Football is a game of unpredictability. Even the brightest talents can falter in the wrong system, under the wrong coach, or in an unsuitable league.
Salah found his true home at Liverpool, Dembele is flourishing in Paris, while Lukaku is still searching for his ideal fit.
Players like Hazard and Coutinho stand as stark reminders that talent alone is not always enough to succeed.
Not every star finds the right stage – some players who once dazzled at one club stumble under the weight of expectations at another.
High-profile transfers that once promised greatness have often ended in disappointment, leaving fans with bitter memories.
While some of these headline-grabbing names have found redemption through sheer hard work or fortune, others have had their names erased from the spotlight by the fickle hand of the football gods.
Among the few lucky ones, Liverpool’s Egyptian talisman, Mohamed Salah, is the ultimate proof of Aykut Kocaman’s famous line: Some flowers don’t bloom in certain soils.
Salah, who started his career at Egyptian side Mokawloon, struggled to make an impact at Chelsea.
In his one-year spell with the Blues, he played just 19 matches and scored only twice.
However, his move to Liverpool was career-defining.
Closing in on his 400th appearance for the Reds, Salah has already netted 243 goals and provided 110 assists, cementing his status as a club legend.
For Chelsea fans, he remains a lingering regret.
Eden Hazard’s dazzling footwork made him a household name at Lille and Chelsea, inspiring the famous phrase: Back in the day, Hazard would have danced through them.
After thrilling Stamford Bridge for years, Hazard’s 120 million euro ($130 million) move to Real Madrid in 2019 was supposed to elevate him further, being the heir-apparent to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Instead, persistent injuries and suspected laziness derailed his career.
Missing nearly 100 games over five seasons, he managed just seven goals and 12 assists in 76 appearances.
The Belgian maestro, once among football’s elite, retired in October 2023 – remembered for his Chelsea brilliance rather than his Madrid struggles.
Ousmane Dembele’s journey from a Barcelona outcast to a PSG star is a tale of resurgence.
Signed by Barcelona for 135 million euros in 2017 to replace Neymar, Dembele struggled with persistent injuries and off-field discipline issues, ultimately falling short of expectations.
Camp Nou fans booed him, and by the time he left in 2023, he had missed over 100 games.
Yet, under Luis Enrique at Paris Saint-Germain, the French winger has transformed.
With 30 goals and six assists this season, Dembele is rewriting his legacy, leading the Ligue 1 scoring charts.
Romelu Lukaku’s two spells at Chelsea were tales of unfulfilled promise.
Arriving as a teenage prodigy in 2011, Lukaku struggled for minutes and was loaned out.
After excelling at Everton, Manchester United, and Inter Milan, he returned to London in 2021 for 115 million euros.
Yet, despite 15 goals in 44 matches, he failed to live up to expectations.
Loan spells followed, and he now plies his trade at Napoli, scoring 10 goals and providing nine assists this season.
Philippe Coutinho’s move to Barcelona remains one of football’s most expensive miscalculations.
After dazzling at Liverpool, Barcelona paid 135 million euros for the Brazilian in 2018.
While his first six months showed promise, his form quickly went south due to a lack of confidence and poor positioning.
Loan spells at Bayern Munich, Aston Villa, and Vasco da Gama followed as he struggled to replicate his Anfield magic.
Once a maestro, Coutinho became a cautionary tale of weighty price tags.
Radamel Falcao’s lethal finishing lit up Porto and Atletico Madrid, but his Galatasaray spell fell flat.
Joining the Turkish giants in 2019, the Colombian suffered injuries and inconsistency, scoring just 20 goals in two seasons.
Once feared across Europe, Falcao’s stint in Türkiye became another reminder that even the greatest strikers need the right environment to thrive.
