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What Went Wrong? Robinho And The World-Class Footballers Who Became Premier League Flops
Brazilian heads for Milan not the first to fall foul of English football...
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Aug 31, 2010 5:19:00 PM
By Alex Dimond
So, it seems sometimes it really does all work out alright on the night.
Robinho might have perfectly performed the role of 'trouble-maker' for much of his two year stay at Manchester City (and towards the end of his prior stay at Real Madrid) but the one-time £32.5 million man still managed to spend the majority of 2010 where he wanted to be - on loan at home club Santos, and on full pay - and then subsequently engineer a move to his preferred destination, Milan.
Some people get all the luck.
The 26-year-old now joins a strikeforce at San Siro that threatens to share many of his interests — with both Ronaldinho and fellow new-boy Zlatan Ibrahimovic not averse to a little social unrest. But Robinho also becomes a member of a more exclusive (but even less prestigious) club; that of the world-class players who have failed to live up to their reputations during a stay in the Premier League.
England's top flight prides itself (to the mockery of some onlookers) on its unique, all-action nature, but clearly it is not everyone's cup of tea.
Here, Goal.com UK take a look at some of the other players who have failed to shine out on this green and pleasant land:
Robinho
Manchester City (2008-10)
£32.5m
The Brazilian international hardly hit the right note from the start, admitting his pleasure at signing for Chelsea — despite the Blues (who also announced the transfer a little presumptuously) being beaten out by the newly cash-rich Eastlands club.
His goalscoring record (14 goals in the 30 league games of his one full season at the club) stands up to comparison, but his attitude off the pitch and generally unsettling nature caused ructions throughout the club
Starring for the national team, and Santos during his loan spell, only angered City fans used to watching his less-than-robust work ethic week in, week out. Now moving to a third big European league with Milan, it would surprise many to see him get back to his best form.
Andriy Shevchenko
Chelsea (2006-09)
£31m
One of Milan's greatest ever players — indeed, the second highest scorer in the club's history — Roman Abramovich's love for the Ukrainian forward led to Chelsea paying more millions than his age (then 29) to grab his signature back in 2006.
It proved a wasted pursuit. Shevchenko had his moments in the capital, and did score a number of goals, but never at the level both fans and the club expected. Loaned back to Milan after two injury-ravaged and uninspiring seasons, he even struggled at his former stomping ground.
Finally leaving the Blues and rejoining first love Dynamo Kiev in the summer of 2009, it seems his unfortunate period in the Premier League was a much a result of being past his best as a failure to adapt to the league's special rigours.
Sergei Rebrov
Tottenham Hotspur (2000-04)
£11m
Formed a formidable double act (as the secondary partner) with Shevchenko for Kiev and country, but preceeded his team-mate in being a fabulous flop in the Premier League.
Brought to the Premier League by George Graham at Spurs, Rebrov got off to an underwhelming start even before the former Arsenal boss was sacked. A failure to settle in the country — a fact some have subsequently blamed on Spurs' then 'primitive' attitude to player welfare — saw him sent out on loan, for two spells at Fenerbahce, and then when he returned he was sold to West Ham, where he proved he could flop at any club in the greater London area.
A return to Kiev saw a return to some form, however, leaving his Premier League spell as just a [sizeable] blip in an otherwise respectable career.
Diego Forlan
Manchester United (2002-04)
£6.9m
Certain, shall we say, more ignorant sections of the English media might never let the Uruguayan forget what an unmitigated disaster his stay at Old Trafford was.
And, to be fair, it wasn't the best, as Forlan started off with a goalscoring drought for ages (which led to the now-classic nickname, "Diego Forlorn"). But he had his moments — a double in a victory against Liverpool, and a long-range volley at Chelsea that hinted at his future success as an all-round marksman — despite an eventual record of 17 goals in 95 games.
A move to Villarreal followed, and soon so did successive European golden boot awards, as Forlan took to La Liga like a duck to water and scored goals wth reckless abandon. English football continued to ridicule him, however, until a Europa League trophy and Golden Ball award at this summer's World Cup finally put to rest any lingering questions about his quality.
Seems the Premier League — and remember he was only 23 at the time — just wasn't for him. Sometimes it's really that simple.
Juan Sebastian Veron
Manchester United (2001-03), Chelsea (2003-04)
£28.1m, £15m
The daddy of all Premier League flops? Veron became a renowned star in a title-winning campaign in Serie A with Lazio, and then cemented his reputation late in his career with a trophy-winning turn at home club Estudiantes — but in between those twin high points he was a colossal waste of money at both Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge.
