Although the Premier League is now regarded as the most beautiful football competition in the world, it has not always had a prosperous history, and its protagonists have not always been at the top.
Players that lacked basic talent, commitment, and fitness, and who ultimately embarrassed the management who recruited them. There are plenty to select from, but this is a list of the top nine worst Premier League players in history.
Marcelino
Photo: mlssoccer
After being bought for £ 5.8 million to bolster his notoriously fair defense, Marcelino 'played' for Newcastle United for four years. He had been one of Mallorca's best players the previous season, and Newcastle fans were ecstatic to see him.
In those four years, he made a total of 20 appearances and is best remembered by Newcastle supporters for missing two months with what is supposed to be a "cursed finger"!
Frank Sinclair
Photo: skysports
Frank Sinclair was arguably a better defender than many of the defenders on this list, yet the first option when you type his name into a search engine is usually "Frank Sinclair Own Goal."
He developed a bad habit of scoring in his net while at Leicester, scoring in the last minute of two consecutive games in 1999 and scoring an unbelievable goal from almost 40 meters during a six-point relegation with Middlesbrough in 2002.
Ade Akinbiyi
Photo: eurosport
After making an impression with Bristol City and Wolves, Ade Akinbiyi joined Leicester in place of Emile Heskey, who was recruited by Liverpool. Due to his dismal performance for Leicester and his £ 5.5 million transfer fee, he was dubbed 'Ade Akin-bad-buy.'
In 58 games with the Foxes, he only scored 11 goals, and his two-year stay ended with the club's relegation from the Premier League. Ade went on to have a great career in the lesser levels, but he was never good enough to play at the top level.
Tomas Brolin
Photo: sillyseason
Before joining Leeds United in 1995, Tomas Brolin was one of Europe's hottest prospects. We remember him for his less-than-successful stint in the ranks of Parma. His friendship with Howard Wilkinson deteriorated after a promising start. Wilkinson thought Brolin wasn't putting in enough effort on defense.
Something was lost in translation when Brolin's waistline began to grow faster than his work rate, and he was chastised by fans and the media for his "chubby" appearance. In actuality, Brolin's injury while playing for his national team in 1994 appeared to have robbed him of his physical form, rhythm, and ambition.
He only played 20 games for Leeds and has never regained his form; he retired from football at the age of just 28 - appropriately enough he opened a restaurant!
Carlton Palmer
Photo: dailymail.co.uk
Carlton Palmer has only 18 England appearances despite playing in the Premier League for Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds, Southampton, and Nottingham Forest. All of this is strange because he was a lousy footballer.
He is an unforgettable reminder and symbol of Graham Taylor's terrible England experience, and he is probably certainly the poorest player to ever represent the Queen in an international competition.
Jason Lee
Photo: skysports
Jason Lee is well known for his 'pineapple' haircut as a Nottingham Forest player, which was criticized on television. He swiftly shrank to the lower leagues after becoming a laughing stock around the country and taking abuse from opposition supporters.
Bosko Balaban
Photo: goal
In 2001, John Gregory paid £ 5.8 million to recruit Croatian goalkeeper Bosko Balaban from Dinamo Zagreb to Aston Villa. Unfortunately, when he arrived, it was clear that he was lethargic, disliked training, and wasn't very competent.
For the Villains, he never started a Premier League game, made only 9 appearances, and never scored a goal. With Balaban, he was an excellent goal scorer wherever he went, except for Aston Villa!
Jean Alain Boumsong
Photo: whatculture
Boumsong joined Glasgow Rangers on a free transfer in the summer of 2004, and Graeme Souness has opted to buy him for £8 million since January! Rangers, predictably, leaped at the chance to make a quick buck.
Boumsong's main gift to Bianconeri was demonstrating that Titus Bramble was not the world's worst center defender! The fact that a team like Newcastle formerly had players like Bramble, Boumsong, and Luque on this list is a credit to Souness' management abilities, and it also explains why he has so little hair!
Massimo Taibi
Photo: transfermarkt
Massimo Taibi is widely regarded as one of Alex Ferguson's worst managerial blunders. In 1999, he joined Manchester United for £ 4.5 million from Venice.
He has only appeared in four games, including a duck on a cross that allowed Liverpool's Sami Hyppia to score, letting an innocuous shot from Matt LeTissier pass into his arms, and allowing Chelsea to score five goals. He's not surprised that he was loaned back to Italy and never came back.
