Players that fail to live up to their potential is nothing new in football and today the Fan Park pick five players that were destined to become stars, but unfortunately weren’t able to make the step up.
Nuri Sahin
The Turk was destined to become a world-class midfielder and when he moved from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid in 2011, things seem to be all going to plan for him. He unfortunately struggled with life in Spain and also picked up numerous injuries.
Nani
Tipped to be Manchester United’s next Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese just couldn’t reproduce the consistency of his counterpart. Nani showed flashes of brilliance from time to time, but that hasn’t been an enough to make him a regular starter at the club. He is now back at Sporting Lisbon on loan, where he first started playing.
Javier Pastore
The Argentine was a hot property in the world football back in 2011 and ended up moving too Paris Saint-Germain. He had all the capabilities and skill to become the finest attacking midfielder in the world, but since moving to France he has been fairly poor.
Robinho
The Brazilian has had a rollercoaster of a career and even though some might say he achieved quite a bit, throughout his career he didn’t live up to his full potential. Once dubbed the next Pele, Robinho struggled to settle in at some of the world’s finest clubs. Robinho is currently back at Santos where he started his career.
Freddy Adu
At the age of 14 Adu signed his first professional contract with DC United in the MLS and was tipped to be the biggest star to come out of North America. Adu had all the potential to be a great player and a move to one of Europe’s big clubs was only going to be a matter of time, but it never happened and now the 25 year old is currently without a club.
Can you name any other players that have failed to live up to their potential?