5 footballers who flopped in the Premier League but flourished elsewhere

2. Juan Sebastian Veron (Manchester United / Chelsea)

Juan Sebastian Veron of Man Utd looks on

Juan Sebastian Veron joined Manchester United from Lazio in 2001.

Coming on the back of a Scudetto-winning season in Italy, Veron was expected to light up Old Trafford with his sublime ball distribution skills. But things didn't quite go according to plan for the Argentine as he found it difficult to adapt to the fast pace of the league.

A series of injuries also meant that Veron spent a good part of his two years at Manchester United on the treatment table. He played 51 matches in total and scored 7 goals for United, and was labelled an expensive flop by fans and pundits alike.

Chelsea took a gamble on Veron when they signed him from Manchester United in 2003 as the then Blues manager Claudio Ranieri believed he could get the best out of him. But again it was not to be for Veron, as injuries limited his appearances to 15 matches for the season.

Such was the disappointment over Veron's performance in England that the Times newspaper listed his transfer to Manchester United and Chelsea among the 50 worst transfers ever in Premier League history.

Veron left England and first returned to Italy with Inter Milan before moving back home to Argentina to join his childhood club, Estudiantes, in 2006.

In his first season in Argentina, Veron helped Estudiantes win the Apertura tournament for the first time in 23 years and was named among the top three players in the Argentine league by sports news paper, Ole.

Among the other highlights of his eight-year spell at the club, Veron also helped Estudiantes win the Copa Libertadores in 2009 and was named the best player of the final by fans on fifa.com.

He was also named South American Footballer of the year twice (2008 & 2009) by Uruguyan newspaper El Pais.