Top 5 footballers who have struggled after big-money transfers
It's not always that a footballer hits the ground running after signing for a new club. More often than not, there's usually a period of time that a player takes to adapt to his new team, and sometimes fails to do so completely.
Nowadays, with transfer fees continuously increasing, players are pressured to start producing performances to justify their massive pricetags even sooner than expected. This sometimes takes a toll on the player, and he ends up not being able to play up to his expected abilities.
This list will rank the top five players who are yet to live up to their pricetags following big-money moves to their respective clubs. This is not to say that they won't eventually come good, but the players are being judged on the performances that they have put in for their clubs till now. So without further ado, here are the
Top 5 footballers who have struggled after big-money transfers
#5 Nicolas Pepe (Arsenal) - €79 million
Nicolas Pepe joined Arsenal from Lille back in 2019 for a reported fee of €79 million, following a sensational season for the French club. The deal broke Arsenal's transfer record by a huge margin, with many expecting the Ivorian to be a huge hit at the club.
Pepe has had a slow start to life at the club, showing glimpses of his quality on a few occasions, but never being able to consistently perform at a high level. He ended his first season at the club with 8 goals and 10 assists, however, it was obvious that he was getting better as the season went by.
Pepe showed further improvement during the 2020-21 campaign, finishing as the club's second-highest scorer in the season, bagging 16 goals and 5 assists across all competitions.
Even though he has shown continuous improvement, the Ivorian is yet to justify his massive pricetag. Arsenal fans will be hoping to see him take it to the next level during the 2021-22 campaign.
#4 Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid) - €126 million
Joao Felix joined Atletico Madrid from Benfica for a staggering €126 million back in 2019, following a breakout season for the Portuguese club. The young attacker was seen as the 'next big thing' coming out of Portugal, winning the 2019 Golden Boy award.
However, Felix has found life in La Liga difficult since his move and has failed to replicate any of the form he showed at Benfica. The Portuguese forward is yet to hit double figures in any of his league campaigns for Atletico Madrid so far, and saw limited playing-time under Diego Simeone last season.
However, at only 21-years old, Felix still has a long career ahead of him and could realize his massive potential in the near future.