Champions League 2017/18: 5 stars who disappointed this season
After two amazing nights of top quality football in the greatest club football competition in the world, all eyes will be on Nyon on Friday for the semi-finals draw.
It has been an enthralling competition ever since it kicked off with the preliminary qualifying rounds in July. New names have come to the fore and shone brightly e.g Cengiz Ünder (AS Roma), Fred (Shakhtar Donetsk) among many others, some "big" clubs have fallen disgracefully (Atletico Madrid) while some of the game's superstars have continued to shine despite the pressure (Cristiano Ronaldo & others).
However, some of the biggest names have failed to live up to the billing as their performances have ranged from the mediocre to the downright shambolic.
Some of these players had been expected to be the central stars for their teams in this season's instalment of Europe's premier club competition but for a variety of reasons have not delivered.
Here are 5 of the most disappointing players so far:
#5 Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid)
It may come as a shock but Los Colchoneros as Madrid's 2nd team is known have been better than a lot of bigger/richer clubs in the Champions League in the last five seasons.
Diego Simeone's men have reached the final twice (2014, 2016) and have not failed to reach at least the quarter-final of the competition since 2014.
Despite the transfer ban they faced at the beginning of the season, it was still believed that the team had more than enough to navigate the Champions League especially as they were able to hang on to talisman Griezmann despite fierce interest from clubs like Manchester United.
The 27-year-old had a campaign to forget as he was unable to help prevent the team from crashing out at the group stages behind AS Roma and Chelsea.
He went missing in the must-win doubleheader against Azerbaijani champions Qarabag as the Champions League debutants held Atleti to consecutive draws home and away; two draws that sounded the death knell for Simeone's men.
He may have scored a fantastic volley in the team's only win: a 2-0 win over Roma at the Wanda Metropolitano but his lack of form in the first two games at the Stadio Olimpico against Roma and the home loss to Chelsea meant Atleti were always up against it.