5. Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez (Corinthians to West Ham United – loan)
In 2006, Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez were best known to the armchair fan as being brilliant prospects on popular football manager games.
They’d develop into world class talents, but Tevez had a habit of kicking up a fuss if he was rested for a single game, turning against all his team-mates and manager before ruining the club’s morale.
I’m not bitter. I just feel like he could have tried harder to fit in with the squad.
Anyway, Tevez and Mascherano were surprisingly signed by Alan Pardew’s West Ham United in summer 2006, despite being linked with some of the biggest clubs in Europe.
People questioned where West Ham got the money to sign them and why the players chose to move to Upton Park, but things only got stranger.
West Ham immediately went on a losing spree upon the Argentine pair’s arrival. Neither Mascherano or Tevez could get into the team – although the latter did save the Hammers from relegation with a series of emphatic performances late in the season.
Mascherano meanwhile was loaned to Liverpool in January before completing a permanent move to Anfield, and was later transferred to FC Barcelona.
But he wasn’t good enough for West Ham.
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