'The Little Witch' failed to adapt to the pace of the game in England, with his usual faultless range of passing seeming to disappear in two difficult seasons on these shores. Chelsea then helped United recoup some of their loses (very kind of them) in the hope they could bring out the best of him — in the process making him the most expensive footballer in history (cumulative transfers) — but again, Veron failed to sparkle (despite a promising start).
After a while even they cut their losses, and he was loaned out to Inter as the club tried to sweep his period at the club under the rug. Forgettable.
Fernando Morientes
Liverpool (2005-06)
£9.3m
Morientes seemed to have left his talent at Real Madrid when he left the club, looking a shadow of the player that was such an effective foil for Raul upon touching down in Liverpool.
Just five goals in his one full season at Anfield (having joined the club in January 2005) was a poor return, and he was quickly sent back home with Valencia for a mere £3m as Rafa Benitez looked to cut his losses.
What is worse, Morientes was cup-tied for the Reds' successful 2005 Champions League run, so the only trophy he won while on Merseyside was the 2006 FA Cup — in which his appearance in the final was only as a second half substitute.
Adrian Mutu
Chelsea (2003-04)
£15.8m
Started his career at Stamford Bridge in blistering fashion, with a goal on his deubt and four in his first three games to help his new side to a great start to the campaign. But well-publicised off the field troubles would scupper the Romanian's English adventure, eventually leading to his contract at the club being cancelled and the player being served with an expensive court case.
Such troubles seem to have only fleetingly escaped him since his move to Juventus and then Fiorentina (where he has been frequently impressive), and it looks like a once-promising career will never reach it's potential high after a few moments of stupidity.
Jose Antonio Reyes
Arsenal (2004-07)
£10m (potentially rising to £17m)
Another who got off to a bright start in England, but quickly and disappointingly failed to keep up that standard as time went on.
Reyes, a shy boy from humble Romani beginnings in Seville, looked a likely star while playing as a teenager for his hometown club, but couldn't adapt to the new surroundings and attentions of England and its football when the Gunners decided it was his time to be groomed.
Arsene Wenger persevered with the expensive acquisition for a number of years, before finally admitting defeat as he posted him off to Real Madrid on loan. He similarly failed to impressive at the Bernabeu, but city rivals Atletico took a chance on him nonetheless at the end of the 2006-07 season.
Only now — three years and a loan spell at Benfica later — are los Colchoneros finally seeing some sort of return on their investment. Arsenal, however, never will.
Winston Bogarde
Chelsea (2001-04)
Free
The most expensive free transfer in football history? Bogarde — of Ajax, Milan and Barcelona fame, so not a CV to be sniffed at — became a running joke in his time at Stamford Bridge, making a sum total of eleven appearances over the course of his four-year contract worth £40,000-a-week.
Gianluca Vialli signed the defender (although maintains he had little to do with it), but it was Claudio Ranieri who wanted Bogarde out just weeks after his arrival. Bogarde proved immovable, however, as his astronomical wages proved unmatchable by any interested parties.
The Blues tried anything — they demoted him to the reserves, then the youth team — in an attempt to embarrass him into leaving. But Bogarde, to the chagrin of some and the applause of others, still refused to cancel the deal, despite his clear inability to play any relevant part in his club's proceedings.
A rather shambolic end to an otherwise respectable career.
Tomas Brolin
Leeds United (1995-97)
£4.3m
One of the stars of the '94 World Cup with Sweden, only a year (but a few injuries and any number of doughnuts) passed between that highlight of his career and a blockbuster move to Leeds United — which would quickly become the lowlight.
The baby-faced forward looked overweight and off his game, and failed to make any sort of positive impact at the club, where he was supposed to be the ideal foil to Tony Yeboah. Indeed, within three years of his transfer Brolin would retire from the game... but not before taking Crystal Palace's money and even trying his hand as a goalkeeper in the Swedish lower leagues. You know, a standard finale.
Marco Materazzi
Everton (1998-99)
£2.8m
Show me an Everton fan that tipped Materazzi to eventually become a World Cup winner after his one year at Goodison Park, and I'll show you a bare-faced liar.
The centre-back may have remembered as uncompromising throughout his subsequently successful career (where he also won numerous Serie A titles and a Champions League with Inter), but he struggled horribly with discipline during his time in the Premier League which quickly annoyed Toffees' fans, who also had questions about his pace and timing.
His quality on the ball and efficiency in the tackle was already in evidence, however, which helped the club realise a small profit on the player when they sold him back to former club Perugia. Rumours abounded that the Italian hated Liverpool — his wife even suggesting she was scared to go outside — and he would go on to carve a fine career for himself back in his homeland.
