7 Football Stars Who Failed Incredibly After Switching Teams

Some players proved to be world-class footballers at one point, however after transferring to another club they failed to replicate the same success.

The price of a player always tells something about his previous performances. The most expensive football players are usually the best of all and they are also worth their price. As Real Madrid President, Florentino Perez, said about his deal of buying Zidane for a record fee of EUR 75 million, “He was the most expensive player, but at the same time he was the cheapest one as well.” He highlighted the fact the French midfielder was worth every single cent of the business.

• Torres shined in Liverpool but failed in London
• Career breaker England move for Falcao, Robinho and Shevchenko
• Signing for Real Madrid was too much for Kaka and Owen
• Mendieta dropped form in Italy

On the other hand, it happens very often in the football world that certain players show amazing talent at their club, but after being bought by other teams, they fail to show their class. This is what happened to Kaka and Shevchenko for example, and our purpose is to introduce the 7 most memorable fails of world-class players.

Gaizka Mendieta regretted Italy move

Gaizka Mendieta played an important role in the success of Hector Cuper’s Valencia. The Basque player has won the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Supercup with his team in addition to leading them to the UEFA Champions League final twice. He was given the “European Midfielder of the Season” award in both years even though they lost both finals.

The Spanish midfielder became the 6th most expensive player in the summer of 2001 after being sold to Lazio for EUR 48 million. Mobile betting sites expected him to be a great leader for the Rome-based side, but his performance was disappointing and he was loaned to Barcelona after only one year. For the Catalan side he played regularly but they finished only 6th in the league. Afterwards, he played for English mid-table team Middlesbrough in the 2003-2004 season.

Michael Owen left Liverpool for Real Madrid bench

Michael Owen was a home-grown player for Liverpool and was regarded as a wonder kid due to his incredible amount of goals in the youth teams. He debuted with the seniors in 1997 at the age of 17 and he also scored on his first match against Wimbledon. Owen quickly became a star for the Reds, winning Premier League Golden Boot in the 1998-99 season and helped his team clinch the League Cup, the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup in 2000-01. The English striker was rewarded the FIFA Ballon d’Or for his performance.

Real Madrid bought the Englishman for GBP 8 million, but the transfer did not go as expected because Owen was rarely in the starting line-up. He scored 13 goals in the Liga BBVA and he notched the highest ratio of scoring (goals / minutes played). After completing the signature of Robinho and Julio Baptista, it was clear that the manager did not count on the player from Liverpool, who was sold to Newcastle United for GBP 16.8 million.

Shevchenko failed at Chelsea

Shevchenko signed for AC Milan in 1999 and won the Italian Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, the Serie A and even the UEFA Champions League with the Italian team. In addition, he was Serie A top scorer twice and has received the FIFA Ballon d’Or award in 2004. He became a legend for the Mediterranean club.

In the summer of 2006, Roman Abramovich, the owner of FC Chelsea acquired the Ukrainian striker for a transfer fee of GBP 30.8 million. Online gambling sites in UK reported that this transfer made Sheva the most expensive player bought by an English club so a lot was expected of him. However, he never became a key player for the London-based side and was rarely in the starting XI due to injuries. The Golden Ball winner striker was loaned back to Milan in 2008 and returned to Dynamo Kyiv in 2009.

Robinho never became one of the bests

Real Madrid bought Robson de Souza from Santos for a transfer fee of EUR 24 million. Robinho was regarded as the greatest talent of the football world at the time. The Brazilian soon become number 10 of the Galacticos and has helped Los Blancos to two league titles. However, the Royal Club sold its gifted attacker after he refused to renew his contract.

Manchester City purchased the young attacking midfielder for EUR 42.5 million (GBP 33 million). He was the team’s top scorer in his first year but he hardly played in the next season due to his injury. He returned to Santos for a 6-month loan and then he played for AC Milan but he never achieved anything great. In August, 2014, he returned to Santos once again.

Injuries destroyed Kaka’s career

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, or more commonly known as Kaka, has started his career at Sao Paulo and AC Milan bought him for EUR 8.5 million. The Brazilian playmaker was member of the World Cup winner national team in 2002. He soon became the most important element of the Italian side’s success, leading his team to Champions League triumph for which he received the FIFA Ballon d’Or in 2007.

Real Madrid had been chasing the Golden Ball winner attacker for a long time when Florentino Perez eventually signed him for EUR 70 million in 2009. Online betting sites believed that he would have been the next Zidane of the Royal Team but he never became a decisive player of the Spanish side. He was forced out of the field due to his many injuries and he never managed to pick up a good form. After spending 4 years in Madrid, he was released on a free transfer and he joined AC Milan.

Chelsea move was wrong decision for Torres

Fernando Torres debuted with Atletico de Madrid in 2001 at the age of 17 and two years later he was given the captain’s armband. FC Liverpool purchased the Spaniard for GBP 20 million and the striker’s form showed constant growth. He was the top scorer of Liverpool and he was a key member of the national team, scoring the only goal of the EURO 2008 final which Spain won by 1-0 against Germany.

El Nino signed for London-based FC Chelsea in January, 2011 for a reported fee of GBP 50 million. His performance however have been disappointing. He scored only one goal in 18 games of his first season and he was ridiculed for missing clear cut chances on countless occasions. The former Atletico captain played 110 games for Chelsea before he left for AC Milan where he scored only one goal. In December 2014, he returned to his first team to revive his career.

Falcao fails to prove his class at Manchester United

Colombian football star Radamel Falcao has started his European career at FC Porto where he won the Portuguese Championship and the UEFA Europe League tournaments. In 2011 he signed for Atletico de Madrid for EUR 40 million where he also won the Europe League in addition to the Spanish Supercup and Copa del Rey before Atletico sold him to AS Monaco for EUR 60 million, according to Spanish gambling news.

He was forced to the side-line for many months and he even had to miss the World Cup due to his injuries. In 2014, his loan deal to Manchester United for GBP 6 million was completed, but his aim to gain back his form was not going so well. The Red Devils’ new manager, Louis Van Gaal, does not count on the South American striker because, as the Dutchman says, his physical condition is not good enough so far.