Football can be a cruel game. One moment it takes you to the heights of fame and money and the very next moment, it can throw you into a difficult path. While footballers are generally very well advised nowadays more than they used to be in the past, they still need to make decisions, several of them tough ones.
One of the most pivotal decisions in every footballer's life is the choice to stay put or leave for greener pastures. While few of them do not give in, several players decide to move to another club in a bid to attain a higher status as a footballer.
In this segment, we take a look at five players, who in hindsight, would regret moving to their club in the summer of 2016.
#1 Lucas Perez
The 28-year-old Spanish forward, who earned praise for his performances for Deportiva La Coruna last season, moved to the North London club at the beginning of the current season in a bid to take the next big step as a professional footballer.
Less than a year after making the move to the Emirates in August, Perez may already be on his way out of the club. The striker has failed to make an impact at his new club and has cut a frustrated figure.
Hampered by injuries, Perez has found game time hard to come by and is currently the fifth choice striker at the club behind the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck.
The attacker who featured 36 times for Deportivo La Coruna last season has just appeared 21 chances for the Gunners thus far. Out of the 21 appearances he has made for the club, 12 of them have been from the bench. While he has scored 7 goals, 4 of them have all come against relatively smaller clubs, which shows how much Arsene Wenger actually relies on the 28-year-old.
Recent media speculation suggests that West Ham are keen on acquiring his services, and given the situation he finds himself in currently, we would not be surprised if Perez forced a move in the summer.
#2 Gabriel Barbosa
The 20-year-old Brazilian, who played a pivotal role in Santos winning the Campeonato Paulista in 2015 and 2016 moved to Inter Milan last summer hoping to emulate his former Santos teammate, Neymar.
However, at the moment, it looks like Barbosa’s decision to move to Europe might have come prematurely as he has struggled to find game time at the San Siro. Barbosa, who made 154 appearances for Santos since breaking into the first team and scored 54 goals in the process, has found game time hard to come by and has featured in just 8 games totalling to 162 minutes, which is not a statistic that would please him.
One of the pre-requisites for a younger player is finding extended playing time so as to help continue their development, and Barbosa, who looked destined to become a regular in the senior Brazil squad, has had his development pegged back by several months, if not a year or two.
Tthe striker who has been the dubbed as the ‘Next Neymar’ will look to evaluate his decision on staying at Inter.
#3 Michy Batshuayi
Chelsea, over the course of the last decade, have made it a habit of enticing the most exciting talents from across Europe. So when the young Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi started raising eyebrows with his performances for Olympique Marseille, it was only obvious that Chelsea would be keen to acquire his services in a bid to bolster their attacking options.
While there was interest from several other clubs, Batshuayi himself was keen on a move to the Stamford Bridge and was believed to have turned down a transfer to Crystal Palace. Perhaps, in hindsight, the 23-year-old striker would have liked to carry out an in-depth evaluation of the pros and cons of a transfer offer before making the move.
Since making the big money move to Stamford Bridge (believed to be in the region of £33.2 million), the striker has found game time hard to come by as the likes of Eden Hazard and Diego Costa have rediscovered form. The Belgian striker has not started a single game of the 17 Premier League games he has featured in and has largely been restricted to Cup appearances.
The Belgian national team is filled with established, as well as up and coming superstars, and for a player to remain in the plans of Belgian manager, Roberto Martinez, playing regularly is a pre-requisite and that is something Batshuayi has been unable to achieve since his move to England.
#4 Renato Sanches
After conquering Portugal with Benfica, young Renato Sanches was destined to be the next-big-thing after completing a move to Bavarian giants Bayern Munich in May 2016. While the world debated if the hierarchy at the Allianz Arena had lost the plot as they had paid an incredible €80 million for the then 17-year-old (with performance-based add-ons), Sanches joined up with his Portuguese teammates to help Portugal lift their first ever major international trophy.
However, the current season, one which was termed to be the season in which he shows his class in a tougher league, has not exactly gone as per plan for the Portuguese international.
The teenager, who won the Young Player of the Tournament award at the Euro 2016 and was also crowned the Golden Boy for the year, has started just 8 games during his time in Germany and has largely been restricted to bit-part appearances for the Bavarian giants.
With the kind of money Bayern paid for him, the Portuguese midfielder was expected to have at least a few good performances in his debut season. That has not been the case as he has looked far from the confident box-to-box midfielder that was seen in France at the Euros. He makes frequent and basic mistakes in defence and has failed to add to his side’s attack.
#5 Paco Alcacer
When Paco Alcacer decided to move to Barcelona from Valencia, the club that had nurtured his talent, he knew it would make him public enemy No. 1 amongst Valencia fans. The 23-year-old striker had risen through the ranks at the Mestalla Stadium and it was in the 2013-14 season that he truly established himself as a first-choice striker at the club with 14 goals in 37 appearances.
With the media essentially focussing on the top brass of Spanish football, Alcacer was more than happy to silently carry out his job of scoring goals at Valencia and did so in the subsequent two seasons as he found the back of the net 29 times in 82 appearances.
When Barcelona came calling for his signature in summer of 2016, the young striker could not say no. However, everything has not gone as per plan for the 23-year-old as he has now found game time very hard to come by and while being a deputy to the holy trinity of football, Messi Suarez, and Neymar might be a dream come true, it is not helping his career.
The player has started just five games and has come off the bench on 13 occasions, which is not a healthy statistic for someone trying to make his name in Spanish football. With the striker only finding the back of the net on four occasions, there is some speculation that Alcacer might be made available by the Catalan giants in the summer transfer window.
