What happened to these superstars…?
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Poor Iker Casillas.
The legendary Spaniard, once renowned as the world’s best keeper, let in another howler for Spain against Slovakia on Thursday evening, confirming to pretty much everyone that he’s past his best.
Here’s six other players who were once brilliant, and for no apparent reason, started playing terribly when they should have been in their peak!
Kaka
The ‘AC Milan Kaka’ of the mid-noughties was a ludicrously good footballer. He won the Champions League with the Italians in 2007, and scored and created goals aplenty. He was effortlessly brilliant to watch, but following a world-record transfer to Real Madrid in 2009, he undoubtedly lost his spark, and struggled to shine in the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo. Los Blancos allowed him to leave on a free in 2013, making him one of the biggest transfer mistakes of all time.
Michael Owen
The diminutive striker won the Ballon D’or when he was just 21-years-old. To put this into perspective, Lionel Messi didn’t collect the award until he was 23. By the time Owen was 25 however, he left Real Madrid to join Newcastle, but injuries meant he could very rarely put together a string of performances. In fact, during the final eight years of Owen’s career, he scored just 32 league goals – less than he managed before turning 20.
Fernando Torres
During his peak at Liverpool, Torres was regarded as the world’s best striker, which earned him a British record £50m transfer to Chelsea. Then – for some reason – he lost all confidence and couldn’t score Premier League goals for love nor money. In fact, he only managed 20 in four seasons, and is now on loan in Italy. Sadly, he’ll be remembered as much for his decline as he will his better days, although his medal collection is jaw-dropping.
Andriy Shevchenko
Another world-renowned striker who lost his way at Stamford Bridge, the Ukrainian Ballon D’or winner simply couldn’t adjust to English football. Nine goals in two seasons saw him shipped back to Italy, where he never managed to find the form that once saw him regarded as a football great.
Adriano
A player whose lifestyle and attitude never enabled him to fulfil his phenomenal potential. Aged 20, Adriano scored 16 Serie A goals with Parma, and aged 22, he notched 28 in all competitions with Inter Milan in 2004/05, and won the Golden Shoe and Golden Ball in the 2004 Copa America for Brazil. At this point it was expected that Adriano would develop into the world’s best, but it didn’t happen for him. Weight issues, homesickness and injuries saw him score just six goals between 2006 and 2008. Various transfers to Brazilian clubs and AS Roma were largely unsuccessful, and Adriano has actually only made ten league appearances since 2010! He’s currently out of contract, sacked by Atletico Paranaense for missing a training session.
