One look at the furore around the success of Jamie Vardy last season tells you that there’s nothing that people love more than a player who finally makes it big after years of toil in the game. For every Vardy who makes it to the top though, there’s a player who starts off like a rocket and fades out quickly. A player who hits his peak way too soon and then falls off, often with devastating consequences to his career.
There have been plenty of young starlets who were tipped for success and never quite made it but this piece isn’t really about them. The following players saw tremendous success in their early years but just couldn’t keep it going over the course of their careers. Here are five players who peaked way too soon. Kylian Mbappe, you have been warned.
#1 Paul Gascoigne
We begin with a player who, I’m not ashamed to admit, is my favourite player to ever lace up a pair of boots. Gazza, as he’s usually known, is recognised by most fans and fellow professionals alike as perhaps the most skilled player that England ever produced. Unfortunately, he’s also recognised as a man who largely squandered his talents and peaked far too soon, as he was largely finished at the top level of the game at the age of just 31.
Gazza’s peak was unmistakeably during the first two years of the 90s. He signed for Tottenham Hotspur at the beginning of the 1988/89 season and had an immediate impact as the team finished sixth, and in his second season, he helped them to third place.
The summer of 1990 was clearly Gascoigne’s highest point though as he was the brightest star of an England side that unexpectedly reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in Italy. Gazza’s performances – and his tears when he was booked in the semi-final – are still iconic today.
While he also did brilliantly at Rangers in the mid-1990s and starred in another great England performance – Euro 1996 – it can definitely be argued that Gazza had already peaked by 1990 at the age of just 23.
A bad knee injury ruined his 1991/92 season and a move to Lazio went wildly wrong too. By mid-1998 at just 31 he was essentially a shell of his former self and being left out of England’s 1998 World Cup squad was the final nail in the proverbial coffin. Through abusing his body, Gazza never again reached the peaks of 1990.
#2 Michael Owen
When Michael Owen first burst onto the scene in 1997/98 – scoring 18 Premier League goals and starring for England at the World Cup with that goal against Argentina – there seemed to be no question that he’d go on to be a legend and probably break Bobby Charlton’s scoring record for his country.
While Owen definitely did see a ton of success in his career, most notably helping Liverpool to a treble of the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup in 2001 and winning the Ballon d’Or in the same season, that turned out to be his career high point.
He was just 21 at the time. Injuries to his ankle, knee and hamstring began to hamper his career by 2004 and a move to Real Madrid proved largely fruitless as he was behind Ronaldo in the pecking order.
Owen signed for Newcastle in 2005 but further injuries – most notably an ACL tear while representing England in the 2006 World Cup – basically wrecked his Newcastle career and by the time he moved to Manchester United in 2009 he was a shadow of his former self and ended up retiring in 2013 after making just 39 Premier League appearances in four seasons.
Owen’s peak was incredibly high as he was a truly world-class talent, but his injuries meant that it was all too short.
#3 Ronaldo
Like his Portuguese namesake Cristiano, Brazil’s Ronaldo was once considered by fans and experts alike as the world’s best player. After going to the 1994 World Cup as a 17-year-old, Ronaldo moved to PSV Eindhoven where he proved a success, but it was at Barcelona where his reputation really soared.
The Brazilian only spent one season at the Nou Camp – 1996/97 – but he scored an insane 47 goals in 49 appearances using his explosive pace and unbelievable dribbling ability. At just 21 he had the world at his feet and it was no surprise when Inter Milan signed him for a then-world record fee of £27m.
Ronaldo hit the ground running at Inter too, scoring 34 goals in 47 appearances in his first season. That summer also saw him star for Brazil in the 1998 World Cup, scoring 4 goals as his team made the final.
While the tournament ended in a damp squib for him – he had a seizure prior to the final that left him a shadow of himself during the game – he was still named the Player of the Tournament. Unfortunately, it proved to be the peak of his career.
In November 1999, Ronaldo blew his knee out and was sidelined until the following April. Upon his comeback, he immediately re-injured the knee and the ordeal meant he only played 24 games across three seasons – completely missing 2000/01.
A surprising comeback in the 2002 World Cup for Brazil saw him re-capture his form – he finished the tournament as the top scorer as Brazil won the trophy – and a move to Real Madrid started well, but ended in a haze of injuries and weight issues. Moves to AC Milan and Corinthians couldn’t rejuvenate him either and he retired in 2011 at the age of 35.
While his peak was incredibly high – he was considered better than even Zinedine Zidane in the late 90s – due to his unfortunate knee injuries, he never truly got back to the level he was at during his early run at Inter.
#4 Ricardo Quaresma
Born just under two years before Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese winger Quaresma was once seen as having the potential to rule the world just as his countryman has done. In 2003 at just 20, after two outstanding seasons with Sporting CP, he was signed by Barcelona, and while that move didn’t work out, a move back home to Porto in 2004 proved to be far more fruitful.
While he came under some criticism for being a selfish player, Quaresma was one of Porto’s key men during his four seasons there, three of which saw the club win the Portuguese Primeira Liga. He was a surprising omission from Portugal’s 2006 World Cup squad, but at his peak between 2005 and 2007, he was considered one of the most exciting players in the world.
From there, however, it largely went downhill. He signed with Inter Milan but didn’t get on with then-boss Jose Mourinho, who thought he was undisciplined and selfish. A 2009 loan move to Chelsea proved pointless as he only made five appearances and upon his return to Inter, the Italians struggled to offload him.
Since then, he’s lived up to his nickname ‘Cigano’ (gypsy), moving from Besiktas in Turkey to Al-Ahli in Abu Dhabi and then back to Porto and finally Besiktas again. While he’s had some success along the way, he’s never come close to his mid-2000s’ peak, although he did play a surprisingly key role in Portugal’s Euro 2016 triumph.
#5 Robinho
Another Brazilian who peaked way too soon and has since tailed off, Robinho seemed to have the potential to be the best in the world when he first emerged from Brazil in the mid-2000s. Pele himself had spoken of Robinho’s talent when he was only 15, and at 18, he seemed to be living up to the billing, helping his club Santos to two league titles in three seasons.
A move to Real Madrid followed where he was handed the No. 10 shirt vacated by the legendary Luis Figo.
At 21, in his first season at Real, Robinho was brilliant, and in two further seasons he didn’t slow down. He was arguably Los Blancos’ key player as they won the La Liga in both 2006/07 and 2007/08, and so it came as a surprise when new contract discussions with the Brazilian went south, leaving him looking for a move elsewhere in the summer of 2008.
Robinho seemed set to move to Chelsea when Manchester City – newly minted from a buyout by Abu Dhabi United Group – swooped in and signed him on transfer deadline day for around £32.5m. Again, he was brilliant in his first season with his new club – finishing as City’s top scorer with 14 league goals. Unfortunately, that was as good as it got.
In his second season, following an injury, he barely played a part and was soon left looking for a new club. A loan move to Santos was followed by a permanent one to AC Milan, but after a decent first season at the San Siro his effectiveness began to wane quickly. Another loan move to Santos was followed by a jump to Chinese side Guangzhou, and he currently plays back in Brazil for Atletico Mineiro, having never gotten close to the type of form that made him one of the world’s most exciting players in his early 20s.
