The Premier League is the best football league in the world. Some of the best clubs and most famous football players play in the English top-flight, which brings highly exciting matches for the soccer fans.
However, the Premier League is also highly tough for many footballers who fail to shine here, despite being very talented and skilled. Below we have listed some of the biggest flops in the history of the famous league.
Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres started his career at Atletico Madrid and rose through its ranks to make his senior debut in 2001. After plundering 75 goals in 174 La Liga appearances, he joined Liverpool in 2007 to try his luck in the Premier League. The Spaniard’s spell at Anfield was highly successful, helping to increase his reputation as one of the best strikers at that time. In his first season in Merseyside, Torres scored an incredible 33 goals in 46 total appearances. He went on to become the fastest player in the Reds’ history to earn 50 league goals. The former Spain international racked up 81 goals in 142 total appearances for the English giants. His performances for the Reds convinced Chelsea to fork out £50 million to bring him to Stamford Bridge, making him the most expensive Spanish player in history. However, Fernando Torres failed to live up to the expectations in London. In his first full season, he made 49 appearances for the Blues but earned his name on the scoresheet on 11 occasions only. The following season didn’t bring much improvement in his performances. After failing to shine in the 2013-14 season as well, he was sent on loan to Serie A side AC Milan, and he subsequently moved to Atletico Madrid.
Alexis Sanchez
Alexis Sanchez carved out a big name for himself at Arsenal before he arriving at Manchester United. He won two FA Cups at the Emirates Stadium and was also voted into the 2015 PFA Team of the Year. He made 122 Premier League appearances for the Gunners, earning his name on the scoresheet on 60 occasions. However, he couldn’t replicate that form at Old Trafford when he made the move to Manchester in 2018 in a swap deal involving Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Because there was no transfer fee involved, the Red Devils agreed to give the Chilean a prodigious £391,000-per-week salary. Alexis Sanchez was given plenty of opportunities at Manchester United but he still failed to shine. In 45 appearances across all competitions for United, he could score five goals and create nine assists only. The Chilean forward subsequently joined Inter Milan in the summer of 2019, initially on a loan that was later made permanent.
Danny Drinkwater
Danny Drinkwater started his career at Manchester United but couldn’t make the grade at Old Trafford and joined Leicester City in 2012. His performances were very impressive for the Foxes over the following years. Drinkwater was part of the team that earned promotion to the Premier League in 2014-15. The following season saw the sensational title victory of Leicester City and the talented midfielder played an important role that campaign in the success of the East Midlands outfit. Chelsea splashed £35m to bring him to Stamford Bridge in 2017 but he failed to shine in London. He clocked up 23 appearances across all competitions for the Pensioners, managing to get on the scoresheet only once. Chelsea won the Champions League trophy last season but they are looking to mount a serious challenge for the league crown this campaign. The Blues are currently in the market to bolster their ranks ahead of the 2021-22 season, and they have been linked with players like Erling Haaland, as per thefootballreports.com.
