9. El Hadji Diouf – RC Lens to Liverpool, 2002
Coming off an impressive 2002 World Cup with global darlings Senegal, Diouf was considered an up-and-coming striker in the global scene. Of course, playing in England for one of the top teams is very different from playing in the French League.
Even with RC Lens, Diouf was a not a top scorer. He scored 18 goals in 54 games, but a strong tournament result can drive market price up.
In signing Diouf for 10 million pounds, Liverpool chose to save money by letting French striker Nicolas Anelka depart. Anelka would go on to score 46 goals in 103 games for Manchester City, while Diouf would only contribute 6 goals in 80 games with Liverpool before being sold to Bolton for an undisclosed fee in 2005.
It is a shame that the transfer fee was undisclosed, but it was assuredly less than the 10 million pounds Liverpool paid to bring him in. Diouf continued to hand around the Premier League and Championship until 2014, with short stints on several teams.
Most recently, in 2014, Diouf joined Malaysian second-division side Sabah FC on a one-year contract.
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