Are there any players that were really good, but "wasted" their prime?

Theonas said:
Zlatan somehow managed to have won a lot but barely a top league or anywhere near the CL. His time in Italy was when Serie A was at its weakest and a far cry from La Liga or PL.
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I don't think this is true.
 
Rooney in Paris said:
God you're tiresome. It's a good thread, if you'd taken the time to actually read through it, instead of rolling up your sleeves to post your contradictory shit :lol:
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I'm in a boring meeting, you'd do the same too (possibly)

MVBDX said:
Mbappe's club career, though it might change.
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See??
 
Cue everyone listing loads of players who basically didn't sign for us.
But ignoring all the players we had when we didn't win much. Did they waste their prime not instead signing for City or a Spanish giant?
 
I saw one shout for Riquelme and that's a name that immediately came to mind.

I also think the Forlan we saw in Spain was the player who should have been smashing it from the get in Europe. United and the EPL probably weren't to his benefit in his early 20s, although had he gone to Boro that year and been a regular starter he may not have struggled with consistency, perhaps led to a big move somewhere.
 
Daniel Da Cruz Carvalho
Rafael van der Vaart.

Don't get me wrong, Raf had a great career but watching him at Ajax I always believed he would be the next best midfielder in the world. That never really came to fruition. When I get old and demented I might forget my wife and son's names but not this goal:
 
Blood Mage said:
I know Pogba won a world cup but he had the talent to be as prolific as Modric/Xavi/Iniesta etc. and wasted many years playing in crap United teams. Imagine 25 year old Pogba playing under Ten Hag right now.
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Him being in those teams was a contributing factor to them being crap.
 
RC89 said:
I might get lynched for this but I never saw it with Balotelli. A decent player? Sure. But I never saw him as this world class talent.
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When I think of Balotelli I always think of the anecdote Mourinho told about him. Telling him to not get carded no matter what, the fooker comes in and gets a red card. :lol:
 
Dr. Dwayne said:
Personally I think it's a big leap to assume players have wasted their career because they didn't win enough trophies.

It's possible that many players are satisfied with having a career as a professional footballer because they love playing.
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And they may value being a professional footballer while enjoying their life with their partners and friends. For me Verratti is a typical example of that, he is enjoying himself with his spouse in a city that he likes.
 
ROFLUTION said:
Mbappe.

I know it sounds strange as he’s won the World Cup, but he has the talent of Messi and Ronaldo and is wasting it all in the french league. His ceiling is way too high for that league.
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He's what, 23? Not even in his prime yet and has won a WC.
 
Maybe Oscar because I don't think that he actually maximized his income by moving to China. A long career in Europe in a top club would have allowed him to earn probably as much while also playing at a high level.
 
I was going to say neymar but I'm not sure if he's won too much to qualify for this. Harry Kane is definitely a big example, if he doesn't leave spurs he'll be one of the best players to never win a trophy.
 
tomaldinho1 said:
I'm assuming you're under 30? You can't have watched the late football league and early PL and think this. Not to mentioned he played a different position to Kane, played in a weak team and even if his stats weren't enough (FYI they more than are) he was extremely creative and technical as a player.

Quote from Xavi:
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I'm nearly 40 mate, and I only reference Kane because you did.
 
JPRouve said:
Maybe Oscar because I don't think that he actually maximized his income by moving to China. A long career in Europe in a top club would have allowed him to earn probably as much while also playing at a high level.
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Maybe he likes Chinese food and Chinese ladies?
 
Theonas said:
Zlatan somehow managed to have won a lot but barely a top league or anywhere near the CL. His time in Italy was when Serie A was at its weakest and a far cry from La Liga or PL. he had that one year with Barcelona playing elite football but failed to show up in his only CL semis. A serial league winner but could have been more if he played his best years outside of France or a relatively weak Italian league.
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Only applies to his second and third stints there but before that serie a was still pretty decent although undoubtedly on decline from it's glory days.
 
tomaldinho1 said:
That's like saying if Kane didn't score as many he wouldn't be as good...Le Tisser was a great player and a real joy to watch. He's a moron now but he should have played regularly in Europe.
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Got to agree. That period when Porterfield gave him tough love he was on fire.
 
Batistuta.
He could have been a starting striker for any top European team but instead he chose to remain royal to Fiorentina, it did make him a local legend but at the cost of many possible club honors.

He at least got a chance at one last serie a glory with roma.
 
GreatDane said:
He's what, 23? Not even in his prime yet and has won a WC.
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But when comparing a talent like his to Messi, every year in a league like the french is a year wasted in becoming overall comparative with the GOAT as Messi owned the spanish league since age 17.
 
A player who I feel should have done much better was Moussa Dembele, thought he was far too good for spurs and could have been incredible at another club
 
Carl said:
I'm nearly 40 mate, and I only reference Kane because you did.
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Because you made a point that without his spectacular goals he wouldn’t be considered a great player which I think is a bit silly. Kane example I thought was quite simple to follow.
 
Red in STL said:
He has a WC winners medal so no
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His NT career was obviously amazing, but his club career doesn't come anywhere close to that and arguably it should have: he was looking like he was destined for greatness at Juve and then spent his best years in a dysfunctional team that was rarely/never set up to his strengths.
 
Georgi Kinkladze - he was obviously talented and utterly wasted at City
 
do.ob said:
His NT career was obviously amazing, but his club career doesn't come anywhere close to that. He was looking like he was destined for greatness at Juve and then spent his best years in a dysfunctional team that was rarely/never set up to his strengths.
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True but a WC winners medal, and it would likely have been 2 if he hadn't been injured, is not a sign of wasting your talent in my book
 
Verrati. Wasted his prime at PSG
De Gea. Wasted his prime at United
 
So, the criteria for a "wasted career" is they could have won more elsewhere even though there was no guarantee?

Gascoigne would have won more with United. Was his career a waste? Dunno.
 
Mateja Kezman
Anderson - Manchester United
Denílson - Brazil
Walter Samuel
jay jay okocha - Nigeria
 
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