Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has branded Alberto Aquilani as one of the worst signings made by the club in recent history.

He has also named Mario Balotelli and El Hadji Diouf as the other transfer blunders by the club. Aquilani was brought to Anfield by Rafa Benitez, who is remembered as the last manager to have brought the Champions League title to the club. There was a time when Benitez was seen as a god among the Anfield faithful. However, he failed in his assessment of Aquilani, who came to the club for £ 20 million from Roma.

Many were sceptical about the Italian being successful at Merseyside given that he already had a poor injury record. This turned out to be the case at Merseyside after Aquilani went from one injury to another. In his first season, he made just 18 appearances in all competitions. The lack of availability meant that Aquilani was never able to find a good run of form. This turned into a vicious cycle and the player ended up leaving the club on loan deals before a permanent move back to Italian football. This was a similar case with players like Mario Balotelli, who came to the club much more recently. Balotelli also cost less at around £ 16 million.

"I can't believe we signed Mario Balotelli! The thing with Balotelli is everyone always says it's the off-the-field antics, but I wouldn't care if he was doing it on the pitch. People tell me he's got talent but I can't remember him having a good game. Alberto Aquilani would have to be up there as well. We spent a lot of money on him. He was signed injured, he left injured and I can't remember him not being injured," said the former Liverpool defender.