Most Disappointing Career End

[RunTheTrap]

Balotelli for me is up there.

From when I first saw him sparkling as a teenager for Inter Milan I thought he was going to be a world class striker for years to come.

He peaked in that Euro 2012 semi final and within a year or two he was almost completely washed.

Whenever I think about Balotelli, I always have to play this video. No other lyrics perfectly encapsulate who Mario was.

 

[Ash10]

If it were me,I would've waited until after winning the match & then run to Materazzi to plant the mother of all headbutts on him.

What could FIFA do? Ban him? He retired at the final whistle

I mean then it would be a case of physical assault with the whole world being witness & potential jail time

 

[jones]

Mario Goetze. The proper wunderkid, none of that Kai Havertz nonsense. I remember watching YouTube comps of this kid and wondering if he could take Özil’s mantle as the World's Best Playmaker. How can you play for both Dortmund and Bayern, score the winning goal in a World Cup final, win the prestigious Golden Boy Award and then be washed before you hit 30?! Smh

He had a rare metabolism related illness. Got better now and had a mini renaissance last season playing a bit deeper than he used to.

 

[Dokaka]

Balotelli for me is up there.

From when I first saw him sparkling as a teenager for Inter Milan I thought he was going to be a world class striker for years to come.

He peaked in that Euro 2012 semi final and within a year or two he was almost completely washed.

One of the prime examples of a player's mentality ruining their career. Kept doing dumb ****, feels like he never grew up.

On paper Balotelli was almost a flawless CF, really is the dream profile in terms of skills, physicality etc.

 

[Sapient Hawk]

I mean then it would be a case of physical assault with the whole world being witness & potential jail time

True. But, if the world has taught us anything, it's that those who are obscenely rich live by a different set of rules.

He'd be out looking for a peasant to headbutt in Berlin in no time

 

[Sulosky]

Carl Jenkinson

 

[Blankety Blank]

For Arsenal Özil
Manager Wenger .

Always thought Sanogo would have won the ballon d'or but it didn't happen.

Bentley been done so I will say
Penant.
He was super talented but never hit the heights he should have imho.
With the right application he should have had a career as good as Beckham. Think he possibly had the talent to be better than Beckam.


Loads of players across the leagues that fizzled out & never fulfilled their early promise tbf.

As mentioned by others Balotelli is a good shout. He was pretty much unplayable on his day & I thought he could have been seen as an all time great but it never happened. Fizzled out very early.

Özil as mentioned was sad to see but let's not forget it was just the end .He had a good 10 years or so at a very high level & so will be remembered as a top player.

 

[RunTheTrap]

He had a rare metabolism related illness. Got better now and had a mini renaissance last season playing a bit deeper than he used to.

Ahh, I just Googled this and now I feel a bit bad for calling him washed.

Goetze, Isco, Wilshere, Hazard and Neymar were my football crushes in the early 2010s. It's a shame that injuries took so much from them.

 

[DJ_Markstar]

One of the prime examples of a player's mentality ruining their career. Kept doing dumb ****, feels like he never grew up.

On paper Balotelli was almost a flawless CF, really is the dream profile in terms of skills, physicality etc.

He even had that supreme confidence where he could miss 2-3 chances and still have 0 doubt he would bury the next chance. Weirdly Balotelli reminds me of Ian Wright in that regard, remember watching Wright and thinking he was completely sure of himself in front of goal even if he was having a bad game or bad run of games.

 

[<<reed>>]

say yes
Jury

 

[Sniper Mik]

Eduardo

 

[boonthegoon]

For Arsenal, has to be Özil. My dream signing, couldn't believe when it was happening. So sad how it ended.

 

[Tom Mix]

Cedric Soares. Such promise, always hoped we'd sign him.

 

[AberGooner]

Not disappointing as I never liked the little **** but Michael Owen faded fast. Lethal at an early age but seemed to be finished after he came back from Madrid.

 

[Blood on the Tracks]

If we're looking at Arsenal players I'd add Arshavin to the list.

A really magical player who really suffered badly with niggling injuries and seemingly a lack of motivation.

I think he ended up playing in Kazakhstan at the end of his career.