5 players who flopped in the Premier League but flourished elsewhere

England’s Premier League is considered the greatest and most competitive league in all of football by many fans, but despite this, not all of the world’s best players have seen success there. All-time greats like Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Sergio Aguero have all plied their trade in the Premier League – and became legends during their tenure – but other players have failed there despite succeeding elsewhere.

For various reasons – stylistic struggles, issues fitting into the way of life in England, or distrust from their manager at the time – the following five players flopped in the Premier League, only to go on to flourish elsewhere in the world.

1. Memphis Depay

Memphis struggled for form during his time at Manchester United

Dutch forward Memphis Depay joined Manchester United from PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 2015 for a hefty fee of £25m, and the then-21 year old came to Old Trafford with a lot of hype. He’d scored 22 goals in 30 Eredivisie matches for PSV in the previous season, and some fans had even compared him to Cristiano Ronaldo and Arjen Robben.

At United though, the Dutchman simply couldn’t hack it. He struggled from the beginning of his career with the Red Devils, and while he blamed United’s hectic schedule for his issues, others – assistant boss Ryan Giggs included – chose to blame his “flashy lifestyle” off the pitch. Despite playing 29 Premier League games in his debut season, Memphis only managed a total of 2 goals, and frequently found himself dropped or substituted for his poor performances.

The start of 2016/17 went no better for him; he only made 8 appearances for the Red Devils across all competitions before being sold to French club Lyon in January 2017 for a fee of just £16m. Since then though, the Dutchman has gotten himself back on track and has been in fantastic form.

He’s already scored 50 goals for Lyon in just 130 appearances – including 11 in just 14 games thus far this season – and has established himself in the Netherlands’ first choice XI, too. Current rumours suggest a move back to England – with Tottenham or Liverpool – could be on the cards soon, meaning he could get a chance to right the wrongs of his previous Premier League tenure.

2. Florian Thauvin

Florian Thauvin flopped at Newcastle but has thrived for Marseille

French winger Florian Thauvin signed for Newcastle United in a move from Marseille in the summer of 2015 for a fee of £15m, but the hype around him at that point was such that the figure sounded like a potential bargain. Thauvin had been recognised as one of Europe’s best prospects for some time, and had been named Ligue 1’s Young Player of the Year in 2012/13.

Unfortunately, his time at St. James’ Park was an unmitigated disaster; he played just 16 games for the club, scoring just one goal in an EFL Cup tie with Northampton Town, and was even criticised by club legend Alan Shearer for turning up to a match wearing a tuxedo. It came as no surprise when the Frenchman was loaned back to Marseille just five months after arriving in England.

Thauvin made that move permanent in the summer of 2016, and since then he’s proven to be far more than a Premier League flop. The winger scored 15 goals in Ligue 1 in 2016/17 – including his first career hat-trick – and bettered that the following season by hitting 22 in just 34 matches. That was enough to earn him a nomination as Ligue 1’s Player of the Year – and also won him a spot in France’s World Cup winning squad in the summer of 2018.

An ankle injury sustained in September has since sidelined the Frenchman, restricting him to just one appearance in the current season – but if he can return in 2020 and pick up the form he showed prior, he’ll be likely to carry on proving that he’s no flop – and could even return to the Premier League in the future.

3. Gerard Pique

Sir Alex Ferguson may have written Gerard Pique off a little too early...

It’s almost unfair to call Gerard Pique a Premier League flop as his tenure at Manchester United was relatively brief, but the Spanish centre-back still spent four seasons at Old Trafford even if he didn’t appear all that much. His displays as a 20-year old in the 2007/08 season, though, were more than enough for legendary United boss Sir Alex Ferguson to write him off as any kind of future prospect.

Most notably, Pique started in a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers in November 2007, a match that saw the Spaniard have an absolute stinker. Not only did he fail to contain Bolton’s forward Nicolas Anelka, but he also missed an easy header to allow the Frenchman to score the winning goal.

Pique himself has said his performance in that match was enough to make Ferguson’s mind up, and it came as no surprise when he was sold to Barcelona – his boyhood club – in the summer of 2008. What did come as a surprise however is the success the centre-back has had since making the move to the Nou Camp.

By the end of 2008/09, Pique was a starter in what is now widely considered the greatest club side of all time, as the season saw Barcelona complete an epic treble, winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League.

Pique has since gone on to win a further 7 La Liga titles and two Champions League titles with the Blaugrana, making 515 appearances along the way, as well as winning the 2010 World Cup and 2012 European Championship with Spain. Not bad for a player deemed not good enough for Manchester United!

4. Radamel Falcao

Radamel Falcao struggled at both Chelsea and Manchester United

For the best part of the last decade, Colombia’s Radamel Falcao has been one of world football’s most feared strikers. He’s scored an insane amount of goals in Portugal, Spain and France – and is currently plying his trade in Turkey – but unfortunately, the man known as ‘El Tigre’ was unable to produce his best form in the Premier League during two tenures there.

Falcao rose to fame with Porto after joining them for the 2008/09 campaign, and he scored a total of 34 goals in 43 appearances across all competitions before delivering 38 in 44 appearances in the following season as his club won the Primeira League title as well as the UEFA Europa League.

A move to Atletico Madrid followed, and Falcao was able to keep up his blistering form – winning the Europa League again in 2012 and scoring 70 goals in 91 appearances for the club across two seasons. The summer of 2013 saw him sign with Monaco for a huge fee of somewhere around €60m, but despite starting life in France well, early 2014 saw him suffer a full ACL tear, sidelining him for the best part of a year.

When he returned, he made his first move to the Premier League – a loan to Manchester United, which saw him earning a monstrous £265,000 a week. Unfortunately, the move simply didn’t work for the Colombian. He looked way off the pace throughout his tenure at Old Trafford and scored just 4 goals at the club. His next loan to the Premier League – with Chelsea – went just as badly as he made just 12 appearances, scoring a single goal in the process.

Writing him off, however, proved to be a mistake; Falcao moved back to Monaco after the failed Chelsea stint, ready for the 2016/17 season - and promptly recaptured his form, scoring 30 goals in 43 appearances. A further 40 across the next two seasons followed, allowing him to rebuild his reputation.

The likely explanation is that he was never fully fit in England following his knee injury, but even so – he goes down as the very definition of a Premier League flop who thrived elsewhere.

5. Paulinho

Paulinho's Barcelona success came as a shock after his struggles at Tottenham

Signed by Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2013 as part of Andre Villas-Boas’s attempt to rebuild his squad following the £80m sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid, Brazil’s Paulinho cost Spurs a then-club record fee of £17m, and he was expected to star in their midfield for years to come.

Unfortunately, that never happened. Paulinho struggled for form from the beginning at White Hart Lane, and was sent off against Liverpool in what turned out to be Villas-Boas’ final match in charge of Spurs. While he continued to struggle under new boss Tim Sherwood, things only got worse for the Brazilian when Mauricio Pochettino took charge at the club in the 2014/15 season.

Paulinho was largely played out of position and hit rock bottom with an embarrassing miss in an April 2015 game against Burnley. That summer saw him sold to Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande, and for all intents and purposes, his career appeared to be over.

Somehow though, the Brazilian regained form during his time in China – enough so that Barcelona stunned everyone by signing him for €40m in the summer of 2017. And while he lasted just one year at Barca before returning to China, he played remarkably well – scoring 9 goals in 49 appearances as the Blaugrana won La Liga and the Copa del Rey. Based on his Tottenham form, nobody could’ve seen it coming.