5 star players who became successful after their flop spells in the Premier League

AS Monaco v Juventus - UEFA Champions League Semi Final: First Leg
Falcao has established himself as a top Ligue 1 striker since returning to Monaco

The Premier League is often regarded as the toughest league in Europe. It is also the richest league, with billions of dollars spent on players every year.

This money has attracted some big names over the years. But not all of these big-money moves can be termed successful. Some players have failed miserably in the league which not only made their ill-fated move look silly, but also put their playing careers in jeopardy.

Pressure of the Premier League

As we know, the Premier League is quite different from other European leagues. It is more competitive, more physically demanding and aggressive in nature. So, naturally, a player who is not physically and mentally prepared for this is going to reel under the pressure.

Over the years, some outstanding players have flopped in the league owing to their inability to settle into the team and adapt to manager's tactics.

Players who have bounced back

Some players who had awful spells in the PL pulled off a spectacular comeback after bidding farewell to their clubs.

So, here's a list of 5 players who put their careers back on track after dismal Premier League spells.


#5 Diego Forlan

Diego Forlan of Manchester United celebrates scoring
Diego Forlan of Manchester United celebrates scoring

Diego Forlan, one of the greatest Uruguayan players of all time, spent two-and-a-half seasons at Old Trafford.

Having signed for Manchester United in January 2002, he failed to score a single goal in the remainder of the season. In the following two seasons, he only managed to score 10 league goals, despite decent first team action.

Although he did win the Premier League title in 2003 and FA Cup in the following season, his individual talent was really seen in LaLiga, when he joined Villarreal in 2004 and Atletico Madrid 3 years later.

He was a completely different player in Spain and established himself as one of the best strikers in Europe, winning La Liga top scorer award in his first season with El Submarino Amarillo. He also shared the European Golden Shoe award with Thierry Henry that season.

He would again win the Pichichi trophy and European Golden Shoe in 2009 with Atletico Madrid.

#4 Iago Aspas

Liverpool v Manchester United - Premier League
Aspas was signed by Liverpool from Celta Vigo in 2013, and currently plays as Celta's main striker

Iago Aspas has been a revelation at Celta Vigo in the last two seasons. He has really turned his career around after returning to his childhood club.

He was phenomenal in the 2011-12 campaign for Celta in which his career-best 23 goals propelled them back into the first division. After another double-digit goal-scoring season, Liverpool came calling.

In what would prove to be a fateful move, he would go on to play just 14 league games for the Reds, without scoring a single goal in the 2013-14 season.

It wasn't until he secured a permanent move back to his childhood club Celta, that he would recover his form and prove his worth. Not only has he been the club's top scorer in the league, but was also the top scoring Spanish player in the league for the last two seasons, winning the Zarra trophy two years in a row.

Regular clinical performances in front of the goal earned him his first international call-up in 2016. And his consistency was awarded by his inclusion in the 2018 World Cup squad as well.

#3 Angel Di Maria

Manchester United v Everton - Premier League
Di Maria was given the coveted No.7 Jersey when he joined Manchester United.

Angel Di Maria was signed by Manchester United following a sensational season with Real Madrid in which he won the Champions League as well as the Copa del Rey with Los Blancos.

He was the top assist provider in the La Liga in 2013-14 season. This prompted Louis van Gaal, who had just arrived at Old Trafford to splash £59.7 million for the Argentine attacking midfielder.

After a fine start to the season, he suffered an injury that sidelined him for two months. He did manage to score in the first match after recovery. But he couldn't recapture his form again and only managed to score 3 league goals for the Red Devils in 27 games.

Then the very next season he moved to PSG, where he has established himself as the main creative force of the team. So far he has won the Ligue 1 title twice and won the Ligue 1 top assist provider award in his very first season.

#2 Jerome Boateng

Aris Saloniki v Manchester City - UEFA Europa League
Boateng spent one season at the Etihad Stadium, before heading back to Germany

The German centre-back had a promising future at the Etihad. He was signed on a 5-year deal by Manchester City after an impressive season with Hamburg.

His spell in England was a relatively modest one. In the one season that he spent with the Sky Blues, he played 16 games and that too mostly at right back.

Just one year after joining Manchester City, Boateng left the club to join Bayern Munich. One of the main reasons he states for this move is that he wanted to play at his natural centre-back position, rather than as a right-back.

It would prove to be a great decision, as he would go on to win 6 Bundesliga titles back to back and a Champions League title with the Bavarians. Playing at his natural position, he became the first choice centre-back for the German team that won the World Cup in 2014.

#1 Radamel Falcao

Everton v Chelsea - Premier League
Falcao playing for Chelsea in 2015.

In what could be described as one of the worst loan deals ever, Radamel Falcao moved to Manchester United in the 2014-15 season. And thus his woeful Premier League spell began.

Falcao had established himself as a lethal striker at Porto and Atletico Madrid, thus the Old Trafford faithful were excited at the prospect of 'El Tigre' playing for their team.

But in a disappointing season, he scored only 4 goals in 26 games. It was then decided that his loan move won't be made permanent. Thank God for that.

But he was not done with the PL just yet and in yet another ill-fated move h joined Chelsea on loan the next season. He scored only one goal in 10 outings for the Blues.

The two seasons he spent in the Premier League, would go on to tarnish his image as a world class striker and he went back to Monaco to redeem himself.

While back in France, he was given the captain's armband at Monaco and he would lead his team to their first Ligue 1 title in 17 years by scoring 21 league goals.

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Edited by Amar Anand