So, it seems sometimes it really does all work out alright on the night.
Robinho might have perfectly performed the role of 'trouble-maker' for much of his two year stay at Manchester City (and towards the end of his prior stay at Real Madrid) but the one-time £32.5 million man still managed to spend the majority of 2010 where he wanted to be - on loan at home club Santos, and on full pay - and then subsequently engineer a move to his preferred destination, Milan.
Some people get all the luck.
The 26-year-old now joins a strikeforce at San Siro that threatens to share many of his interests — with both Ronaldinho and fellow new-boy Zlatan Ibrahimovic not averse to a little social unrest. But Robinho also becomes a member of a more exclusive (but even less prestigious) club; that of the world-class players who have failed to live up to their reputations during a stay in the Premier League.
England's top flight prides itself (to the mockery of some onlookers) on its unique, all-action nature, but clearly it is not everyone's cup of tea.
Here, Goal.com UK take a look at some of the other players who have failed to shine out on this green and pleasant land:
RobinhoManchester City (2008-10)
£32.5m
The Brazilian international hardly hit the right note from the start, admitting his pleasure at signing for Chelsea — despite the Blues (who also announced the transfer a little presumptuously) being beaten out by the newly cash-rich Eastlands club.
His goalscoring record (14 goals in the 30 league games of his one full season at the club) stands up to comparison, but his attitude off the pitch and generally unsettling nature caused ructions throughout the club
Starring for the national team, and Santos during his loan spell, only angered City fans used to watching his less-than-robust work ethic week in, week out. Now moving to a third big European league with Milan, it would surprise many to see him get back to his best form.
Andriy ShevchenkoChelsea (2006-09)
£31m
One of Milan's greatest ever players — indeed, the second highest scorer in the club's history — Roman Abramovich's love for the Ukrainian forward led to Chelsea paying more millions than his age (then 29) to grab his signature back in 2006.
It proved a wasted pursuit. Shevchenko had his moments in the capital, and did score a number of goals, but never at the level both fans and the club expected. Loaned back to Milan after two injury-ravaged and uninspiring seasons, he even struggled at his former stomping ground.
Finally leaving the Blues and rejoining first love Dynamo Kiev in the summer of 2009, it seems his unfortunate period in the Premier League was a much a result of being past his best as a failure to adapt to the league's special rigours.
Sergei Rebrov
Tottenham Hotspur (2000-04)
£11m
Formed a formidable double act (as the secondary partner) with Shevchenko for Kiev and country, but preceeded his team-mate in being a fabulous flop in the Premier League.
Brought to the Premier League by George Graham at Spurs, Rebrov got off to an underwhelming start even before the former Arsenal boss was sacked. A failure to settle in the country — a fact some have subsequently blamed on Spurs' then 'primitive' attitude to player welfare — saw him sent out on loan, for two spells at Fenerbahce, and then when he returned he was sold to West Ham, where he proved he could flop at any club in the greater London area.
A return to Kiev saw a return to some form, however, leaving his Premier League spell as just a [sizeable] blip in an otherwise respectable career.
Diego ForlanManchester United (2002-04)
£6.9m
Certain, shall we say, more ignorant sections of the English media might never let the Uruguayan forget what an unmitigated disaster his stay at Old Trafford was.
And, to be fair, it wasn't the best, as Forlan started off with a goalscoring drought for ages (which led to the now-classic nickname, "Diego Forlorn"). But he had his moments — a double in a victory against Liverpool, and a long-range volley at Chelsea that hinted at his future success as an all-round marksman — despite an eventual record of 17 goals in 95 games.
A move to Villarreal followed, and soon so did successive European golden boot awards, as Forlan took to La Liga like a duck to water and scored goals wth reckless abandon. English football continued to ridicule him, however, until a Europa League trophy and Golden Ball award at this summer's World Cup finally put to rest any lingering questions about his quality.
Seems the Premier League — and remember he was only 23 at the time — just wasn't for him. Sometimes it's really that simple.
Juan Sebastian VeronManchester United (2001-03), Chelsea (2003-04)
£28.1m, £15m
The daddy of all Premier League flops? Veron became a renowned star in a title-winning campaign in Serie A with Lazio, and then cemented his reputation late in his career with a trophy-winning turn at home club Estudiantes — but in between those twin high points he was a colossal waste of money at both Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge.
