5 world class players who struggled in the Premier League

2) Jerome Boateng, £10.4 million to Manchester City 2010

Boateng played only 16 matches for City in his Premier League stint

Jerome Boateng is now one of the best centre backs in European football, but his time in the Premier League will always be a time he’d like to forget.

The German’s City career started in the worst way possible. He tore a tendon in his left knee on international duty, and it would keep him out for the start of the season 2010/11. His season then never got started properly as Vincent Kompany and Kolo Toure were always above him in the pecking order, with him mainly playing at full back.

He made just 14 starts and two sub appearances in the Premier League and moved to Bayern Munich the following summer, where he has now won a Champions League and five successive league titles, making 137 Bundesliga appearances for one of the biggest teams in Europe.

He may not have had long to impress, but he never showed any potential in the Premier League. This makes it surprising to see how well he has done since he has left, but it just emphasises that he struggled in the Premier League during his short stay.