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In football, there inevitably comes a time in a player's career where they cannot move the ball like they used to, their passes are not as pinpoint as they used to be, or they can’t find the top corner of the goal anymore.
Usually, a football player's decline comes with age or accumulated injuries. However, there have been cases in football where some players fell off instantly and never recovered.
Here is the list of the top 5 football players whose careers declined massively.
#5. Alexis Sánchez
At 33, Alexis Sanchez is in the twilight of his illustrious footballing career. Sanchez first came into the spotlight at Barcelona, where he played alongside the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta. However, it was Arsenal in the Premier League, where he took center stage.
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He scored 80 goals and provided 45 assists in 166 appearances for the Gunners, while winning the FA Cup twice - some outstanding football stats. Sanchez also had an incredible 2016-17 season where he scored 24 goals and provided 13 assists in the Premier League in an Arsenal side often struggling to perform at its highest level.
The following season, Sánchez started brightly again but wanted to leave Arsenal to compete for more trophies. This prompted a move to Manchester United, but it has all been downhill since for the Chilean.
Though frequent injury problems did not help him, his struggles at United were apparent. He struggled to fit into a football system built by Jose Mourinho that relied a lot more on working off the ball than with it, and consequently lost confidence. This led to him missing clear goal-scoring opportunities and making bad decisions on the pitch.
His torrid time at United was amplified by his abysmal stats of scoring five, assisting nine in 45 appearances and winning no trophies.
Eventually, in the 2019-20 season, Sánchez forced a move to Inter Milan, where his time has been somewhat better. He went on to win the Scudetto with Inter under Antonio Conte and has overall scored 14 goals and provided 21 assists in 85 appearances for the Milan club.
Though the numbers are reasonable and Sánchez is playing at a decent level, he could never replicate or reach the potential he showed in north London.
#4. Philippe Coutinho
Philippe Coutinho was one of the most valuable players in world football. He housed excellent vision and could shoot from any distance, making him an ever-present goal threat.
Yet, after five successful years at Merseyside with Liverpool, where the Brazilian played 201games, scored 54 goals and provided 45 assists, Coutinho felt that he needed a step up in his football career, which led to a record €135 million transfer to FC Barcelona.
Coutinho had a positive start with the Catalans, scoring seven and assisting seven in his first 18 games. However, similar to Sánchez, things quickly fell off. In the 2018-19 season, Coutinho accumulated just seven-goal contributions in 34 games, and his performances were well below par.
As FC Barcelona struggled, so did Coutinho, and it never looked like he would get the support of the club when needed.
This poor run of form led to a loan transfer to Bayern Munich in 2019, where Coutinho rapidly gained form again and played at a similar level to his Liverpool days. However, once he returned to Barcelona, he seemed lost and struggled to get game time.
Furthermore, in 2020 Coutinho suffered a rupture of his meniscus, leading to him missing 33 football games over seven months.
Coutinho in 2018 was valued at €150 million, but three years later, that number now stands at a mere 20 million. A poor run of form and injuries in a struggling team would never help Coutinho get back to his best.
But what is surprising is just how steep the decline has been for a player housing so much skill and quality.
At 29, Coutinho still has quite a few years ahead of him. If he can stay fit, it will be interesting to see if he can recreate the magic he has shown in the past, but to say his decline was quick might still be an understatement.
#3. Marc-André ter Stegen
Marc-André ter Stegen was one of the finest goalkeepers in world football. He was an excellent shot-stopper and was calm and collected with the ball at his feet. However, for the past few seasons, ter Stegen has looked like a shadow of his former self.
At the peak of his powers in 2018, many questioned why ter Stegen was still not the German number one, but asking that question now would be rather hysterical.
This season ter Stegen’s save percentage stands at an all-time low of 56.8%, a number that puts him in the bottom 25% of all goalkeepers in European football (FBref). He has also conceded 2.4 more goals than his xG, further highlighting his underwhelming performances.
