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For the last couple of decades, the Premier League has emerged as the toughest destination to play in Europe. It has set the benchmark high with its fast tempo and rough physicality. Even the best players take time to adjust and often find themselves put in the extra yard in training.
Surviving in the Premier League among the best of the best takes consistency. It is special to become a fan favorite and have chants after a player echoing in the stadium but that honor is not for everyone.
Big name players failed to scale to heights in the Premier League
Many players arrive in the English top flight with a proven reputation, but not everyone hits the ground running immediately. Sometimes it is too late before a player can level up to meet the demands of the Premier League and is offloaded by the clubs.
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No matter how big a name you are on the teamsheet, no performance means no football for you. From highly rated youth prospects to proven world-class players, everyone has been treated equally harshly in England.
Many have had their reputations in serious trouble after their stints in the Premier League. Others, however, took the failure seriously, upped the ante and made out special careers for themselves that gave them elite status in football.
Without much ado, here is a Premier League XI of legends that failed to reach the expected standards in England.
GK: Victor Valdes
It all really went south with Victor Valdes at Manchester United, didn't it? He signed as a free agent back in 2015 from Barcelona and initially his arrival did make a lot of noise. After all, this was a player who had served Barcelona for 12 years and was undroppable in goal.
Valdes was not just a great shot stopper but immense with his distribution from the back and very comfortable with the ball at his feet. All qualities that the Premier League never witnessed from the Spaniard in front of its eyes.
He made more appearances for the Red Devils in the U21 Premier League (3) than he made for their senior team in the top-flight (2). He had disagreements regarding the philosophy of the club and the final months of his United career ended in shock exile. He was even banished from the squad photo.
He later joined Middlesbrough as a free agent and retired in 2017.
RB: Maicon
Maicon was competing toe-to-toe with Brazilian compatriot Dani Alves in the national team at one point. This should give the unaware a fair idea of how good he was. Manchester City thought they had made a steal of a deal by signing the right-back for just €3.75m.
A four-time Serie A winner and Champions League winner with Inter Milan, Maicon's spell with Manchester City only lasted a year. He was on the wrong side of the 30s, and spent a considerable amount of time on the treatment table. He featured only in nine Premier League matches.
The Brazilian could not displace the team's first choice fullback Pablo Zabaleta and left for Roma after that brief spell in the Premier League.
CB: Jerome Boateng
It really hurts when you see one of your former players go and become a big-time winner and that is somewhat the case with Jerome Boateng. If Manchester City had stuck with the centre-back, he could have turned out to be a bargain buy at just €12.5m given the heights he reached.
The German had his struggles with injuries but he hardly played as a centre-back in England. Roberto Mancini often used him as a fullback, playing him either on the left or right. After spending the 2010-11 season in the Premier League playing out of his natural position, he decided to head home to Germany.
He was signed by Bayern Munich and served the Bavarians for a decade-long period. The German defender won nine Bundesliga titles, two Champions League titles and two Club World Cup trophies during his time with the Bundesliga giants.
CB: Gerard Pique
The one that got away? It's difficult to guess whether Gerard Pique could have gained 'great' centre-back status if he continued in England. It was arguably one of the poorer decisions made by Manchester United as the Spaniard went on to become a club legend at Barcelona.
In a four year spell that saw the defender leave on a one-year loan to Real Zargosa, he made only 12 appearances in the Premier League. It would be harsh to say that Pique was bad in the English top-flight, he was still in his developing phase.
However, there were a few games where he was really left sweating badly. Sir Alex Ferguson thought he did not need to see more of him. Pep Guardiola brought Pique back to Barcelona and the rest, as they say, is history.
LB: Giovanni van Bronckhorst
Even the best players can't do much when played out of their natural position. It's a shame that when Arsenal signed Giovanni van Bronckhorst they did not utilize him as a left-back and wanted him to flourish in midfield.
During his two full seasons he made 65 appearances for Arsenal, 21 each in two English top-flight campaigns before leaving for Barcelona. He did win the FA Cup and Premier League but as an individual his performances did not really stand out.
It was in Spain and for the Netherlands national team that he really made it big as a left-back. His strike against Uruguay at the 2010 World Cup will always be remembered as one of the best World Cup goals.
CM: Bastian Schweinsteiger
Manchester United's big-money signings having an underwhelming career in the Premier League is no big surprise. So when a world-class operator of Bastian Schweinsteiger's proven pedigree was offered to them for €9m, they grabbed the deal with both hands.
