5 players who switched clubs and fell off the radar

#5: Giovani Dos Santos

Giovani Dos Santos’s “new Messi” tag was ruined by a move to Spurs

One of football’s ultimate “what if?” stories, Mexican forward Giovani started his career at Barcelona, breaking into their first team in the 2007/8 season where he featured 37 times. Giovani’s reputation at this point was huge, with some pundits labelling him as a better prospect than even Lionel Messi.

It was curious then when he was sold to Tottenham Hotspur at the beginning of the 2008/9 season for just £5m. The rumour was that new Barca boss Pep Guardiola was concerned about the amount of time Giovani spent partying rather than training or resting, but evidently then-Spurs boss Harry Redknapp saw enough talent in the young Mexican to take the risk.

He was unfortunately proven wrong. After having his commitment questioned by Redknapp, who begged him to stay out of nightclubs, Dos Santos was loaned to Ipswich Town before his first full season at Spurs had even ended. Further loans to Galatasaray and Racing Santander followed before a full move to Mallorca in 2012/13 finally ended his time at Tottenham.

He’s since become a bit of a journeyman, and is currently at MLS club LA Galaxy. Who knows what kind of heights his career could’ve reached though had he not left Barcelona in 2008 – it’s a classic case of a transfer going badly wrong.

Which other players fell off after big transfers?

Until next time....