However, apart from shot-stopping, it seems ter Stegen has also lost confidence in his ability as a sweeper-keeper. Once considered his forte, ter Stegen is now averaging just 0.31 defensive actions, an all-time low for him and half of what he managed last season.
Once destined to be the German number one, ter Stegen is now in a spot of bother. Though one could say this is a bad run of form and Ter Stegen will eventually come good, this is something improbable.
Though his stats were decent last season, ter Stegen often made errors leading to shots and goals. His confidence has never reached the level it was once at, and now having a save percentage of around 50 is not good enough at this level of football. His market value has also plummeted by €45 million in the last two years.
Like some of the players above, ter Stegen still has time to revive his skill and quality, but his quick decline from a world-class goalkeeper to an average one has been a sorry sight.
#2. Dele Alli
Dele Alli was one of the finest football talents in 2016. After a successful loan spell at MK Dons, Alli returned to Tottenham, where he scored 18 and assisted nine goals in 37 appearances in the 2016-17 Premier League season as a 21-year-old.
Alli lit up the Premier League with his attacking mindset and a clear eye for goal, making him an all-around threat in world football. Though Alli had some steady seasons after that, in 2019, his quality started to decline sharply.
Several pundits criticized him for not working hard enough when on the pitch. He also suffered from many antics off the field, which could have possibly impacted his efforts on the pitch.
The situation went from bad to worse under José Mourinho in 2020. Mourinho publicly called out Alli’s work ethic in training and on the pitch, something unacceptable in football. Consequently, Alli was dropped from the starting XI and only featured in 15 games in the Premier League, in which he managed to contribute a solitary assist.
Due to this drop in form, Alli was also axed from the England camp. Having been selected for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Alli was expected to be one of the future stars, but that dream soon fell off.
After Mourinho was sacked, many expected Alli to return and play at his best. But that has been far from the case and Alli has looked lackluster this season when given the opportunity and is now also struggling to find game time under new boss Antonio Conte.
Such a sharp decline early in one’s career is often unheard of. Alli never suffered any significant injuries causing him to lose performance, further emphasizing his struggles with work ethic. However, Alli is still very young at 25, and the possibility of regaining his quality remains high.
Also read about Dele Alli's girlfriend, Ruby Mae, her profession and about her relationship with the footballer.
#1. Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard was one of the best players in world football when he was at Chelsea. He was an exceptional dribbler, playmaker and always ready to score goals. Often, he was the player who made the difference for Chelsea whenever they were struggling. He also had an excellent 2018 World Cup, being one of the best players in the tournament, scoring three and assisting two goals.
However, in 2019, Hazard was tired of carrying a Chelsea team deprived of quality and wanted to take his talents elsewhere. This led to a move to Real Madrid, where much was expected from the stylish winger. Instead, his career never took off at Los Blancos.
Hazard arrived at Real Madrid overweight and struggling for fitness. He started at a decent level, but soon the injuries began to pile on for the Belgian.
To further highlight his disappointing career in Madrid, Hazard has scored five and assisted nine goals in 57 appearances.
Since arriving at Real Madrid, Hazard has missed over 60 football games due to injury, and so much time off the pitch will naturally affect one's performance on it. Furthermore, being a football player whose strength is with the ball at his feet, Hazard often seems scared to make those runs he was known for due to the fear of getting injured again.
Known for beating defenders with his quick turn of pace and nifty movement, Hazard now struggles to play to his strengths, naturally being detrimental to his overall quality as a footballer. This has also seen his market value decrease from €150 million to €25 million in two years.
From being one of the best footballers in the world to now being a bench-warmer at Madrid, Hazard and his ambitions have well and truly fallen off. Furthermore, with Hazard not playing to his strengths, it is unlikely he will reach the heights he did before, unless he completely revamps his game.
Get to know Eden Hazard's wife, Natacha Von Honacker, their children and about their love life.
