Transfers of recent years, after which players have not returned to their previous level.

For six months as owner of Chelsea, Todd Boeli bought 16 players for the team, spending around 600 million euros on them. With such a large buy, the likelihood of at least one player going bust is quite high. The question of adapting to new conditions and teamwork with new partners, coupled with pressure from a large club, can leave a serious imprint on the future career of some performers. And such a scenario in the world of football is nothing new.

Alexis Sanchez. From Arsenal to Manchester United

Alexis Sanchez, after leaving Manchester United, shared:

After the first training session, I understood a lot, I went home and asked my family and the manager if I could terminate the contract and return to Arsenal. something inside Manchester United It didn’t suit me, but I’ve already signed the contract.

Sanchez’s transfer saga to red side Manchester lasted almost six months. In the summer of 2017, Pep Guardiola tried to sign him at Manchester City, but Arsenal were not ready to part with one of the best players of the 16/17 season. Sanchez, in turn, was determined to leave, because that Arsenal didn’t claim trophies and didn’t have the conditions to take a step forward in the near future.

By the end of the summer of 2017, Sanchez’s potential move to Old Trafford was taken up personally by José Mourinho. Upon learning of this, Pep Guardiola declined further talks about the player. The reason was the Catalan’s doubts about the loyalty of the Chilean striker.

At the same time, inside Manchester United there was Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was not needed by the team coach. The Armenian national footballer very often remained in the role of substitute and was dissatisfied with the state of affairs, in connection with which he agreed to move to Arsenal. The Mancunians take advantage of the situation and exchange Mkhitaryan for Sanchez, while generously rewarding the Chilean and his agent.

Alexis made 45 appearances for United, scoring just 5 goals and providing 9 assists. From Manchester he moved to Inter, where he too was unable to return to the role of leader. Before the current season, he was taken from the French Marseille, in which Sanchez is increasingly similar to himself, but will hardly be able to reach the world level.

Philippe Coutinho. From Liverpool to Barcelona

The saga with the transfer of Coutinho, as in the case of Sanchez, began in the summer of 2017. Barcelona has always been the dream of the Brazilian midfielder and as soon as the opportunity presented itself, Philippe immediately made it clear that he wanted to leave. Throughout August and the first half of September, the Brazilian feigned a back injury, hoping Barcelona could persuade Merseyside to let go of one of the club’s main stars.

Just six months later, in January 2018, the clubs managed to agree on the transfer of Coutinho. The Blue Garnets finalized the deal for €160 million, making Philippe the fourth most expensive player in football history.

In the first half of the season at Barca, Coutinho made 15 goalscoring moves in 22 matches, and in the following season he missed a lot. As a result, the Brazilian was sent on loan to Bayern Munich, with which he won the Champions League, simultaneously scoring a brace against Barcelona.

In January 2021 Coutinho was sent on loan again. This time at Aston Villa for Steven Gerrard, and in the summer Birmingham bought the player for 20 million euros. The midfielder has also failed this season at Villa, having made 17 appearances without scoring goals or assists.

Kepa Arrizabalaga. From Atlético to Chelsea

When Thibaut Courtois expressed his desire to move to the Real Madrid camp, Chelsea had no choice but to look for a replacement for him. The main candidate for a long time was Alisson Becker, but the Brazilian chose to move to Liverpool. Then the Londoners turned to Athletic Bilbao.

The Basques were aware of the needs of the buyers and managed to raise 80 million euros from the transfer of Arrizabalaga. Kepa became the most expensive goalkeeper in the world, which made me feel a lot of pressure. It cannot be said that the Spaniard coped with him: he showed a far from stable game, often made mistakes and was nervous in simple situations.

Just two years after acquiring Kepa, Chelsea completed the transfer of Édouard Mendy from Rennes. Unexpectedly for many, he unconditionally became the first number of Londoners, without giving Arrizabalaga a single chance to prove himself.

After the arrivals of Todd Boeli and Graham Potter, Kepa returned to the net but still doesn’t display the play expected of the most expensive goalkeeper in history. Rumors have circulated in recent months that Chelsea are already looking for a new squad for the Spaniard and have plans to sign Brentford goalkeeper Raya in the summer.

Eden Azar. From Chelsea to Real Madrid

Eden Hazard’s story is somewhat similar to how Coutinho’s career developed. You dream of a great Spanish, a transition to a huge amount and an instant loss in class. The Belgian managed to become a legend at Stamford Bridge. In his last season for the Londoners, he contributed to half of the team’s goals.

By moving to Real Madrid for 115 million euros, Hazard immediately ceased to be the player expected at the Santiago Bernabeu. During his time at Madrid, Eden struggled more often with excess weight and was treated for injuries, although during his time at Chelsea he only missed 21 games due to various types of injuries.

Now Azar is 31 years old. He has retired from the Belgian national team and is looking to play for Real Madrid. For 3 and a half years in the royal club, he took part in 73 matches and scored 22 effective runs.