The 10 most overhyped footballers of all time

#3 – Giovani Dos Santos

Giovani Dos Santos was once considered a better prospect than Lionel Messi

Currently playing in Major League Soccer with LA Galaxy, Mexican forward Giovani Dos Santos has seen a bit of a career resurgence recently and has been performing well in America. Considering the lofty expectations on him as a teenager, however, you’d have to say he’s probably one of the most overhyped talents in football history.

Giovani broke through at Barcelona back in the 2007/08 season, where he was identified as one of the greatest prospects in world football – even better than his teammate Lionel Messi, according to some pundits. Indeed, Dos Santos made 37 appearances that season. It was curious, then, when Pep Guardiola sold him to Tottenham Hotspur for just £5m, but the reasons soon became clear.

Dos Santos had his commitment questioned by then-Spurs boss Harry Redknapp, and the word was that he spent more time partying and drinking off the pitch than he did training for football matches. He never broke into the first team at Spurs and ended up on a string of loan moves before a largely unsuccessful stint in La Liga with Mallorca and Villarreal. His form has improved since his move to the USA, but he’s never come close to living up to that early Barcelona hype.