Although he signed just one year after lifting the World Cup with Germany, he looked far from a World Cup winner. Off the pace, injured half the time and chasing his man by a yard, that's how his Premier League spell unfolded. He stayed for a season and a half and made 35 appearances before leaving Old Trafford.
Jose Mourinho ostracized him from the Red Devils squad and was not really interested in Schweinsteiger's services on the pitch. The matter later cooled down and the Portuguese manager did make an apology to the German.
CM: Juan Sebastian Veron
Manchester United and tragic signings, it really is a tale of its own. The Premier League giants spent an English record fee of £28m to sign Juan Sebastian Veron from Lazio in 2001. Figures such as seven goals and three assists in 51 Premier League appearances for a central midfielder are not too bad.
But when you realize the ability and talent he displayed in Serie A before his arrival in England, his spell at Old Trafford certainly seemed underwhelming. There were spells in which he was lively and oozing confidence, standing out in midfield as the complete player. But they were few and far between.
His ability to read the game coupled with his positional awareness made him extremely effective in the middle of the park. Unfortunately, United found out in just two seasons that Veron was not able to cope up with the intensity and physicality of the Premier League.
He moved to Chelsea for the 2003-04 season, which was an even more disastrous spell. The Argentine has one Premier League title to show from his spell in England, but those are days he won't be remembered fondly for.
AM: Deco
Few players made playmaking look as easy as Deco did. The architect-in-chief of midfield, orchestrating play at his will, the Portuguese was a truly special player. Chelsea signed him for €10m in 2008 and it looked like a good bargain. It felt like it would get better when he scored a screamer on his Premier League debut.
Unfortunately, the English fans who had brought the tickets to witness Deco's brilliance saw the decline of his game and powers. His second season in the Premier League really knocked out any hope of seeing him return to his high standards at Europe's elite level.
He failed to live up to expectations and under Carlo Ancelotti his role was reduced to a squad player.
RW: Angel di Maria
One of the most miserable spells a player has had in the modern era of the Premier League, Angel di Maria really despised Manchester United. A deal worth the then-British record of €75m, it's difficult to understand exactly how big a first season the Red Devils faithful wanted him to have.
His numbers of 11 assists and three goals in 27 Premier League appearances are not too bad for a first season. Patience was required with the Argentine, who had become one of Europe's hottest properties after his four years with Real Madrid.
But rather than giving him any time to acclimatize to the English top-flight, the Old Trafford crowd turned against him. Still, Man United were lucky that Paris Saint-Germain invested in Di Maria just the next season and returned €63m on their big spend.
The Argentine has now entered the history books at PSG, becoming their record assist provider with 110 assists
ST: Diego Forlan
One of the greatest Uruguayan players of the game, Diego Forlan was also the first from his nation to represent Manchester United. It all started in a very gloomy manner when the striker arrived in January 2002. He went the remainder of the season without scoring a single goal in the Premier League.
The faster pace of the English top-flight was going to take some getting used to. Though Forlan did adjust, he couldn't guarantee consistent performances. There were always glimpses of the great striker he would go on to become. Some of the bangers he scored in a Manchester United shirt are still remembered.
But the Uruguay international was only seen fit as a second-fiddle centre-forward and wanted to make a name for himself. He was signed by Villarreal in 2004 and that was the beginning of his journey as a legend.
The man who scored 10 goals in 63 Premier League appearances over two-and-a-half seasons produced a tally of 25 goals in his very first season in La Liga. He then moved to Atletico Madrid and cemented his status as a legend by helping them qualify for the Champions League.
The streets will never forget the threat of a prime Diego Forlan!
LW: Andriy Shevchenko
It was a deal that created a whole frenzy of excitement when it was first announced. Then someone poured water over that hot fire and turned it into a disappointment. Andriy Shevchenko arrived as the Ballon d'Or winner, a Champions League winner, a two-time Serie A top goal scorer, and he was the real deal.
Until he wasn't. Chelsea had been trying to bring him to the Premier League for a few years. When they finally signed him, it turned out to be a nightmare. He scored 22 goals in his 77 appearances, given his €44m transfer fee the Blues paid €2m for every goal he scored.
It only gets worse when you realize nine of those were scored in 48 Premier League appearances. In some ways, it was his poor form that led to Jose Mourinho's first departure. This signing really took a toll on Chelsea fans and left them deflated.
