10 great players who joined TERRIBLE clubs!
Why did they go there?
Some transfers are hugely successful and are the making of a player.
Wayne Rooney to Manchester United, Luis Suarez to Liverpool, Sergio Aguero to Manchester City, all very successful moves.
However, some great players made some terrible decisions to join some terrible clubs during their careers.
Here are 10 of the greatest players who joined some terrible clubs.
10) Dimitri Payet to West Ham
Payet is a top player who had a very successful season at West Ham last year, but this season the team is proving that it perhaps was a poor move for him, as he has been dragged into a relegation battle. He will surely move on if they go down.
9) Vaslis Hatzipanagis to Iraklis
Greece’s greatest ever player, who was christened the ‘Greek Maradona’. He played for Pakhtakor, where he had an incredible scoring record in midfield. Eventually, desperate to escape the communist state, he accepted the first contract offered to him, from Greek side Iraklis. His contract allowed the club to keep him for as long as they wanted to, and he retired there after 15 years.
8) Mendieta to Middlesborough
Mendieta was a great player that made his name playing for Spanish club Valencia. He was signed by Lazio in 2001 for £29million. Sadly, he struggled to continue the form he had shown at Valencia, and went out on loan for a season at Barcelona. He wanted to leave Lazio permanently was Steve McClaren convinced him to join Middlesborough, where he made just 83 appearances in 4 years before retiring.
7) Xherdan Shaqiri to Stoke
The Swiss international moved from Basel to Bayern Munich at age 20. It was a massive move but after a couple of seasons he wasn’t getting the game time he wanted. He was linked to big Premier League clubs like Liverpool and Spurs, but instead chose Stoke.
6) Giovinco to Toronto
He moved from Juventus to the MLS in 2015 and has had a successful career out there, scoring 39 goals in 61 games. But, at only 27, was it a move he should’ve postponed until later in his career? Apparently not.
5) Alex Teixeira to Jiangsu Suning
One of the first high-profile names to move off to China for big money. He was so desperate to leave Shakhtar Donetsk in 2016, he didn’t bother waiting until the summer, where he could’ve had a move to Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp, he instead left for China for an extortionate wage.
4) Wesley Snijder to Galatasaray
A Champions League winner who attracted interest from Manchester United and Arsenal, but ended up playing for an average Turkish side.
3) David Beckham to LA Galaxy
At the height of his playing career Beckham had already done great things with Manchester United and Real Madrid. At 32, he moved to LA Galaxy but could’ve gone around to more prestigious clubs in Europe like he did later in his career. His time on the West Coast of America ended up just being lost time.
2) Allan Simonson to Charlton
Just 5 years after winning the Ballon D’or in 1977, Simonsen moved from Barcelona to 2nd division Charlton after the Catalans bought Diego Maradona. He later admitted he turned down offers from Real Madrid and Spurs before the £300,000 move.
1) Falcao to Monaco
After huge successes at Porto and Atletico Madrid, Falcao could’ve joined any club in the world at the peak of his form. However, he opted to join Monaco, who offered him big money. His successes there seemed to end, and he endured horrible loan spells and Manchester United and Chelsea before returning to the french club, where he is now captain.
By Ben Kelly – @benkelly_10