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The 2018 World Cup has eventually come to an end and frankly speaking, what a spine-tingling tournament this has proven to be. It had everything. From Russia's emphatic 5-0 win over Saudi Arabia on the opening day to France's historic 4-2 win over Croatia in the final, it was nothing short of phenomenal.
While the competition furnished us with thrills and spills, it also led to massive changes in the values of different players owing to their performances in Russia. And there is no doubt that the business in the ongoing transfer window will be profoundly affected by the all-important tournament.
After all, not every player was able to live up to his billing and struggled to create an impact. In consequence, their market values have significantly declined courtesy of their under-performances at the World Cup
On that note, here are five players whose value has nose-dived thanks to their showings in the recently-concluded World Cup.
#5 Robert Lewandowski (Poland)
There's no denying that Robert Lewandowski is one of the best centre forwards in world football at the moment, but that was not the case when the Polish striker featured for his side in the World Cup.
Poland failed to qualify for the Round of 16 from Group H which comprised the likes of Senegal, Colombia and Japan, despite of being the 8th ranked team in the world. Adam Nawałka's side were heavily banking on one player - Robert Lewandowski.
Nevertheless, the Bayern Munich star did not manage a single goal in the entirety of the tournament, a stat which is in stark contrast to his goalscoring record. Lewandowski entered the competition as the top scorer in the European qualifiers having notched up a total of 16 goals.
In fairness to the Pole, the chief cause of his substandard showing was that the players in the Poland national team were not as good as those in Bayern and therefore, the 29-year-old was more often than not, a lone figure up front.
#4 Mesut Özil
With hindsight, boarding the plane to Russia was one of the biggest mistakes of Mesut Ozil in his footballing career. Needless to say, the most sensational shock of the World Cup was the premature departure of the defending champions - Germany - from the group stage itself.
Also read: 3 reasons why Germany crashed out
And Ozil was made the scapegoat of the ignominious exit to the extent that his father urged him to retire from the international stage. The 29-year-old was no doubt a major disappointment, who remained a shadow of his former self in both the matches he featured.
Against Mexico, Ozil was easily pocketed by Guardado before being dropped out for the match against Sweden. He was surprisingly brought back for the must-win game with South Korea where he again had no impact.
#3 Manuel Neuer
Manuel Neuer has arguably been the best goalkeeper in the world over the course of the past few years by virtue of his back-to-back dazzling performances at both international and club level. The German shot-stopper entered the World Cup 2018 after an injury layoff that saw him remain absent throughout the 2017-18 season.
However, the 32-year-old was still given the green light ahead of an in-form Marc-André ter Stegen, which proved to be a failure to say the least. The 2014's Golden Glove winner was nowhere near his best, conceding an unfortunate 4 goals in the 3 appearances he made.
As such, his market value saw a meteoric drop in view of his World Cup campaign.
#2 Gonzalo Higuaín
Gonzalo Higuain was compelled to watch the agonizing sight of Argentina losing out to France in the Round of 16 while warming the bench at the Kazan Arena. Higuain was not a consistent figure during the World Cup as he was only seen on the pitch for an aggregate of 132 minutes.
He was brought on in the 84th minute against Iceland, 54th minute in the match versus Croatia whereas the Nigeria match was the only one where he played a whole of 90 minutes. Over the course of these 132 minutes, Higuain was a massive disappointment.
As a consequence, his market value experienced a marked decline.
#1 Thomas Müller
Thomas Muller was another German player who did not live up to fans' expectations. In the wake of the absence of the fatherly figures of Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Miroslav Klose, the Germany's vice-captain was expected to lead the pack by example.
All the same, just like many other players, he also crumbled under pressure and failed to leave his mark. Muller played in all three of the matches, coming off the bench as a substitute in the 63rd minute in the last encounter against South Korea.
Nonetheless, the intimidating presence of the 28-year-old well-known for leathering the ball into the back of the net came to nothing in the high-priority competition.
Accordingly, his market value has also plunged dramatically.