'The Little Witch' failed to adapt to the pace of the game in England, with his usual faultless range of passing seeming to disappear in two difficult seasons on these shores. Chelsea then helped United recoup some of their loses (very kind of them) in the hope they could bring out the best of him — in the process making him the most expensive footballer in history (cumulative transfers) — but again, Veron failed to sparkle (despite a promising start).
After a while even they cut their losses, and he was loaned out to Inter as the club tried to sweep his period at the club under the rug. Forgettable.
Fernando MorientesLiverpool (2005-06)
£9.3m
Morientes seemed to have left his talent at Real Madrid when he left the club, looking a shadow of the player that was such an effective foil for Raul upon touching down in Liverpool.
Just five goals in his one full season at Anfield (having joined the club in January 2005) was a poor return, and he was quickly sent back home with Valencia for a mere £3m as Rafa Benitez looked to cut his losses.
What is worse, Morientes was cup-tied for the Reds' successful 2005 Champions League run, so the only trophy he won while on Merseyside was the 2006 FA Cup — in which his appearance in the final was only as a second half substitute.
Adrian Mutu
Chelsea (2003-04)
£15.8m
Started his career at Stamford Bridge in blistering fashion, with a goal on his deubt and four in his first three games to help his new side to a great start to the campaign. But well-publicised off the field troubles would scupper the Romanian's English adventure, eventually leading to his contract at the club being cancelled and the player being served with an expensive court case.
Such troubles seem to have only fleetingly escaped him since his move to Juventus and then Fiorentina (where he has been frequently impressive), and it looks like a once-promising career will never reach it's potential high after a few moments of stupidity.
Jose Antonio ReyesArsenal (2004-07)
£10m (potentially rising to £17m)
Another who got off to a bright start in England, but quickly and disappointingly failed to keep up that standard as time went on.
Reyes, a shy boy from humble Romani beginnings in Seville, looked a likely star while playing as a teenager for his hometown club, but couldn't adapt to the new surroundings and attentions of England and its football when the Gunners decided it was his time to be groomed.
Arsene Wenger persevered with the expensive acquisition for a number of years, before finally admitting defeat as he posted him off to Real Madrid on loan. He similarly failed to impressive at the Bernabeu, but city rivals Atletico took a chance on him nonetheless at the end of the 2006-07 season.
Only now — three years and a loan spell at Benfica later — are los Colchoneros finally seeing some sort of return on their investment. Arsenal, however, never will.
Winston BogardeChelsea (2001-04)
Free
The most expensive free transfer in football history? Bogarde — of Ajax, Milan and Barcelona fame, so not a CV to be sniffed at — became a running joke in his time at Stamford Bridge, making a sum total of eleven appearances over the course of his four-year contract worth £40,000-a-week.
Gianluca Vialli signed the defender (although maintains he had little to do with it), but it was Claudio Ranieri who wanted Bogarde out just weeks after his arrival. Bogarde proved immovable, however, as his astronomical wages proved unmatchable by any interested parties.
The Blues tried anything — they demoted him to the reserves, then the youth team — in an attempt to embarrass him into leaving. But Bogarde, to the chagrin of some and the applause of others, still refused to cancel the deal, despite his clear inability to play any relevant part in his club's proceedings.
A rather shambolic end to an otherwise respectable career.
Tomas Brolin
Leeds United (1995-97)
£4.3m
One of the stars of the '94 World Cup with Sweden, only a year (but a few injuries and any number of doughnuts) passed between that highlight of his career and a blockbuster move to Leeds United — which would quickly become the lowlight.
The baby-faced forward looked overweight and off his game, and failed to make any sort of positive impact at the club, where he was supposed to be the ideal foil to Tony Yeboah. Indeed, within three years of his transfer Brolin would retire from the game... but not before taking Crystal Palace's money and even trying his hand as a goalkeeper in the Swedish lower leagues. You know, a standard finale.
Marco MaterazziEverton (1998-99)
£2.8m
Show me an Everton fan that tipped Materazzi to eventually become a World Cup winner after his one year at Goodison Park, and I'll show you a bare-faced liar.
The centre-back may have remembered as uncompromising throughout his subsequently successful career (where he also won numerous Serie A titles and a Champions League with Inter), but he struggled horribly with discipline during his time in the Premier League which quickly annoyed Toffees' fans, who also had questions about his pace and timing.
His quality on the ball and efficiency in the tackle was already in evidence, however, which helped the club realise a small profit on the player when they sold him back to former club Perugia. Rumours abounded that the Italian hated Liverpool — his wife even suggesting she was scared to go outside — and he would go on to carve a fine career for himself back in his homeland.
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