals in French football.

A hot start soon faded, and persistent injury problems and a lack of form saw him become one of Arsenal's most-mocked signings of the Wenger era.