The Premier League is the most attractive national championship in the world with many prestigious clubs such as Man Utd, Chelsea, and Liverpool. Of course, with the so-called "big clubs," they are willing to spend money to recruit talented players with significant amounts. However, there are many players who, after joining the Premier League, have become lost, performed poorly, and gradually lost their place on the field. In your spare time, let's take a look at the Top 10 worst football player in the Premier League ever with Wintips admin.
Worst football player in the EPL in history
1. Mario Balotelli (AC Milan to Liverpool)
After the departure of striker Luis Suarez to Barcelona, Liverpool sought a replacement to pursue their first Premier League title. The club identified Mario Balotelli as the perfect fit for the role. The Italian forward had made a name for himself as a young player with Inter Milan before playing for Manchester City and AC Milan. He signed with Liverpool for €20 million in August 2014 but only managed to score one goal after 16 appearances in the Premier League.
The controversial forward scored a total of four goals in 28 appearances across all competitions and was subsequently loaned out. By August 2016, he left Liverpool to join Nice on a free transfer. Balotelli is currently playing in the Turkish Super Lig with Adana Demirspor and shining. As a result, he has been called back to the national team.
2. Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid to Man Utd)
The 2nd name on the worst football player list is Argentine star Angel Di Maria. Di Maria arrived at Old Trafford as one of the top wingers in the world. The Argentine international had just played a crucial role in helping Real Madrid win their 10th UEFA Champions League title in 2014. He joined Manchester United for €75 million.
Angel di Maria started his Manchester United career brilliantly and won both the Player and Goal of the Month awards for the club in September. It was his first and only peak at the club before declining under Van Gaal. The midfielder scored 4 goals and provided 12 assists in 32 appearances across all competitions for the Red Devils before deciding to move elsewhere.
3. Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal to Man Utd)
It would be a mistake if Alexis Sanchez was absent from the worst football player list of both Man Utd and the Premier League. The Chilean player shone at Arsenal before moving to Manchester United in a swap deal. Man United believed they were acquiring the league's best winger by swapping Henrikh Mkhitaryan for Sanchez. They put the winger on a hefty wage, but in return, Sanchez performed poorly at Old Trafford.
Sanchez struggled to regain his top form from his Arsenal days and failed to deliver during his 18-month tenure at Manchester United. Sanchez scored five goals and provided nine assists in 45 appearances for the club before joining Inter Milan on loan. After the loan spell ended, Inter Milan signed Sanchez on a free transfer.
4. Danny Drinkwater (Leicester City to Chelsea)
In 2017, Chelsea splashed out €38 million to sign English midfielder Danny Drinkwater from Leicester City. The midfielder was a key member of the Leicester City squad that won the title in 2016 alongside N'Golo Kante, who is currently also with Chelsea.
However, Drinkwater immediately found himself out of place at Stamford Bridge as he struggled to compete with Kante, Cesc Fabregas, and Tiemoue Bakayoko for a spot in the starting lineup. The English midfielder failed to make an impact at the club, making only 23 appearances for the team in two years before departing on his first loan spell. Drinkwater scored once for The Blues during his time at the London-based club.
5. Ali Dia (Blyth Spartans to Southampton)
The Premier League has seen a lot of stories, but none quite quite like Ali Dia, the Senegalese striker. Dia is considered one of the most tragic stories in football history. In 1996, Dia lied to Souness that 1995 Ballon d'Or winner George Weah was his cousin and that earned him a trial at the club.
Dia was allowed to start in a friendly against Arsenal, but the rain of the day caused the match to be cancelled. The striker trained with the team briefly and due to the injury crisis at the club, he was placed on the registration list for the match against Leeds United in the Premier League.
6. Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan to Chelsea)
Upon his return to Chelsea last summer, Lukaku was seen as the final piece of the puzzle for manager Thomas Tuchel. The Belgian striker also started impressively with 4 goals in his first 4 games. However, things quickly turned sour as, apart from 2 goals at the FIFA Club World Cup, he only managed to score 9 more goals for the remainder of the season.
Lukaku lost his place after recovering from an ankle injury and had a run of 10 games without a goal in the Premier League. Following the departure of Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, Chelsea want to start a new era and manager Tuchel has made it clear that he is not counting on Lukaku while the player himself wants to return to Inter to regain his best form heading into the 2022 World Cup.
7. Nicolas Pepe (Lille to Arsenal)
Nicolas Pepe moved to the Emirates from Lille in a £72million deal after an impressive season in Ligue 1. However, in contrast to his performance on French soil, the Ivorian wowed Arsenal fans with his inaccurate and superficial handling. Therefore, Pepe was quickly knocked out of the first team.
In the summer of 2022, he was pushed to Nice on loan but was still unable to regain his form. Former player Jermaine Pennant thinks the 28-year-old star is one of the most disastrous signings in Gunners history alongside defender Igors Stepanovs, who joined Arsenal in 2000.
8. Tiemoue Bakayoko (AS Monaco to Chelsea)
Bakayoko joined Chelsea in the summer of 2017, after helping Monaco win Ligue 1 and reach the Champions League semi-finals. Initially, the French midfielder made a strong impression and quickly became a key player in the Blues' midfield. However, Bakayoko lost form even faster.
After receiving two yellow cards in just 30 minutes during a 1 - 4 defeat to Norwich in February 2018, he was consistently loaned out to Monaco, Napoli, and AC Milan (twice). Recently, Italian media reported that the Milan team is considering the option of returning Tiemoue Bakayoko to the owner team. However, in the past, Chelsea have made even more disappointing signings.
9. Lazar Markovic (Benfica to Liverpool)
Lazar Markovic arrived at Liverpool in a £20 million deal, becoming one of the most expensive young players in the world, but he failed to make an impact and was considered surplus to requirements, being loaned out to several different clubs.
In January 2019, Lazar Markovic officially left Liverpool on a free transfer, with the club agreeing to terminate his contract to offload the winger and alleviate their wage bill. It was a costly deal that ended in utter failure.
10. Nolito (Celta Vigo to Man City)
One of Pep Guardiola's first signings at Manchester City was Spanish striker Nolito from Celta Vigo for just over £16m. As a young player, he was managed by Guardiola during their time together at Barcelona. Nolito never settled into life at the Etihad and only spent one season at Manchester City.
The Spaniard scored 6 goals and had 5 assists in 30 appearances before being sold to Sevilla for £10million. Nolito used to be Pep Guardiola's former game at Barca. After failing to earn a starting spot for the Catalan team, the striker born in 1986 moved to Celta Vigo and became famous.
Conclude
Above is the list of the top 10 worst football player players evaluated, ranked based on the opinions of fans and experts alike. Of course, there are many other names who have played or are currently playing in the Premier League who have not left much of a mark. They will surely be the subject of discussion for newspapers every day, such as Antony (Man Utd), Mudryk (Chelsea), or Nunez (Liverpool)... Thank you for your interest in the article on the bookmaker rating website.
See also: Top 10 skinny football player ever
