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#3 Ricardo Quaresma
Ricardo Quaresma was once hailed as the greatest young talent that Portugal had produced. He was so good at the time that he was seen as a more naturally talented player than Cristiano Ronaldo. While that may sound hyperbolic, football fans who were around at the time will tell you that it is nothing but the truth.
Quaresma had a skillset replete with all the trickery and technical mastery that's associated with world-class wingers. He could nonchalantly play pin-point outside-of-the-foot passes, which were also known as trivela. Quaresma was also a master of the rabona pass.
While Ronaldo was making a name for himself at Manchester United, Quaresma had joined Barcelona from Sporting Lisbon. However, he had a falling out with then Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard and did not exactly cover himself in glory with his performances either. Quaresma returned to Portugal with FC Porto.
The same story unfolded as Quaresma joined Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan side. Speaking about Quaresma, Mourinho once said:
“He is a great talent, but the joy I have at seeing the way Ibrahimovic works for and with the team I do not yet have with Quaresma. He will have to learn, otherwise he won’t play.”
Mourinho couldn't be faulted because Quaresma was picked as the worst player in Serie A in 2008, also known as the Bibone d’Oro award. He has since had a journeyman career and even had a loan spell at Chelsea. Quaresma currently plies his trade for Primeira Liga outfit Vitória Guimarães.
Even though his club career has been disappointing on all levels, Quaresma won the Euros with Portugal in 2016.
#2 Antonio Cassano
Antonio Cassano, also known as Il Gioiello di Bari Vecchia ("the jewel of Old Bari"), was an extremely exciting young prospect when he first broke onto the scene. He moved to AS Roma from his childhood club Bari in 2001 and won the Serie A Young Footballer of the Year Award in 2001 and 2003.
Cassano, however, had some temper problems and had clashes with Giallorossi legend Francesco Totti and Roma manager Fabio Capello. In 2006, he copped the biggest move of his career and joined Real Madrid. However, things didn't work out at all due to his poor work ethic and behaviour.
He was sent on loan in the 2007-08 season and found form again. The move was made permanent the subsequent year. In the 2008-09 season, Cassano scored 15 goals and provided 17 assists in 45 appearances across all competitions. It looked like he was getting back to his best.
But it was the final time he showed form of that kind and though he joined AC Milan in 2011, he could never hit the heights he was expected to. In his autobiography, he wrote:
"In Madrid, I had a friend who was a hotel waiter. His job was to bring me three or four pastries after I had sex. He would bring the pastries up the stairs, I would escort the woman to him and we would make an exchange: he would take the girl and I would take the pastries. Sex and then food, a perfect night."
#1 Mario Balotelli
The extremely flamboyant and divisive Mario Balotelli became a slave to his bad habits. Now 30-years-old, it doesn't look like the Italian international will be able to revive his career. The downward spiral has been one of epic proportions.
After playing for clubs like Inter Milan, Manchester City, AC Milan and Liverpool during his best years, Balotelli currently plays for Turkish side Adana Demirspor. When he first broke onto the scene, he was a skilful striker who could pull off the incredible with a straight face.
But his on-field antics were often overshadowed by his shenanigans away from it. He has been slammed for being unprofessional at almost every club he has been at. Balotelli had extremely successful stints at Inter Milan and Manchester City.
But both clubs offloaded him when they decided they couldn't tolerate any more of his unruly behaviour. Since leaving Liverpool, he has played for AC Milan, Nice, Marseille, Brescia and Monza. That shows the steady decline that Balotelli has been on.
'Super Mario' was one of the superstars of the game when he led Italy to the final of Euro 2012. He was just 21 at the time. Just nine years later, he has been labelled a colossal disappointment.
